Pembroke Castle

Established by the Normans in 1093, Pembroke is one of Wales’ most impressive castles. Arnulf of Montgomery built the first castle on the site during the Norman invasion of Wales and although it was only made from earth and wood, Pembroke Castle resisted several Welsh attacks and sieges over the next 30 years.

In August 1189 Richard I arranged the marriage of Isabel, de Clare's granddaughter, to William Marshal who received both the castle and the title, Earl of Pembroke. He was also responsible for rebuilding the castle in stone and adding on the great keep. in 1452, the castle and the earldom were presented to Jasper Tudor by his half-brother Henry VI. Tudor brought his widowed sister-in-law, Margaret Beaufort, to Pembroke where, in 1457, she gave birth to her only child, who would go on to become King Henry VII of England and begin the Tudor dynasty.

In 1648, at the beginning of the Second Civil War, Pembroke's commander Colonel John Poyer led a Royalist uprising alongside Colonel Powell, Tenby Castle, and Sir Nicholas Kemoys, Chepstow Castle. Oliver Cromwell came to Pembroke on 24 May 1648 and took the castle after a seven-week siege. The three leaders were found guilty of treason and Cromwell ordered the castle to be destroyed. The townspeople were even encouraged to disassemble the fortress and re-use its stone for their own purposes.

The castle lay abandoned and fell into a severe state of decay and ruin, until in 1880, a three-year restoration project began. The project however stalled out until 1928, when Major-General Sir Ivor Philipps acquired the castle and began extensive restoration to it’s walls, gatehouses, and towers. After his death, a trust was set up for the castle, it was jointly managed by the Philipps family and Pembroke town council.

You can also check out the Wogan cavern whilst, at the castle which, is a huge underground cave where archeologists have uncovered evidence of prehistoric megafauna such as reindeer and woolly mammoth. Researchers also believe it might contain the remains of one of the first humans after finding evidence of stone tools and animal bones, dating to the last Ice Age.