Hay Castle

Hay Castle stands in the small town of Hay-on-Wye in Powys, Wales. It began as a Norman ringwork in the late 11th or early 12th century, built to overlook the town. The de Braose family rebuilt it in stone around 1200, adding a curtain wall and turning the gate tower into a keep. Over the centuries it endured attacks during the First and Second Barons' Wars, the Welsh rebellions led by Owain Glyndŵr, and the Wars of the Roses. In the 17th century a Jacobean mansion was added beside the medieval keep, creating a private home. Fires in 1939 and 1977 left much of the castle derelict until restoration began in 2011. The castle is worth visiting for its layered history and recent transformation. The Hay Castle Trust restored the site as a centre for arts, literature and learning, opening it to the public in 2022. Over £5 million in grants from the National Lottery Heritage Fund supported the work, alongside contributions from trusts, foundations and the Welsh Government. The project included stabilising earlier buildings and creating an art gallery and viewing point in the keep. The castle’s Grade I listing recognises its national importance. A fragment of the original curtain wall and two medieval doors survive, offering tangible links to the past. Visitors find a restored Jacobean mansion now used for cultural events and exhibitions. The keep provides a viewing point over the town and surrounding landscape. Remains of the walled garden lie nearby, though parts were sold for housing in the 1970s. The castle site measures roughly 110 by 100 metres, with formal gardens restored outside the keep. The gardens are listed Grade II for their historic interest. The castle’s compact size makes it easy to explore, with clear paths connecting the restored buildings and surviving fragments.