Chepstow Castle

Shortly after the Norman invasion, building work commenced on the sprawling castle at Chepstow, one of the first stone castles in Britain, and development continued over four main building periods spanning several centuries. Situated along the banks of the River Wye has dictated the rather unusual shape of the castle, built on three distinct levels, as it follows the natural path of the river.

Work began in the 11th century with the construction of the Great Tower (Keep) and, as a result of subsequent building works, it now stands almost in the centre of the castle grounds nearly dividing the site in two, due to the narrowness of the baileys. The Keep was constructed as a rectangular, two-storey building and, at the time, housed the Great Hall. A third storey was added during the 13th century, and many other alterations were made to the tower, especially with regard to the standard of accommodation. Looking over the walls of the Great Tower, the various stages of construction are clearly seen in the different reds and yellows of the sandstone used.

Directly to the west of the Keep lies the Upper Bailey, with its rectangular tower in the south west corner, and beyond that the Barbican, housing the Upper Gatehouse in the western wall and a cylindrical tower to the south west. The rectangular tower provided domestic accommodation, and the three-storey round tower connected to the gatehouse via a tall curtain wall, was used for military purposes.

To the east of the Keep, is the triangular shaped Middle Bailey with towers situated on the south and east walls. The east wall was originally part of the curtain wall of the castle until the later construction of the Lower Bailey containing the main residential quarters, the 'D' shaped Marten's Tower, and the twin-towered Outer Gatehouse. This gatehouse has provided access to Chepstow Castle since its original construction in the 13th century and has arrow slits located on all three storeys dating from that time. Other windows in this building are a much later addition, dating from the 16th century.

The elaborate domestic buildings located along the northern wall of the Lower Bailey include the Great Hall, which replaced the earlier hall in the Keep. Window remains in the Great Hall still display some of their wonderful floral motifs, and the vaulted ground floor of the porch entrance retains some of its medieval painted decoration. Marten's Tower in the south eastern corner of the Lower Bailey, was constructed by Roger Bigod III and completed towards the end of the 13th century. The stone slab outside the door to the tower indicates the position of the castle well.

Chepstow Castle's location, perched at the top of an impregnable limestone ridge overlooking the river, acted as the focal point from which it was possible to instigate raids into Wales, and defend England from any Welsh attack. However, Chepstow Castle enjoyed a relatively peaceful existence until the Civil War, when it was besieged twice. Consequently, a programme of substantial renovation work took place during the 17th century, to accommodate military enforcement.

Today, very little of the original Norman building survives, due to extensive remodelling, and general deterioration, over the years but a surprising array of detail from all periods is still present among the remains.