Grosmont Castle

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The main castle from the south to the ruins of the Keeps

Grosmont Castle (Welsh Castell Grysmwnt ) is a castle ruin in Monmouthshire in Wales. The classified as a cultural monument is a fine Grade I and protected as a Scheduled Monument ruin was a strongly fortified residence of the Marcher Lords.

History

Controversial border castle in the 11th and 12th centuries

The castle belonged next to Skenfrith and White Castle to the so-called Three Castles, which in the Middle Ages secured the border between Wales and England as a castle triangle and its history is closely linked. Since the 12th century the three castles formed a joint rule.

A first annular wall was probably built by William FitzOsbern during the conquest of South Wales 1070. William fell, however, in 1071 in Flanders and his son Roger in 1075 lost his lands. During the reign of King Henry I. Grosmont fell by the Marcher Lord Pain Fitzjohn, who made the castle to the main town a later referred to by the castle rule between White Castle to the west and Orcop Castle in the East. Pain Fitzjohn was in July 1137 began Welsh uprising killed during 1134, but he had previously exchanged his lands to the king against property in Ark Field in Herefordshire. The now royal castle was conquered during the Anarchy in 1139 by Brian FitzCount, the Lord of Abergavenny, which she passed on in 1142 to Walter of Hereford, a son of Miles de Gloucester. Walter fell in 1160 in Palestine, whereupon King Henry II occupied the castle.

Expansion of the Stone castle and residence

The castle remained in the possession of the Crown until 1201 forgave King John to Hubert de Burgh, who extended the castle to stone fortress. After Hubert was 1205 fall severely wounded in France in captivity, gave the king in 1206 the castle to William de Braose. Already in 1208 she fell after the betrayal de Braoses back to the crown. In 1219 it was returned to Hubert de Burgh, who had it to further expand 1224-1226. Between 1228 and 1230 the castle was briefly owned by John de Braose, a grandson of William de Braose, but then fell back to de Burgh. When Henry III. de Burgh in 1232 dismissed as Justiciar, occupied the king of the castle in 1233. He and his army were but this surprised by a rebellious Anglo- Welsh army under de Burgh and Richard Marshal and had to flee with the loss of their horses and equipment. 1239 Pittsburgh lost the castle finally to the king, who gave it to his son Edmund in 1267. Edmund built the castle from 1274 to 1294 from one of his residences. His grandson, Henry of Grosmont, the son of Henry Plantagenet, 3rd Earl of Lancaster, was born around 1310 in the castle. After that, the castle remained in the possession of his heirs until 1399 again coincided with the accession to the throne of Henry Bolingbroke to the Crown. During the revolt of Owain Glyndwr, the insurgents were defeated in 1404 at the Battle of Campston Hill at Grosmont. The following year the castle Owain Glyndwr was besieged, but shocked by a coming of Hereford army under Harry of Lancaster.

Decay into ruin since the 15th century

In the following centuries, the castle fell into disrepair. 1825 sold the Duchy of Lancaster, the castle of the Duke of Beaufort. In 1902 she was acquired by the historian Joseph Bradney, before finally in 1923 came into the possession of the state. Today, the ruins of Cadw is supervised.

Plant

The ruin is situated on the eastern outskirts of the village of Grosmont, about 16 km north- west of Monmouth on the west bank of the River Monnow on the border between Wales and England. Access to the castle is from the south through the outer courtyard, of which only remnants of the trench and the earth walls and the foundations of a farm building have been preserved. Parts of the trench have been merged into the surrounding private gardens.

The compact main castle was built of crushed locally sandstone. A modern wooden bridge leads over the dry moat to the scanty remains of the coming of the 13th century and rebuilt in the 14th century gatehouse. Links of the gatehouse leads the built in the 1220s curtain wall semi-circle around the inner courtyard. The wall is interrupted by two massive towers, the south-west was expanded in the late 13th century to a five storey keep. Situated in the north tower of the wall was built in the 14th century into a residential building, of which there was already a part outside the old city walls. From the construction are only a few residues obtained primarily an elaborately manufactured chimney. Are the ruins of the mighty living hall, which was built in the early 13th century by de Burgh at the northeast side of the castle. The two-storey rectangular building was almost 30 m long and 10 m wide. The habitable ground floor was divided by a partition wall into two halves, also on the upper floor was next to the great hall is another room as a private chamber of lords.