White Castle ( cy, Castell Gwyn), also known historically as Llantilio Castle, is a ruined
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
near the village of
Llantilio Crossenny
Llantilio Crossenny ( cy, Llandeilo Gresynni) is a small village and much larger former community, now in the community of Whitecastle, in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, in the United Kingdom. It is situated between the two towns of Aberga ...
in
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. The fortification was established by the
Normans
The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...
in the wake of the
invasion of England in 1066, to protect the route from Wales to
Hereford
Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...
. Possibly commissioned by
William fitz Osbern
William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford, Lord of Breteuil ( 1011 – 22 February 1071), was a relative and close counsellor of William the Conqueror and one of the great magnates of early Norman England. FitzOsbern was created Earl of Hereford ...
, the
Earl of Hereford
The title of Earl of Hereford was created six times in the Peerage of England. Dates indicate the years the person held the title for.
Earls of Hereford, First Creation (1043)
* Swegen Godwinson (1043–1051)
''earldom forfeit 1051–1052''
Earl ...
, it comprised three large earthworks with timber defences. In 1135, a major Welsh revolt took place and in response King
Stephen
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...
brought together White Castle and its sister fortifications of
Grosmont and
Skenfrith
Skenfrith ( cy, Ynysgynwraidd) is a small village in Monmouthshire, south-east Wales. It is located on the River Monnow, close to the border between Wales and England, about north-west of Monmouth. The road through the village (B4521) was once ...
to form a lordship known as the "
Three Castles
The Three Castles was a former medieval lordship, comprising the fortifications of Grosmont, Skenfrith and White Castle in Monmouthshire, Wales. The castles were established by the Normans in the wake of their conquest of England in 1066, ...
", which continued to play a role in defending the region from Welsh attack for several centuries.
King
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
gave the castle to a powerful royal official,
Hubert de Burgh
Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent (; ; ; c.1170 – before 5 May 1243) was an English nobleman who served as Justiciar, Chief Justiciar of England and Ireland during the reigns of King John, King of England, John and of his son and successor Kin ...
, in 1201. Over the next few decades, it passed back and forth between several owners, as Hubert, the rival de Braose family, and
the Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
took control of the property. During this period, White Castle was substantially rebuilt, with stone
curtain walls, mural towers and
gatehouse
A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the mos ...
s, forming what the historian Paul Remfry considers to be "a masterpiece of military engineering".
In 1267 it was granted to
Edmund
Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector".
Persons named Edmund include:
People Kings and ...
, the
Earl of Lancaster
The title of Earl of Lancaster was created in the Peerage of England in 1267. It was succeeded by the title Duke of Lancaster in 1351, which expired in 1361. (The most recent creation of the ducal title merged with the Crown in 1413.)
King Henry ...
, and remained in the hands of the earldom, and later
duchy
A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a Middle Ages, medieval country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition.
There once exis ...
, of Lancaster until 1825.
Edward I
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...
's
conquest of Wales
The conquest of Wales by Edward I took place between 1277 and 1283. It is sometimes referred to as the Edwardian Conquest of Wales,Examples of historians using the term include Professor J. E. Lloyd, regarded as the founder of the modern academi ...
in 1282 removed much of White Castle's military utility, and by the 16th century it had fallen into disuse and ruin. The castle was placed into the care of the state in 1922, and is now managed by
Cadw
(, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage s ...
, the Welsh heritage agency.
History
11th–12th centuries
White Castle was built in the wake of the
Norman invasion of England
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conquer ...
in 1066. Shortly after the invasion, the Normans pushed into the
Welsh Marches
The Welsh Marches ( cy, Y Mers) is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods.
The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ...
, where
William the Conqueror
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...
made
William fitz Osbern
William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford, Lord of Breteuil ( 1011 – 22 February 1071), was a relative and close counsellor of William the Conqueror and one of the great magnates of early Norman England. FitzOsbern was created Earl of Hereford ...
the
Earl of Hereford
The title of Earl of Hereford was created six times in the Peerage of England. Dates indicate the years the person held the title for.
Earls of Hereford, First Creation (1043)
* Swegen Godwinson (1043–1051)
''earldom forfeit 1051–1052''
Earl ...
