GWENT |
| Abergavenny Castle |
Castle Street, Abergavenny |
One of William the Conqueror's barons pressed the local
people into building the first motte-and-bailey castle in Abergavenny in 1090. Although
the castle is now in ruins, an early 19th century hunting lodge built within its walls is
the setting of Abergavenny Museum. The museum traces the history of the town from its
origins as a Roman fort to the present day through lively displays of crafts, costume,
industry and archaeology. Highlights include a complete saddler's shop and traditional
Welsh kitchen, tools used in the industries of the area over the ages and examples of the
products manufactured around Abergavenny. |
| Caerleon Roman Fortress |
On B4236, in Caerleon |
The impressive remains of the amphitheatre, baths and
barracks of the 1900-year-old fortress of Isca make Caerleon one of the most important
Roman military sites in Europe. Established in AD 75, Isca was the headquarters of the 2nd
Augustan Legion, one of the three regiments of front-line troops permanently stationed in
Britain, the others being based at Chester and York. Only discovered in 1964 and excavated
during the past decade, the fortress's baths and exercise hall formed a leisure complex
the size of a cathedral. The finds are displayed at the Legionary Museum in the High
Street of Caerleon. The most spectacular of the remains at Caerleon are those of the
amphitheatre. |
| Caldicot Castle |
Off A4245, 5 miles south-west of Chepstow |
This carefully restored medieval castle dates back to
the 11th century. The imposing gatehouse through which visitors enter was built by the
youngest son of Edward III, Thomas Woodstock, who after marrying ten-year-old Alianore de
Bohun, transformed Caldicot into a luxurious royal residence. In 1397, jealous of
Woodstock's power, his nephew Richard II arranged for his murder. The castle now houses a
museum which includes furniture, costumes. and items from one of Nelson's flagships. |
| Chepstow Castle |
In centre of Chepstow |
Chepstow was built by William FitzOsbern, a childhood
friend of William the Conqueror. After the Civil War - during which it was twice besieged
and captured - the castle was used as a prison, its longest-serving inmate being Henry
Marten, who had been rash enough to sign Charles I's death warrant. Condemned for treason,
he spent 12 years in the tower named after him. Near the castle are the town's local
history museum and the glass studio of Stuart Crystal. |
| Grosmont Castle |
Off B4347, 15 miles north-east of Abergavenny |
The ruins of this robust castle stand - as its Norman
name suggests - on a large hill overlooking the small village of Grosmont. One of the
'Three Castles of Gwent', with Skenfrith and White Castle, Grosmont was completely rebuilt
in the 13th century by Hubert de Burgh, King John's all-powerful 'Justiciar' or chief
officer of state. The impressive remains include substantial parts of the Great Hall and
imposing south-west tower. An ornamented chimney rising from the block of princely
apartments built by the Earls of Lancaster in the 14th century gives an idea of the
castle's former decorative splendour. |
| Llanthony Priory |
Off A465, 13 miles north of Abergavenny |
The substantial remains of this monastic settlement are
dominated by the square central tower of its church. The Augustinian monks who founded the
building were driven out at the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538, and it had a
succession of owners until 1807, when it came into the hands of the poet Walter Savage
Landor. His grandiose plans for the estate made him bankrupt, and the building was
neglected until the 1950s. A team of masons worked for several years to conserve the
remains. |
| Monmouth Museum |
Priory Street, Monmouth |
Nelson's fighting sword and a detailed model of his
flagship at Trafalgar, HMS Victory, are among Monmouth Museum's most treasured
possessions. The Nelson collection was started by Lady Llangattock, the mother of Charles
Rolls, the co-founder of Rolls-Royce, who grew up near the town. It includes many relics
of Nelson, including gifts and letters exchanged with his mistress, Lady Hamilton. The
museum also has a local history section, part of it devoted t Charles Rolls's exploits in
early motor cars, aeroplanes and balloons. |
| Newport Museum and Art Gallery |
John Frost Square, Newport |
Roman ornaments, mosaics and other finds unearthed at
Caerwent, formerly Venta Silurum, the Roman capital of South Wales, are on show in Newport
Museum, in a square named after John Frost, the Chartist leader and former mayor of the
