Castle Farm, Raglan, in the county of

Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...

, is prominently sited east of

Raglan Castle Raglan Castle () is a Late Middle Ages, late medieval castle located just north of the village of Raglan, Monmouthshire, Raglan in the county of Monmouthshire in south east Wales. The modern castle dates from between the 15th and early 17th cent ...

. The farm is approached from its own drive and shielded from close public view. It was built just before the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

, probably around 1630 and is one of the earliest brick buildings in

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

. It was originally a stable-block for the castle and later became a farm with a farm courtyard. Some of the farm buildings have been converted into a cafe which serves visitors to the castle. The building is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

and may have been built for the 5th Earl of Worcester to serve Raglan Castle.

History and Architecture

The farm is a remarkable, early example of brick architecture in Monmouthshire, although some brick had been used in the building and lining the walls of the Raglan Castle from about 1460 onwards. The long-demolished Red Gate of the castle, under construction in the 1640s, was built entirely of brick. The Herberts also used brick for the ''New Build'' of 1624 at

Montgomery Castle Montgomery Castle () is a stone castle looking over the town of Montgomery in Powys, Mid Wales. It is one of many Norman castles on the border between Wales and England. Its strategic importance in the Welsh Marches meant that it was destroy ...

. The main building of the farmhouse consists of seven bays of red brick with stone dressings and window

mullions A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid sup ...

. In 1674 it was described as ''stables and barns lately built, like unto a small Town''. Some of the stone window mullions may have been re-used from the castle. The brickwork is bonded irregularly, with a decorative course consisting of a serrated band of bricks laid at an angle. The triple chimney stack is also built of brick. At the survey in 1982 the house was recorded as retaining original floor beams and double-collared trusses, with

queen post A queen post is a tension member in a truss that can span longer openings than a king post truss. A king post uses one central supporting post, whereas the queen post truss uses two. Even though it is a tension member, rather than a compression ...

Gallery

File:Castle Farm, Raglan 05.JPG, Detail of early brickwork File:Castle Farm, Raglan 02.JPG, Entry arch File:Castle Farm, Raglan 06.JPG, Arch from within courtyard

References

Sources

* Fox, Sir Cyril and Lord Raglan (1954) ''Monmouthshire Houses'', 1951–4, Vol 3, pp17n, 113, Plate 13d. *Taylor, A.J. (1950), ''Raglan Castle'' (guidebook), p51. *Jones, Sarah (2005), ''Raglan Castle: A landscape survey'', CADW,. p17. * {{Cite book , last=Newman, first=John , authorlink= John Newman (architectural historian) , 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 , location=London , publisher=Penguin , isbn=0-14-071053-1

External links

Detailed history of Castle FarmRaglan Castle Farm
at British Listed Buildings Houses in Monmouthshire Grade II listed buildings in Monmouthshire