Caldicot Castle () is an extensive stone

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

in the town of

Caldicot, Monmouthshire Caldicot () is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales. The town is located between Chepstow and the city of Newport, Wales, Newport. The site adjoins the Caldicot and Wentloog Levels, Caldicot Levels, on the nor ...

, in southeast

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, built near the site of

Harold Godwinson Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon King of England. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, the decisive battle of the Norman ...

's former

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

castle by the Norman earls of Hereford from about 1100.Welsh Country Homes: Caldicot Castle (1)
'' The Cardiff Times'', 12 November 1910, at Welsh Newspapers Online,

National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales (, ) in Aberystwyth is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million books and periodicals, and the l ...

The castle became a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

on 10 June 1953. It was in the possession of Thomas of Woodstock, a son of King

Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

, until his death in 1391, when it reverted to the Crown.

Caldicot Estate

Caldicot is mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086, not for its castle, but as an agricultural holding of Durand of Gloucester, Sheriff of Gloucestershire. Walter FitzRoger, Durand's nephew, inherited his lands as well as his father's office of Constable of England which remained with the lords of Caldicot. Walter's son Milo was granted the Earldom of Hereford to add to his titles. In the time of

Henry I of England Henry I ( – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in 1087, Henr ...

the castle was probably a simple

motte-and-bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively eas ...

.Charles W.C. Oman, ''Castles: An illustrated guide to 80 castles of England and Wales'', Beekman House, 1978 Printing,

Bohun family

Milo's five sons died childless so his eldest daughter, Margaret, took to her marriage with Humphrey II de Bohun the Earldom of Hereford, the Constableship of England, and Caldicot. Their son

Humphrey III de Bohun Humphrey III de Bohun (before 1144 – ? December 1181) of Trowbridge Castle in Wiltshire and of Caldicot Castle in south-east Wales, 5th feudal baron of Trowbridge, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and general who served King Henry II as Lord High ...

was the probable builder, in about 1170, of the stone

keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

and curtain walls of the present-day castle. The Bohun family held the manor and castle of Caldicot for more than two centuries, over eight generations.

Thomas of Woodstock

In 1376 the manor, along with 70 others, passed to Thomas of Woodstock, the fifth son of King Edward III of England, when he married Alianore de Bohun. On the death of

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

the throne passed to his grandson, the nine-year-old

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...

. As the new king's uncle, Thomas played an important role advising him. He was appointed Constable of England. He rarely visited Caldicot, his main estates being at Pleshey in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, close to the seat of power. In 1381, however,

was convulsed by the

Peasants' Revolt The Peasants' Revolt, also named Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Black ...

. This may be why Thomas decided to spend part of that year in Caldicot. During his stay he gave orders for major new work to be done on the castle. A new gatehouse and drawbridge were constructed. At the rear of the castle a dovecote was replaced by a new tower with private chambers, now known as the Woodstock tower. At the foot of the Woodstock tower two carved stones were to be placed, one marked 'Thomas' the other 'Alianore'. As time passed relations between Thomas and King Richard grew increasingly strained. In 1397, on the orders of the king, Thomas was kidnapped and murdered. His property was confiscated and passed into the hands of the Crown.

House of Lancaster

In 1399 Henry Bolingbroke seized the throne from Richard, and although Mary de Bohun did not live to see her husband crowned Henry IV, her son, born at Monmouth Castle, would be one of the country's great heroes,

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...

, victor of Agincourt. The division of the de Bohuns estates was revised after the death of Alianore and Mary de Bohun's mother Joan, who had outlived both of her daughters by some twenty years. Alianore's eldest daughter and heir, Anne, lost Caldicot to Mary's son King Henry V, and so Caldicot became part of the great

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is an estate of the British sovereign. The estate has its origins in the lands held by the medieval Dukes of Lancaster, which came under the direct control of the monarch when Henry Bolingbroke, the then duke of Lancast ...

. Held by Henry's widow, Katherine of Valois, Caldicot was later granted into the stewardship of the Herbert family for much of the fifteenth century, and then leased in the sixteenth century to their successors the Somersets with their power base at Raglan.

Decline, neglect and restoration

Caldicot Castle was evidently neglected, fell into ruin and became little more than a farmyard. The castle was sold to Charles Lewis of

St Pierre Saint-Pierre (French, 'Saint Peter', ) may refer to: Buildings and churches * Fort Saint Pierre, Ontario, Canada * Church of Saint-Pierre, Caen, Normandy, France * Église Saint-Pierre le Vieux ( Old Saint Peter's Church, Strasbourg), Strasb ...

in 1857. In 1885 he sold it to Joseph Richard Cobb, who began the restoration of the castle as his family home.Welsh Country Homes: Caldicot Castle (2)
'' The Cardiff Times'', 12 November 1910, at Welsh Newspapers Online,

From 1885 to 1964, the Cobb family owned the castle. Joseph Cobb's family remained at the castle after his death and it was his son Geoffry Wheatly Cobb, and in particular his daughter-in-law Anna, who continued the work of restoration. In the early twentieth century, many rooms were decorated with memorabilia from Nelson's first flagship, HMS '' Foudroyant'' which was owned by Geoffry Wheatly Cobb at the end of its life. G. W. Cobb died in 1931 and, after Anna's death in 1943, the castle passed to Joseph's grandson, Geoffry Richard Wheatly Cobb who created furnished apartments for renting in three of the towers and also in parts of the gatehouse. In 1964, Chepstow Rural District Council bought the castle from the Cobb family for £12,000, at a time when the increasing availability of

council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council housing or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. D ...

had supplanted the local need for the castle apartments. The building, including a small museum, was opened to the public in 1965. After 1967, medieval-style banquets were held there.Thomas T. Birbeck, ''Caldicot from Village to Town'', Chepstow: Chepstow Society, 1977,

Gallery

File:Caldicot Castle.jpeg, Caldicot Castle in 1800 File:Caldicot castle, Caldicot level, Monmouthshire.jpeg, ca. 1830 engraving File:Caldicot. Castle.jpeg, 1838 File:The South West View Of Caldicot Castle, In The County Of Monmouth. (3375180).jpg, Engraving showing the south-west side of the castle in 1732 File:Caldicot Castle, Wales.jpg, The keep File:Caldicot Castle in Wales.jpg, The gatehouse from within the castle, showing the 19th century rebuilding File:Caldicot castle breached.jpg, Re-enactment of a

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

skirmish within the castle

References

External links

{{Commons category, Caldicot Castle
Caldicot Castle

Photographs of Caldicot Castle
Grade I listed castles in Monmouthshire Museums in Monmouthshire Historic house museums in Wales Scheduled monuments in Monmouthshire

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

Bohun family residences