; Earl William added to his new lands by capturing the towns of
Monmouth
Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...
and
Chepstow
Chepstow ( cy, Cas-gwent) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the western ...
. The Normans used castles extensively to subdue the Welsh, establish new settlements and exert their claims of lordship over the territories.
![The ruins of White Castle on a gloomy October day - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/The_ruins_of_White_Castle_on_a_gloomy_October_day_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1007095.jpg)
Originally called Llantilio Castle, White Castle was one of three fortifications built in the
Monnow valley around the same time, possibly by Earl William himself, to protect the route from Wales to Hereford, and overlooked the manor of
Llantilio Crossenny
Llantilio Crossenny ( cy, Llandeilo Gresynni) is a small village and much larger former community, now in the community of Whitecastle, in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, in the United Kingdom. It is situated between the two towns of Aberga ...
and the River Monnow. The first castle on the site was built from earth and timber, with three large earthworks forming an inner and outer ward, and a
hornwork
A hornwork is an element of the Italian bastion system of fortification. Its face is flanked with a pair of demi-bastions.
It is distinguished from a crownwork, because crownworks contain full bastions at their centers. They are both outwork
...
protecting the main entrance to the south.
A
mill
Mill may refer to:
Science and technology
*
* Mill (grinding)
* Milling (machining)
* Millwork
* Textile mill
* Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel
* List of types of mill
* Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...
was constructed at Great Trerhew to grind corn for the castle garrison.
The earldom's landholdings in the region were slowly broken up after William's son,
Roger de Breteuil
Roger de Breteuil, 2nd Earl of Hereford (1056 – after 1087), succeeded in 1071 to the earldom of Hereford and the English estate of his father, William Fitz-Osbern. He is known to history for his role in the Revolt of the Earls.
Revolt o ...
, rebelled against
the Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
in 1075.
In 1135, a major Welsh revolt took place, and in response King
Stephen
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...
restructured the landholdings along this section of the Marches, bringing White Castle and its sister fortifications of Grosmont and Skenfrith back under the control of the Crown to form a lordship known as the "
Three Castles
The Three Castles was a former medieval lordship, comprising the fortifications of Grosmont, Skenfrith and White Castle in Monmouthshire, Wales. The castles were established by the Normans in the wake of their conquest of England in 1066, ...
".
[
Conflict with the Welsh continued, and following a period of detente under Henry II in the 1160s, the de Mortimer and de Braose Marcher families attacked their Welsh rivals during the 1170s, leading to a Welsh assault on nearby ]Abergavenny Castle
Abergavenny Castle ( cy, Castell y Fenni) is a ruined castle in the market town of Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales, established by the Norman lord Hamelin de Balun . It was the site of a massacre of Welsh noblemen in 1175, and was attacked ...
in 1182. In response, the Crown readied the castle to face an attack and, between 1184 and 1186, work costing £128 was carried out by Ralph of Grosmont, a royal official, probably to build a stone curtain wall around the inner ward and to add a small stone keep
A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...
to the defences.
13th–17th centuries
In 1201, King John gave the Three Castles to Hubert de Burgh
Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent (; ; ; c.1170 – before 5 May 1243) was an English nobleman who served as Justiciar, Chief Justiciar of England and Ireland during the reigns of King John, King of England, John and of his son and successor Kin ...
. Hubert was a minor landowner who had become John's household chamberlain
Chamberlain may refer to:
Profession
*Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure
People
*Chamberlain (surname)
**Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...
when he was still a prince, and went on to become an increasingly powerful royal official once John inherited the throne.[; ] At this time, White Castle was primarily a military fortification, holding a garrison and stores of arrows and crossbow
A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an elastic launching device consisting of a bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar fashion to the stock of a long fi ...
bolts. It was relatively exposed to the elements and had, at best, only basic accommodation; the historian Cathcart King describes the conditions in the castle as likely to have been "miserable", "squalid" and "unpleasant".
