Raglan, The Castle, South Side And Keep 1893

Photo ref: 32534

More about this scene

Raglan Castle is probably one of the most majestic castles in Wales. Set upon a ridge amidst a wondrous landscape, it has cast an impressive shadow over the area for centuries. Like most Norman structures, the castle was the successor of a motte and bailey fortification. Raglan was granted to Walter Bloet by Earl Richard de Clair of Chepstow around 1174, and in return Bloet had to provide the earl with military assistance. Raglan remained in the Bloet family until the mid 15th century. Then it passed into the hands of William ap Thomas, a member of the minor Welsh gentry, who began to build the castle as we see it today. Following the death of William ap Thomas in 1445, the castle passed into the hands of his eldest son, another William, who took the surname Herbert. It was this William Herbert and his family who were entrusted to bring up the young Henry Tudor (later Henry VII) at Raglan. Herbert was to rise to the position of earl of Pembroke, thus becoming one of the first members of the Welsh gentry to rise in the English peerage.

An extract from Monmouthshire Photographic Memories.