Pembroke's town walls are a Grade II*-listed

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

defensive structure around the town of

Pembroke, Pembrokeshire Pembroke ( ; cy, Penfro ) is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 7,552. The names of both the town and the county (of which the county town is Haverfordwest) have a common origin; both are derived from the ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. They were probably built beginning in the late 13th century by the

Earls of Pembroke Earl of Pembroke is a title in the Peerage of England that was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title, which is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, has been recreated ten times from its origin ...

, although it is uncertain when they were finished. Most of the walls have not survived, but there are visible sections and two bastions exist, one with a restored late 18th-century

gazebo A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal or turret-shaped, often built in a park, garden or spacious public area. Some are used on occasions as bandstands. Etymology The etymology given by Oxford Dictionaries is "Mid 18th c ...

atop it.

History

The construction of the town walls by

William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke {{Infobox noble, name=William de Valence, christening_date=, noble family=, house-type=, father= Hugh X of Lusignan, mother=Isabella of Angoulême, birth_name=, birth_date=, birth_place=, christening_place=, styles=, death_date=13 June 1296, death ...

, probably began after the

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 ...

Pembroke Castle Pembroke Castle ( cy, Castell Penfro) is a medieval castle in the centre of Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in Wales. The castle was the original family seat of the Earldom of Pembroke. A Grade I listed building since 1951, it underwent major restorati ...

was completed about 1280 as they tie into the castle's wall. They probably replaced a timber palisade and/or earthen

rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...

that protected the town, most likely at the narrowest point of the peninsula upon which the town is built. Construction was likely continued by his son Aymer (1296–1324), but the walls may not have been completed as there is a 1377 commission that the constable of the castle was charged to 'survey, repair, and fortify the castle and town of Pembroke'. A century later, money was allocated for 'making a stone wall on the south side of the town of Pembroke' in 1479–80, but this may be interpreted as a repair or rebuild of the existing wall, completion of a missing section of wall or the strengthening of the wall, as was done with the Tenby town walls at about the same time by

Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford (November 143121/26 December 1495), was the uncle of King Henry VII of England and a leading architect of his nephew's successful accession to the throne in 1485. He was from the noble Tudor family of Penmynydd i ...

Description

The town walls, built of limestone rubble, had three gates, of which only fragments survive of the West Gate.Edwards, p. 19 The surviving portion of the walls is on the south side of town and extends some from No. 5 Common Road to Rock Terrace. Much of the town wall has been incorporated or rebuilt into more recent structures.

Notes

Bibliography

* *{{cite book, last1=Pembroke Design and Cambria Archaeology, title=Pembroke Town Walls Project, date=2001, publisher=Pembrokeshire County Council, url=http://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/content.asp?nav=107,1447&parent_directory_id=646&id=28754, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423090311/http://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/content.asp?nav=107,1447&parent_directory_id=646&id=28754, archivedate=23 April 2016

External links

Pembroke Town Walls on CofleinPembroke Town Walls Trust websiteTown website with information on the walls
Buildings and structures in Pembrokeshire Grade II* listed buildings in Pembrokeshire City walls in the United Kingdom

walls Walls may refer to: *The plural of wall, a structure *Walls (surname), a list of notable people with the surname Places * Walls, Louisiana, United States * Walls, Mississippi, United States * Walls, Ontario, neighborhood in Perry, Ontario, C ...

History

Description

See also

Notes

Bibliography

External links