Hubert began to upgrade his new castles, starting with Grosmont, but was captured while fighting in France.[ During Hubert's captivity, King John took back the Three Castles and gave them to William de Braose, a rival of Hubert's.] King John subsequently fell out with William and dispossessed him of his lands in 1207, but de Braose's son, also called William, took the opportunity presented by the First Barons' War
The First Barons' War (1215–1217) was a civil war in the Kingdom of England in which a group of rebellious major landowners (commonly referred to as barons) led by Robert Fitzwalter waged war against King John of England. The conflict resulte ...
to retake the castles.[; ]
Once released, Hubert regained his grip on power, becoming the royal justiciar
Justiciar is the English form of the medieval Latin term ''justiciarius'' or ''justitiarius'' ("man of justice", i.e. judge). During the Middle Ages in England, the Chief Justiciar (later known simply as the Justiciar) was roughly equivalent ...
and being made the Earl of Kent
The peerage title Earl of Kent has been created eight times in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In fiction, the Earl of Kent is also known as a prominent supporting character in William Shakespeare's tragedy K ...
, before finally recovering the Three Castles in 1219 during the reign of King Henry III.[ Hubert fell from power in 1232 and was stripped of the castles, which were placed under the command of Walerund Teutonicus, a royal servant; having been reconciled with the King in 1234, the castles were briefly returned to Hubert, but he fell out with King Henry III again in 1239 and they were taken back and assigned to Walerund. Walerund built a new ]hall
In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gr ...
, buttery and pantry
A pantry is a room or cupboard where beverages, food, and sometimes dishes, household cleaning products, linens or provisions are stored within a home or office. Food and beverage pantries serve in an ancillary capacity to the kitchen.
Etymol ...
at the castle in 1244. In 1254, White Castle and its sister fortifications were granted to King Henry's eldest son, and later King, Prince Edward
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...
.[
During the 13th century, the castle was almost entirely rebuilt, although historians have put forward two possible timelines for when this work was carried out.][ The conventional historical dating places the construction in the 1250s and 1260s, as a single programme of work consisting in the keep being demolished, a new gatehouse and four ]mural tower
A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variety of different shapes and ful ...
s constructed and the outer ward reinforced with a stone wall and gatehouse of its own. Paul Remfry argues that the work occurred somewhat earlier during Hubert's tenure, being carried out in two waves between 1229–1231 and 1234–1239. Around this time the fortification is first described in the records as the "White Castle", due to the white rendering applied to its external walls.[
The Welsh threat persisted, and in 1262 the castle was readied in response to Prince ]Llywelyn ap Gruffudd
Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (c. 1223 – 11 December 1282), sometimes written as Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, also known as Llywelyn the Last ( cy, Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf, lit=Llywelyn, Our Last Leader), was the native Prince of Wales ( la, Princeps Wall ...
's attack on Abergavenny in 1262; commanded by its constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
Gilbert Talbot, Grosmont was ordered to be garrisoned "by every man, and at whatever cost".[ The threat passed without incident.][
]Edmund
Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector".
Persons named Edmund include:
People Kings and ...
, the Earl of Lancaster
The title of Earl of Lancaster was created in the Peerage of England in 1267. It was succeeded by the title Duke of Lancaster in 1351, which expired in 1361. (The most recent creation of the ducal title merged with the Crown in 1413.)
King Henry ...
and the '' capitaneus'' of the royal forces in Wales, was given the Three Castles in 1267 and for many centuries they were held by the earldom, later duchy
A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a Middle Ages, medieval country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition.
There once exis ...
, of Lancaster. King Edward I
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...
's conquest of Wales
The conquest of Wales by Edward I took place between 1277 and 1283. It is sometimes referred to as the Edwardian Conquest of Wales,Examples of historians using the term include Professor J. E. Lloyd, regarded as the founder of the modern academi ...
in 1282 removed much of White Castle's military utility, although it continued to be used in the administration of the surrounding manor, and for mustering military levies. Little further work was carried out on the fortification, although one of the gatehouse towers was repaired at some point, and repairs were carried out to the chapel tower and gatehouse under King Henry VI. By 1538, White Castle had fallen into disuse and then into ruin; a 1613 description noted that it was "ruynous and decayed".[
]
18th–21st centuries
In 1825, the Three Castles were sold off to Henry Somerset, the Duke of Beaufort
Duke of Beaufort (), a title in the Peerage of England, was created by Charles II in 1682 for Henry Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Worcester, a descendant of Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, legitimised son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of So ...
