Penhow Castle,

Penhow Penhow ( cy, Pen-hŵ) is a small village and community (parish) just inside the eastern edge of the boundary of the city of Newport, South Wales, within the historic county of Monmouthshire. The name Penhow is believed to be derived from the W ...

, Newport dates from the early 12th century. Extended and reconstructed in almost every century since, it has been claimed to be the oldest continuously-inhabited castle in Wales. The castle is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

History

The manor of Penhow was held by

Caradog ap Gruffydd Caradog ap Gruffydd (died 1081) was a Prince of Gwent in south-east Wales in the time of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn and the Norman conquest, who reunified his family's inheritance of Morgannwg and made repeated attempts to reunite southern Wales ...

, prince of Gwent at the time of the

Norman invasion of Wales The Norman invasion of Wales began shortly after the Norman conquest of England under William the Conqueror, who believed England to be his birthright. Initially (1067–1081), the invasion of Wales was not undertaken with the fervour and purpose ...

. The estate was seized by the Seymour family (anciently ''de St. Maur'') and by 1129, Sir Roger de St Maur had built a fortified manor at the site. The house was extended and further fortified in the 15th and 17th centuries. In the 16th century the manor passed to the Somersets. In 1674, it was purchased by the Lewis family of St Pierre. Viscount Rhondda, an industrialist and conservator of ancient buildings in Wales, bought the castle in 1914. By the mid-20th century, the castle was in a state of some dilapidation, until bought and restored by the film director Stephen Weeks. During his tenure the castle was open to the public, while also serving as Weeks’ residence. In 2002 it was sold and reverted to a private home. Penhow is frequently claimed to be the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Wales.

Architecture and description

The architectural historian John Newman, in his ''Gwent/Monmouthshire''

Pevsner Pevsner or Pevzner is a Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aihud Pevsner (1925–2018), American physicist * Antoine Pevsner (1886–1962), Russian sculptor, brother of Naum Gabo * David Pevsner, American actor, singer, da ...

, describes Penhow as "small and nonvincingly defensive". It is constructed of local

Old red sandstone The Old Red Sandstone is an assemblage of rocks in the North Atlantic region largely of Devonian age. It extends in the east across Great Britain, Ireland and Norway, and in the west along the northeastern seaboard of North America. It also exte ...

rubble Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture; undressed especially as a filling-in. Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as 'brash' (compare cornbrash)."Rubble" def. 2., "Brash n. 2. def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionar ...

. The oldest portion of the castle is the west tower, which dates from the time of the Seymours. The two-storeyed hall range is later, of the 14th-15th centuries. Further large-scale remodelling took place in the 17th and 18th centuries, when the castle was refashioned as a comfortable country house. The Cadw listing records notes the "exceptionally fine Restoration period interiors”. The castle is listed Grade II*. Two ranges of ancillary buildings contain some important agricultural structures, each with their own listings; the grouping immediately to the south-west of the castle includes a barn and a

byre A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; th ...

. The grouping farther from the castle to the south includes another barn, a further byre and a stable block.

Notes

References

Sources

* * {{Cite book , last=Newman, first=John , author-mask=1 , series=The Buildings of Wales , title=Gwent/Monmouthshire , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=knRf4U60QjcC&dq=The+Buildings+of+Wales%3A+Gwent%2FMonmouthshire&pg=PA2 , year=2000 , publisher=Penguin , location=London , isbn=0-14-071053-1 Grade II* listed buildings in Newport, Wales Grade II* listed castles in Wales History of Wales