St Briavels Castle

St Briavels Castle stands on a spur above the River Wye in Gloucestershire. Built of local sandstone and limestone, it dominates the western edge of the Forest of Dean. A wet moat once surrounded the site, now filled and used as a garden. The castle’s keep, a square Norman tower, collapsed in the 18th century. A surviving curtain wall encloses the bailey, where medieval domestic buildings still stand. The castle’s Edwardian gatehouse is a masterpiece of royal masonry. It has two massive D-shaped towers linked by a high passage with three portcullises. The gatehouse was once taller, with a drawbridge removed in the 20th century. Smaller portcullises defend the porters’ lodges inside. The gatehouse’s octagonal spurs protect against undermining, a feature shared with nearby castles. Inside the bailey, a restored hall and solar provide a glimpse of royal lodgings. The chapel retains 17th-century windows, and a sunken pit prison shows graffiti from 1671. The famous ‘Forester’s Horn’ chimney marks the warden’s authority. The castle’s history includes royal hunting lodges and a longbow arrow workshop. Today it serves as a Youth Hostel, open to visitors.