Manorbier Castle

Manorbier Castle (Welsh: Castell Maenorbŷr) is a Norman castle in Manorbier, 5 miles (8.0 km) southwest of Tenby, Wales. It was founded in the late 11th century by the Anglo-Norman de Barry family. The castle was part of a mesne lordship under the control of the medieval Earls of Pembroke.

Manorbier enclosure castle has curtain walls and round and square towers. Standing on a natural coastal promontory with no external moat, the main entrance to the inner ward is a tower gateway with a portcullis, a roof, embrasures and a heavy iron/wood door. A postern gate provided access to the beach and the sea. The southeast tower is round; the northeast is angular. The castle's domestic ranges, which were completed in the 1140s, included kitchens, apartments and a Great hall. Windows replaced the arrowslits in the domestic range. A chapel with elaborate vaulting and plaster-work was built c. 1260. Some of the original medieval frescoes survive.

Earthworks completed an outer ward. There was no barbican. A bridge across a neck ditch linked the inner and outer wards.

The land was granted to Odo de Barri, a Norman knight, at the end of the 11th century. Initially, he constructed a motte-and-bailey castle on the site which had a wooden keep defended by a palisade and earthworks embankments. In the early part of the 12th century, William de Barri, Odo's son, used locally quarried Limestone to strengthen the fortification.

In 1146 Gerald of Wales, the great 12th-century scholar known as Geraldus Cambrensis was born at the castle. He was the fourth and youngest son of William de Barri, who was related on his mother's side, to the legendary Welsh princess Nest ferch Rhys. Gerald wrote of his birthplace:

"In all the broad lands of Wales, Manorbier is the most pleasant place by far."

In the castle's history, it was only attacked twice; both were minor skirmishes. In 1327, Richard de Barri assaulted Manorbier in a dispute over family succession. Then 300 years later during the English Civil War, the castle was seized in 1645 by Parliamentarian forces. It was then slighted to prevent further military use by the Royalists.

Through the 17th and 18th centuries, Manorbier fell into decay. However, in 1880 the castle was partially restored by J.R.Cobb, a tenant who carried out repairs to the buildings and walls.

Text adapted from “Manorbier Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Manorbier Castle ranks #1,968 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #30 of the 100 mapped in Wales. Founded 1200, it is older than 77% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 544 atlas entries founded in the 12th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,823 times in the last 60 days, more than 64% of the atlas. 10 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Swansea, 59 km away. See how Wales compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