In a land of castles, Chepstow can claim a special status. Not only does it have a magnificent location on the banks of the River Wye, but it is also a history lesson in stone – demonstrating, perhaps better than any other site, the changes in medieval military architecture in Britain. It was the first castle in Wales built entirely of stone, with no primary timber base, and guarded a strategic river crossing into Wales.

The castle was started just after the Battle of Hastings of 1066 by William Fitz Osbern, as a stronghold for William the Conqueror’s takeover of South East Wales. William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, provided a curtain wall and two towers in about 1200, whilst his sons added a gatehouse and barbican. Richard Bigod III later equipped the castle with accommodation appropriate to his rank, including a tower with a private suite of rooms. For Henry Marten, a signatory to the death warrant of King Charles I, the tower became a prison until his death, following the Restoration of Charles II in 1660.

There are also life size models of the medieval lords who occupied the castle and a dramatic Civil War battle scene which illustrates the changing role of Chepstow Castle throughout the Middle Ages.