Grosmont Castle

Grosmont Castle stands in the Monnow valley village of Grosmont, Monmouthshire. Built by the Normans after 1066, it began as an earth-and-timber fort on a motte with a ditch and palisade. The castle protected the road from Wales to Hereford and formed part of the ‘Three Castles’ lordship with Skenfrith and White Castle. In the 12th century it passed through several hands before Hubert de Burgh rebuilt it in stone, adding a hall, curtain wall, gatehouse and mural towers. Later it belonged to the Earls and Dukes of Lancaster for centuries until the state took charge in 1922. The castle’s long military history includes a royal siege camp in 1233, a 14th-century modernisation that created comfortable apartments, and a brief role during the Glyndŵr Rising when it was besieged in 1405. After Edward I’s conquest of Wales its fighting days ended, and by the 16th century it was already ruinous. The historian Jeremy Knight describes its later medieval form as a small but comfortable residence with a deer park around it. Visitors today see grass-grown ruins of the stone hall and curtain wall, with parts of the gatehouse and mural towers still standing. The motte and ditch remain from the original earthwork, and the basement of the north block has been cleared of debris. Managed by Cadw, the castle offers quiet views across the Monnow valley and an impression of its role in medieval border warfare.