Carew Castle
| Carew Castle | ||
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 Carew Castle in the mouth of the Carew River; in the background the Carew Tidal Mill |
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| Creation time : | 11th century | |
| Castle type : | Niederungsburg | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Geographical location | 51 ° 41 '54 " N , 4 ° 49' 50" W | |
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Carew Castle is a ruined castle in the Welsh county of Pembrokeshire in Great Britain . The ruin, classified as a Grade I cultural monument and protected as a Scheduled Monument , is located north of the small town of Carew on the southern bank of the Carew River .
history
Carew Castle was a mighty Celtic rampart fortified with at least five moats as early as the first millennium AD and perhaps even before Roman times . Finds show that the complex was inhabited until the beginning of the Norman conquest of Wales towards the end of the 11th century, but little is known about its builders and inhabitants.
The castle fell before 1100 as a dowry from the Welsh princess Nest ferch Rhys to her husband, the Norman nobleman Gerald of Windsor . Gerald de Windsor, who had already been appointed castellan of Pembroke Castle by Arnulf de Montgomery , erected a new wooden moth, fortified with earthen walls and palisades, on the site of the rampart .
Nest ferch Rhys was the mistress of Henry I , who then married her to Gerald de Windsor. Her beauty is said to have so impressed the Welsh prince's son Owain ap Cadwgan of Powys that in 1109 he kidnapped Nest ferch Rhys and her children from Gerald's castle, Cenarth Bychan . This castle is often identified with Cilgerran Castle , but it could also have been Carew Castle. Owain is said to have sent Gerald's children back to their father at Nest's request while she stayed with him and bore him two children. Six years later Owain was killed in a battle by Gerald, whereupon Nest returned to Gerald with the children.
After Gerald's death, the castle fell to his son William, who took the name Carew. In the following centuries it remained in the possession of his descendants, who expanded it in several construction phases. In 1212 King Johann Ohneland visited the castle on his way to Pembroke . At that time there was already a stone tower. In the late 13th and early 14th centuries, the castle was expanded by Nicholas de Carew († 1311), who built more stone structures around the inner courtyard. Around 1490 Edmund Carew pawned the castle to Rhys ap Thomas , the royal deputy in South Wales . Rhys ap Thomas made Carew Castle his main residence and made major renovations and extensions. In April 1507 he held a five-day tournament at the castle, in which 600 knights took part and which is considered to be one of the most magnificent and lavish celebrations in the history of Wales.
Rhys ap Thomas grandson Rhys ap Gruffydd FitzUrien was executed for high treason in 1531, which is why the castle fell to the crown. In 1558 Mary I gave the castle to John Perrot , who was Lord Deputy of Ireland under Elizabeth I from 1584 to 1588 . He had the magnificent north wing built. However, in 1592 he was also charged with treason and imprisoned in the Tower of London , where he died before his conviction of natural causes. After his death, the castle was leased, but the tenants could not maintain the extensive complex, which is why some of it fell into disrepair. During the civil war it was occupied by royalists around 1640 and fortified with earth walls. After the end of the civil war, the fortifications were razed by the parliamentary troops, among other things the southern curtain wall was torn down. In 1686 the castle was finally abandoned and fell into disrepair.
Today the castle is part of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and can be visited from late March to early November.
Castle complex
Carew Castle is on the edge of a low rocky outcrop in the plains at the mouth of the Carew River in Milford Haven . The castle was strategically located at a river crossing, up to which the river was navigable in the Middle Ages. The castle is accessed via the east side via the former medieval outer bailey . The foundations of the farm buildings, which were probably demolished after the civil war, are still preserved from the once walled outer bailey, protected by ditches and a gatehouse. The moat was created in the Middle Ages by deepening and widening an existing older moat, which may even date from before the Roman conquest.
From the outer bailey, access leads through a small gatehouse built around 1500 to the inner bailey . The remains of a ravelin from the civil war can still be seen in front of the gatehouse . The main castle is an almost square complex, the inner courtyard of which is enclosed by three wings and a wall. The relatively simple main gate in the east wing, secured only with cast holes and loopholes, dates from the early 14th century. The gate is flanked on the left by the ruins of the mighty, three-storey south-east tower, on the right of the gate are the Old Tower, already mentioned in 1212, and the adjacent residential building from the late 13th century with the chapel tower protruding from the wall. The residential building, which was given a roof again, contained the kitchen in addition to the smaller living hall and the lord's private apartments on the ground floor. The chapel on the upper floor of the chapel tower has a ribbed vault . There was another room above the chapel.
To the south was the only side that the courtyard was not surrounded by buildings. The curtain wall there was razed after the end of the civil war. The west wing from the early 14th century contained the great hall above the vaulted cellar, which extended over the entire wing. Rhys ap Thomas had the hall rebuilt and built the porch , which was decorated with the magnificent coats of arms of Henry VII , his son Arthur and his wife Katharina von Aragon . On the river side, the hall is flanked by two mighty round towers. The north wing was built after 1558, for it the northern curtain wall and probably a northeast tower were demolished. The splendid building is typical of the buildings of the Elizabethan era, horizontally structured and richly decorated with bay windows and large rectangular windows. The east side of the wing is rounded, presumably because it was built on the foundations of the medieval northeast tower. Above the basement, the building on the upper floor contained five rooms, while the top floor contained the continuous, over 40 m long gallery .
Carew Cross and Tide Mill
At the parking lot is the ornate Carew Cross , an 11th century Celtic cross . The cross is similar to the cross of Nevern , its double-sided decorations of knots and loops show Scandinavian influences. The inscription could only be deciphered in the 1940s, after which the cross was erected in memory of Maredudd ap Edwin, who together with his brother Hywel was King of Deheubarth from 1033 and died in battle in 1035. The cross was used as the template for the logo of Cadw , the Welsh state conservation organization.
The Carew River is dammed by a dam, first mentioned in 1630 and located about 250 m below the castle, to form a 9-hectare mill pond. At the south end of the dam there is a tide mill , the mill wheels of which could be operated by the tides. The mill was mentioned as early as 1542, the current three-story building dates from the early 19th century. The mill was in operation until 1938. The functioning mill has been owned by the National Park Authority since 1983.
Carew Castle in the legend
There are said to be several ghosts in the castle. Next to an unhappy kitchen boy climbing with pots and pans, the ghost of Nest ferch Rhys is said to haunt the castle as a white woman. In addition, a Barbary macaque that Sir Rowland Rees, a tenant of the castle in the 18th century, is said to have brought back from a trip, is also said to be a ghost.
literature
- FAH Bloemendal, Alan Hollingsworth: Wales in cameracolour . Town & County Books Ltd, London 1978, ISBN 0-86364-000-1 , p. 64.
Web links
- Official site of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority (English)
- Castles of Wales: Carew Castle
Individual evidence
- ^ British Listed Buildings: Carew Castle, Carew. Retrieved September 5, 2013 .
- ↑ Ancient Monuments: Carew Castle. Retrieved February 11, 2014 .
- ↑ Visit Pembrokeshire: Carew Castle and Tidal Mill. Retrieved September 5, 2013 .
- ↑ Carew Castle: Ghost Stories. Retrieved September 5, 2013 .