. In 1902, Henry Somerset, the 9th Duke, sold White Castle to Sir Henry Mather Jackson.[ Evidence was given to the Royal Commission on Ancient Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire in 1909, stating that Sir Henry had taken steps to strip the castle of ivy and that it was now in a good condition; the site was apparently looked after by an old woman, who charged visitors for entry. The castle was placed into the care of the state in 1922.][ In the 21st century, White Castle is managed by the Welsh heritage agency ]Cadw
(, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage s ...
and is protected under UK law as a grade I 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 Irel ...
.
Architecture
White Castle occupies a hill near the village of Llantilio Crossenny, overlooking the surrounding landscape. The castle dates mainly from the 13th century and is made up of a central inner ward
The inner bailey or inner ward of a castle is the strongly fortified enclosure at the heart of a medieval castle.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 22. It is protected by the outer w ...
, a crescent-shaped hornwork to the south, and an outer ward
An outer bailey or outer ward is the defended outer enclosure of a castle.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 22. It protects the inner bailey and usually contains those ancillary buil ...
to the north, with its stonework constructed from red sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
. The outer ward was originally much larger, extending around the castle further to the east, but only limited traces of these earthworks survive.[ It is now entered from the north-east although, before the 13th century, the entrance was originally on the south side.][ The historian Paul Remfry considers the castle to be "a masterpiece of military engineering" for the period.]
The outer ward is across, accessed by a gatehouse on the eastern edge and defended by a stone curtain wall, a dry ditch and four mural towers. The gatehouse, which survives up to in height, originally had a portcullis
A portcullis (from Old French ''porte coleice'', "sliding gate") is a heavy vertically-closing gate typically found in medieval fortifications, consisting of a latticed grille made of wood, metal, or a combination of the two, which slides down gr ...
and a drawbridge
A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable ...
. Three of the towers were circular in design, but one was rectangular and would have been used as lodgings for a household official. There was a large building, probably a barn, across, on the north-western edge of the ward, alongside a group of smaller buildings, but all have since been lost.[
The inner ward is approximately across, protected by a deep, ]revetted
A revetment in stream restoration, river engineering or coastal engineering is a facing of impact-resistant material (such as stone, concrete, sandbags, or wooden piles) applied to a bank or wall in order to absorb the energy of incoming water a ...
, water-filled moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...
, dug out of the rock. The curtain wall has four circular, four-storey towers and a gatehouse, with domestic buildings reaching around the insides of the defences. The four-storey gatehouse is flanked by two circular towers and would originally have had a portcullis and a drawbridge. It would originally have been used by the castle's constable or steward. Stretching eastwards from the gatehouse are the castle's hall, the constable's living quarters, the chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
– partially contained in one of the towers- the remains of the earlier keep, service buildings and the kitchen block. Only the foundations of these buildings survive. A postern gate
A postern is a secondary door or gate in a fortification such as a city wall or castle curtain wall. Posterns were often located in a concealed location which allowed the occupants to come and go inconspicuously. In the event of a siege, a postern ...
in the inner ward leads through to the southern hornwork, which would originally have been linked by a wooden bridge, protected by timber defences and towers, with later stone additions, of which only traces remain.
White Castle has unusual arrow loop
An arrowslit (often also referred to as an arrow loop, loophole or loop hole, and sometimes a balistraria) is a narrow vertical aperture in a fortification through which an archer can launch arrows or a crossbowman can launch bolts.
The interi ...
s, with the two arms of a conventional cross-shaped loop offset vertically, so that one side is higher than the other. Historians have contrasting views of the effectiveness of this design; they might have been a sensible way to ensure that the defenders could fire down the slopes around the castle, or to give better protection from incoming shot, although tests in 1980 showed them to have been extremely vulnerable to incoming shots.[; ; ]
See also
* Castles in Great Britain and Ireland
Castles have played an important military, economic and social role in Great Britain and Ireland since their introduction following the Norman invasion of England in 1066. Although a small number of castles had been built in England in the 1050 ...
* List of castles in Wales
Wales is sometimes called the "castle capital of the world" because of the large number of castles in a relatively small area. Wales had about 600 castles, of which over 100 are still standing, either as ruins or as restored buildings. The ...
* Three Castles walk
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
{{Commons category, White Castle
Cadw visitor's page
Grade I listed castles in Monmouthshire
Scheduled monuments in Monmouthshire
Castle ruins in Wales
Tourist attractions in Monmouthshire