Llawhaden Castle or Castell Llanhuadain in the native Welsh tongue is a sprawling ruin of a castle in Pembrokeshire in southwest Wales. It and the surrounding lands were owned by the Bishopric of the Diocese of St David and was the only ecclesiastically-ruled Marcher Lordship. A motte and bailey were built by the first Norman Bishop, Bernard, in 1115 of which only the moat survives.
Tag: Norman
Why is Chepstow Castle so big?
Chepstow Castle is the oldest surviving post-Roman stone fortification in Britain. Situated in Monmouthshire in Wales on cliffs overlooking a bend in the tidal part of the River Wye, it was the southernmost of a chain of castles built in the Welsh Marches. Construction began in 1067 under the instruction of the Norman Lord William FitzOsbern. It was originally called Striguil, which means River Bend.
Why is White Castle Not White?
Near the village of Llantilio Crossenny in Monmouthshire, Wales sits the imposing 12th-century Norman fortress of White Castle. Constructed on the foundations of its predecessor which was built of wood and earth in 1066, it was intended to protect the route from Wales to Hereford. It may have been commissioned by William fitz Osbern, the Earl of Hereford.
In 1135, King Stephen responded to a Welsh revolt by bringing together White Castle and its sister fortifications of Grosmont and Skenfrith to form a lordship known as the “Three Castles”. King John gave the castle to Hubert de Burgh, in 1201. Over the next few years, it was passed from Hubert, his rival the de Braose family, and the Crown.