I thought it was time for another Castle walk. To be honest, this would make two or even three walks - especially as I took so many photos when I stopped off there last year, on my way to stay with my friend Jude and enjoy a weekend away, visiting Ludlow Food Festival - also held in the grounds of a castle, this time - unsurprisingly - Ludlow! My photos tend to be angles which appealed to me, but have the benefit of being enlargeable if you click on them. Enjoy the link to the virtual walk at the bottom of the page for some more majestic views.
I used to have a penpal in Wales whose father was the custodian of this castle, and she and her sister have many happy memories of living nearby. But that was many, many years ago. Now it's more "official" and it is now in the hands of CADW.
Anyway, I will tell you a little bit about it and then on to the photos. William ap Thomas, the "blue knight of Gwent", fought alongside Henry V at Agincourt in 1415 and was knighted by Henry VI in 1426. He bought the castle in 1432 and along with his son, William Herbert, who became the Earl of Pembroke made improvements, including the Tudor styling we see today. During the Wars of the Roses, Herbert sided with the Yorkists, his political support for Edward IV earning him his title and paid handsomely, thus enabling him to turn Raglan into a "palace-fortress". He met his end in 1469, after Lancastrian supporters captured him at the Battle of Edgecote and put him to death. King Henry VII grew up here. Walking past the damson trees at one side of the castle, I like to think these trees might be descendents of ones which the young Henry might have scrumped!
As you can see from the remains, it was quite a "busy" place architecturally, and existed on many different levels.
Many modifications and modernizations over the generations.
The Herberts held Raglan until 1492, when the Somersets (Earls of Worcester) took possession. They also carried out considerable improvements so the castle fell in line with current fashions in dining and relaxation and in doing so, established wonderful gardens that included a number of walled terraces, a fountain, a lake, along with the wonderful Elizabethan flower beds and herb gardens.
This incredible carved fireplace was fortunately preserved at Badminton House in Gloucestershire, but is believed to have been taken from Raglan.
Alas, the English Civil War was to see the demise of Raglan, as it served many other castles (my own favourite, Corfe Castle in Dorset, amongst them). In 1642 the fifth Earl of Worcester sided with the Royalists, loaning considerable sums of money to Charles I. Unsurprisingly, this made Raglan a target for the Roundheads, and the castle was beseieged by them in June 1646, finally surrendering in August of that year. The abandonment and subsequent decay of the castle was finally halted and the building conserved by CADW and its predecessors, who took the castle into safe keeping in 1938.
This link will give you a Virtual Tour of the castle. http://www.castlewales.com/rag_tour.html
