Chepstow Castle: Explore the former Castle Striguil in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales

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• published: 11 Oct 2015
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We left from Brighton, right across the Severn River, but the Sat-Nav took us by way of Gloucester. What should have been about 30 minutes took a couple of hours. We were too late to go into the castle so we took a walk down by the River Wye and began looking for a room for the night. We had a hard time finding one for 3 adults, but we did get one at the Beaufort Hotel then ate dinner at The Bell Hanger just down the street. The next morning we got to the castle too early and wasted time by walking around the back side of the castle, which we probably would not have done if we had been able to go in immediately. The castle is surprisingly well hidden by the large trees that have been growing around it for decades. I was impressed with the fine stone-work on the newer buildings. Unfortunately, little is left of the interior of the Great Hall, which was built by our ancestors. It was kind of surprising to enter the upper bailey, built by William Marshal's sons, and find the wicker figure of a knight bearing the Earl of Pembroke arms that originated with William Marshal. At Chepstow Castle we signed up for the CADW (pronounced cadoo) Explorer Pass. This allowed us to get into many Welsh historical sites for free. The one we got was good for 7 days, but we could only use it for 3 of them: 3 days over a 7 day period. It quickly paid for itself. Originally called Castle Striguil, Chepstow Castle was built by our ancestor William fitz Osbern around 1067 of stone instead of wood. Fitz Osbern was a close friend of William the Conqueror and was asked to built a fortification to defend the newly conquered kingdom from the Welsh. Some stone was re-used from the Roman ruins of Caerwent. The name Striguil comes from "ystraigl" - Welsh for "a bend in the river". The priory church and town were called Chepstow from Old English or Saxon "ceap/ chepe stowe" meaning marketplace. In the 14th century the name of the castle was changed to match. Fitz Osbern built the Great Hall keep and wall around the middle bailey. Fitz Osbern's son Roger de Breteuil plotted against King William I (the Conqueror) so his lands were forfeit and he was imprisoned. The castle was given to the de Clare family and found its way to Richard "Strongbow" de Clare. It passed to William Marshal on his marriage to Isabel, Strongbow's daughter. Marshal refortified the walls and added the rounded, protruding towers. He also extended the castle with a lower bailey and gatehouse. His sons added the upper bailey and barbican (fortification outside the main wall) and enlarged the Great Hall. In 1270 Chepstow Castle was inherited by Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk, who was William Marshal's great-grandson by one of his daughters, as none of Marshal's sons had heirs. Bigod built new lodgings in the lower bailey, and also built the "Port Wall" around Chepstow town. He later built Marten's Tower and remodeled the Great Hall. Chepstow fell to the Parliamentarians during the Civil War and was used as an artillery fort and barracks. After the Restoration of the Monarchy it was used as a prison. Henry Marten (one of the signers of the death warrant for Charles I) was kept in the tower that now bears his name. The garrison was later disbanded and the castle left to ruin. Parts of it were used as a farm and a glass factory. By the 18th century it was one of the features on the "Wye Tour": pleasure boat trips down the river from Monmouth. The first guide book of Chepstow Castle was written by Charles Heath and published in 1793. Our William FitzOsbern line http://www.missouri-mule.com/fitzosbern.html#Family:%20William%20Fitzosbern Our William Marshal lineage http://www.missouri-mule.com/marshall.html Our William the Conqueror lineage http://www.missouri-mule.com/dukesofnormandy.html#Family:%20William%20the%20Conqueror Chepstow Castle at CADW http://cadw.gov.wales/splash?orig=/daysout/chepstow-castle/ Official Chepstow Castle Site http://cadw.gov.wales/daysout/chepstow-castle/?lang=en Chepstow Town Site http://www.chepstow-wales.com Chepstow Castle at Castle Wales http://www.castlewales.com/chepstow Chepstow Castle is on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ChepstowCastle