Usk Castle () is a

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 ...

site in the town of Usk in central

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

, south-east

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 ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It was listed Grade I on 16 February 1953. Within the castle, and incorporating parts of its gatehouse, stands Castle House, a Grade I listed building in its own right.

Location

Usk Castle is located immediately to the north of the present-day town on a hill overlooking the streets and main Twyn Square.

History

Early Norman castle

Usk castle and town was probably laid out and established in 1120, after some of the other Norman settlements and

s of the region, such as Monmouth Castle and Abergavenny Castle. However, the site had a history of previous military, strategic, and local significance, for it was here that the Romans had established their early Legionary fortress before relocating it south to

Caerleon Caerleon ( ; ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable ...

. Usk is first mentioned in 1138 in the context of it being captured by the Welsh. It passed back into Norman hands, only to be captured by the Welsh again in 1174, as was

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; , , archaically , ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a "Gateway to Wales"; it is approximately from the England–Wales border, border with England and is loca ...

, when turmoil again developed into open conflict in this area of the

Welsh Marches The Welsh Marches () is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ''Marchia W ...

Marcher lords

The Normans had to control and subjugate the region, and brought in

Marcher Lord A marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in Fra ...

Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare who sought to strengthen the castle's defences against Welsh attack, but he was ambushed and killed north of Abergavenny in 1136. The Welsh captured Usk Castle again in 1184. Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Hertford, another holder of Usk Castle, was killed at the

Battle of Bannockburn The Battle of Bannockburn ( or ) was fought on 23–24 June 1314, between the army of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, and the army of King Edward II of England, during the First War of Scottish Independence. It was a decisive victory for Ro ...

. Adam of Usk was born at the castle.

Duchy of Lancaster

After the rebellion of

Owain Glyndŵr Owain ap Gruffydd (28 May 135420 September 1415), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr (Glyn Dŵr, , anglicised as Owen Glendower) was a Welsh people, Welsh leader, soldier and military commander in the Wales in the late Middle Ages, late Middle ...

(1400–1405), the castle passed to the

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 ...

and, with stability restored, no further redevelopment or refortification was undertaken and the castle was allowed gradually to decay. It survived the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

with only some

slighting Slighting is the deliberate damage of high-status buildings to reduce their value as military, administrative, or social structures. This destruction of property is sometimes extended to the contents of buildings and the surrounding landscape. It ...

, and was eventually redeveloped when the gatehouse was adapted to become a house in the 1680s.

Today

Today, the remains are quite substantial and include some interesting elements such as the dovecote tower. Among the more unusual features of the gardens are the site of a small

narrow-gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter cur ...

used for earth moving during excavations at the castle in the 1930s, and two Elia naval mines dating from

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and now disarmed and set on plinths as garden ornaments. Although the castle is a private residence of the Humphreys family, events are held throughout the summer months. The castle gardens are open to visitors on three days each week. The Early Medieval re-enactment group Regia Anglorum borrowed the castle for its Autumn training from 2009 to 2017. The castle is 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 ...

and a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

. Castle House is also Grade I listed.

Gallery

Usk Castle (3375712).jpg, Plate from: "The Castles & Abbeys of Monmouth" J.S. Prout. 1838 Egg-ended boiler garden fountain.jpg, An egg-ended boiler now converted to a fountain Castle House, Usk castle.jpg, Castle House, Usk originally the castle gatehouse, now a private house

Notes

External links

{{Commons category, Usk Castle
Castle Wales info on Usk plus photosUsk castle official website
Grade I listed castles in Monmouthshire Scheduled monuments in Monmouthshire Castle ruins in Wales Usk