town. The museum has an exhibition about the Chartists and the Newport Riots. In the same
building is an art galley with an attractive collection of English and Welsh watercolours
of the 18th and 19th centuries - as well as some Staffordshire pottery figures. |
| Penhow Castle |
On A48, 5 miles east of Newport |
Believed to be the oldest inhabited castle in Wales,
Penhow was built as one of a ring of fortresses erected to protect the Welsh Marches, or
border country, and is the only one that has survived intact. Its attractive buildings,
grouped round a stone-flagged courtyard, span more than 800 years - ranging from the 12th
century keep to a Restoration wing with a fine canopied doorway and a kitchen filled with
Victorian cooking equipment. |
| Raglan Castle |
On A40, 7.5 miles south-west of Monmouth |
The ruins of this moated castle are visible from
several miles away. The present castle was begun by Sir William Thomas, the local lord of
the manor, who was knighted for his service in the Hundred Years' War by Henry VI. Sir
William set out to create an impressive residence in keeping with his enhanced status - an
ambition completed by his son, William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke. During the Civil War
Henry Somerset, Marquis of Worcester, whose family had acquired the castle by marriage,
held Raglan for the Royalist cause. In 1645 Charles I played bowls on the bowling green;
less than a year later, after a ten week siege, Somerset surrendered when Sir Thomas
Fairfax surrounded the castle with 3500 men. |
| Skenfrith Castle |
On B4521, 10 miles north-west of Monmouth |
The stately ruins of this once-powerful castle stand
in a riverside setting at the heart of the village of Skenfrith. Together with
Grosmont and White Castle, Skenfrith was one of the 'Three Castles of Gwent' - a triangle
of fortresses erected to command the open border country between the Wye Valley and the
hills of Wales. Originally the castle was mainly of timber construction, but early in the
13th century the chief officer of state, Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent, rebuilt Skenfrith
completely in stone. |
| Tintern Abbey |
On A466, 5 miles north of Chepstow |
Although now roofless, the great abbey church - built
by Cistercian monks around the start of the 14th century - has survived remarkably intact.
The layout of the abbey is plainly visible as the visitor wanders among the labyrinthine
ruins of the monastic buildings and abbot's quarters. Not far from the ruins is the Anchor
Inn - once the abbey's watergate, with a slipway down to the river - and an old railway
station that is now a picnic site and a countryside information centre, with an exhibition
of pre-1918 photographs tracing the early history of the Wye Valley Line, which closed in
1964. |
| Tredegar House |
Off A48, 2 miles south-west of Newport |
Tredegar was the country home of the Morgan family for
more than 500 years. The house was almost completely rebuilt around 1670, and today has
been restored and refurnished in period styles ranging from the 17th to the 20th
centuries. The most spectacular of the house's 40 rooms is the Gilt Room, with its painted
stucco ceiling and ornate gilt chimneypiece flanked by twisted black pillars. The
servants' quarters and outbuildings, including the orangery and stables, contain colourful
records of life at Tredegar. |
| The Valley Inheritance |
Park Buildings, Pontypool |
An elegant Georgian building which was formerly the
stable block of Pontypool Park House is now a lively modern exhibition centre devoted to
the industrial heritage of the South Wales valleys. Old photographs, films, audiovisual
shows and displays of industrial relics bring to life the story of the valleys - including
the iron and coal industries over the years. The exhibition centre is run by a
conservation trust which has rescued several important buildings and sites in the Torfaen
Valley, on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park. |
| White Castle |
Off B4521, 7 miles north-east of Abergavenny |
The towers and curtain walls of this sturdy ruined
castle on a hilltop rise dramatically from a deep water-filled moat. Together with
Grosmont and Skenfrith, White Castle was one of the 'Three Castles of Gwent' - a triangle
of fortresses within 5 miles of one another that protected the border against the Welsh.
Although earthworks and foundations from earlier castles on the same site are still
visible, the magnificent towers were added late in the 13th century. The castle consists
of two circular wards built in a figure-of-eight pattern, and to reach the inner ward
visitors cross a wooden bridge high above the moat. |
