The South Western Towers, left, and the Great Hall, right.

Abergavenny Castle

Abergavenny Castle today, pictured above, is a picturesque ruin set against a spectacular backdrop of the mountains which surround the town. The restored early 19th century hunting lodge built on the original motte houses the Abergavenny Museum which has an interesting collection of artefacts, a Victorian Welsh farmhouse kitchen, a saddler's workshop among other displays. The museum hosts a number of exhibitions throughout the year, and has quizzes and workshops for children (see 'Museum' page).

The castle was founded circa 1087 by the Norman lord Hamelin de Ballon, and the artist's impression, right, shows the first wooden keep on a steep hillock with a palisaded top and bottom, which was surrounded by a ditch still visible in the castle garden below the lodge. The bailey was also protected by a palisade and ditch.

From about 1190 the Normans started to rebuild the castle in stone, first the keep then the curtain walls with five towers, each capable of independent defence.
The only remains of the original castle are the motte, on which the museum stands, and a length of Norman bank discovered under the east tower in 1990.

King John visited the castle in 1215 when it was in royal hands. The castle was at its most splendid in the 13th and 14th centuries, but as peace returned to this turbulent border area only a constable and a small garrison would have been left in occupation. Since the early 15th century no Lords of Abergavenny have lived at the castle.

It was still strong enough to be held for the king in the Civil War, but Charles I ordered it to be rendered uninhabitable as Parliamentary forces approached in 1645.
It was then used as a quarry for local buildings until appreciation of castles became more fashionable. Now, it still has a number of interesting features.

The motte: On this high ground in 1087 first stood the wooden and then a stone round keep. From the Regency hunting lodge built there in 1819 for the Marquis of Abergavenny, a gentle slope now leads to the site of the bailey.

The cellars: Considerable stores of food would have been needed in a castle that was often under attack by the Welsh. Stables, accommodation for the lord's family and army, a chapel, barns, and kitchens would have occupied much of the present space inside the curtain wall of the bailey.

Eastern towers: High above Mill Street are the remains of two large projecting towers, built to provide crossfire along the base of the adjoining wall.

North wall: The high wall at this point looked out across a defensive ditch to the medieval township beyond. The outer walls here and elsewhere in the castle are modern boundaries.

Gatehouse: This was probably built to strengthen the castle entrance about the time of Owain Glyndwr attacks in 1404. Still visibly are the stops for the heavy doors, draw-bar holes and the battered base of the west-facing wall. Above the gateway passage are the remains of a pleasant room with a large window and fireplace.

Great Hall: Just inside the gatehouse, an outside staircase leads to the north doorway of the banqueting hall, built at first floor level for defensive reasons. The corbels on the west wall probably supported a hammer-beam roof. It was here that William de Braose massacred Sitsyllt and other Welsh leaders at Christmas 1175.

Worth viewing from two sides is a small window at the south end of the hall. There is evidence of the use of wooden shutters; parchment and horn were also used when glass was unsuitable or simply could not be afforded. The angled thickening of the lower wall acted as a defence against undermining and caused missiles dropped from above to ricochet horizontally.

South Western towers: These were built around 1300 when the castle was at its most splendid to provide living quarters for the Hastings family.
A circular staircase would have led to a passage beneath the three large windows on the first floor.
The square garderobe tower and outlet are best seen from the outside.