Pembroke Castle

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The west face of Pembroke Castle. The massive keep was built in 1200 AD. Its height is 23 metres (75 feet) and the walls at its base are 6 metres (19 feet) thick.

Pembroke Castle is a medieval castle in Pembroke, Wales.

[edit] History

The history of the site goes back at least to the Roman period, although there are no remains of that period visible.

Located in the centre of the town of Pembroke, it is one of the most impressive Norman castles in Wales, first established in 1093, when the Norman Conquest of Wales was not complete.

In 1138, it became the property of Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke. William Marshall received the castle through marriage and became Earl of Pembroke. He was responsible for comissioning the circular stone keep. Later the castle was given to Jasper Tudor along with the earldom, and he brought his widowed sister-in-law, Margaret Beaufort, to the castle to give birth to her only child, the future King Henry VII of England (1457).

Most of the damage to the castle was done during the English Civil War, when its owners changed sides. After the war Oliver Cromwell, who was personally present at a seige here, encouraged local townspeople to disassemble the structure, stone by stone for their own re-use. Today the castle is in the care of Cadw and open to the public. It is the largest privately owned castle in Wales.