Manorbier Castle, Castles and Forts Manorbier, Pembrokeshire - Wales where to go, what to see and where to stay in Wales

Manorbier Castle is most famous for being the birth place of the scholar, cleric, traveler, crusader and medieval politician, Gerald of Wales. Gerald was the son of William de Barri, a Norman lord, and Angharad, the daughter of the Norman, Gerald de Windsor, and the famous Welsh princess, Nest. The castle structure is as interesting as its history, as unlike most castles of the time, it is almost perfectly rectangular. The castle and its surrounding grounds are tucked into a narrow valley between two streams which flow to Manorbier Bay. The inner ward is a striking and beautiful place itself. Walking into it via the gatehouse, you are immediately greeted by the colourful flowers and greenery. All this is surrounded and protected by the brown stone of the castle walls. The southern section, just to your left in the inner ward, has been heavily restored during the centuries. The last restoration is believed to have been undertaken during the 19th century. The great hall, built in the 1140s, today remains the “oldest stone building surviving at any castle in west Wales”. It is not just a remarkable building in the way its stone still stands intact but it is also an interesting room to visit in the castle. Dotted around the castle, sections of the 12th century wall-painting have survived and provide us with a fascinating insight into medieval artwork. Surprisingly, the castle only ever saw two assaults and those being minor; the first was in 1327 when Richard de Barri invaded Manorbier to claim the castle which was lawfully his and the latter in 1645, when during the English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell’s Roundheads seized and slighted the castle.