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Penhow Castle
Penhow Castle,
situated in the countryside between Chepstow and Newport, claims to be the oldest inhabited castle in Wales. It was
built as a home for one of the knights who served the Lord at Chepstow Castle. Sir Roger de St Maur
was the first Norman owner of Penhow and he built a tower house in which to live. Documentary evidence shows that he
was at Penhow by 1129. It was the first British home of the family who would later rise to national prominence under
the more familiar name of Seymour.
A curtain
wall enclosed a small courtyard beside the stone tower. Over the centuries more comfortable dwellings were built beside the
tower, leaving very little space in the courtyard and incorporating or replacing most of the curtain wall so that only the
length on the east side remains. The range to the south is a medieval manor house that received alterations up to the Tudor
period. In the late 17th century the north range was replaced by a new house, built for the Lewis family.
By 1714
the castle was owned by absentee landlords, and it was tenanted as a farm. The castle was largely derelict when it was bought
in 1973, but the new resident owner has since made extensive restorations and opened the castle to the public.
Penhow Castle is unusual
for its intimate scale. Although long known by this title, it might better be described as a fortified manor house. Unlike
the large castles in Wales, Penhow has an almost unbroken history of family occupation. The 12th century keep tower dominates
an ensemble which includes a 15th century hall block and the late 17th century domestic section which is visible from the
old Chepstow Road.
N.B. As of July 2003
the castle is not open to the public.
The figure of a young girl aged in her teens has been seen "scurrying from
the Great Hall". She has been described as being of a short build and wearing a blue-grey apron.
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| Penhow Castle takes on a different air after dark |
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