almer Castle is one of the series of gun forts built during the reign of King Henry VIII. This was not originally designed as a residential castle. The purpose of this castle was to house canons to protect the south coast of England from attacks from France and Spain. Much later in its history the castle was converted into a home was was a favourite place of the Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Locations
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Locations of lesser places
The locations listed on this page currently have less information so do not warrant a page of their own. As this website evolves and more information is added these locations will be promoted to individual pages.
Walmer Castle
almer Castle is one of the series of gun forts built during the reign of King Henry VIII. This was not originally designed as a residential castle. The purpose of this castle was to house canons to protect the south coast of England from attacks from France and Spain. Much later in its history the castle was converted into a home was was a favourite place of the Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. | County | Kent, England (13 castles) | Categories | Henry VIII Gun Fort / Royal castle |
| Remains | Excellent remains | Access | Only open at certain times |
| Comments | An excellent castle for an afternoon visit. The castle is complete and the grounds are extensive. The castle has been converted into residential use so it has lost the feel of its original purpose as a gun fort so don't expect to see how the castle originally looked. For this you need to visit the remaining gun forts in Cornwall that have retained their original design. | ||
| Location | 51.200556,1.401891 (Google Maps) ///brownish.channel.tropic | Directions | Directions via Google Maps |
| County |
| Categories |
Henry VIII Gun Fort / Royal castle |
| Remains |
Excellent remains |
| Access |
Only open at certain times |
| Comments |
An excellent castle for an afternoon visit. The castle is complete and the grounds are extensive. The castle has been converted into residential use so it has lost the feel of its original purpose as a gun fort so don't expect to see how the castle originally looked. For this you need to visit the remaining gun forts in Cornwall that have retained their original design. |
| Location |
| 51.200556,1.401891 ///brownish.channel.tropic |
| Directions |
| Directions via Google Maps |
Location Map (click to explore)
Weobley Castle
eobley Castle is a fortified manor house and is located near Landimore to the north of the Gower peninsula in South Wales. It was built by the de la Bere family at the start of the fourteenth century. The castle was attacked and badly damaged in around 1403 by Owain Glyndwr during his revolt against the English.| County | Swansea, Wales (3 castles) | Categories | Fortified Manor House / Baronial castle |
| Remains | Not complete but much survives | Access | Only open at certain times |
| Location | 51.61276,-4.19937 (Google Maps) ///decently.lasts.opera | Directions | Directions via Google Maps |
| County |
| Categories |
Fortified Manor House / Baronial castle |
| Remains |
Not complete but much survives |
| Access |
Only open at certain times |
| Location |
| 51.61276,-4.19937 ///decently.lasts.opera |
| Directions |
| Directions via Google Maps |
Timeline
1136
Geoffrey Talbot had captured Hereford Castle, so King Stephen raised an army to take back control. The king was welcomed by the townsfolk and spent several weeks attacking the castle. Talbot had escaped to Weobley Castle which Stephen then captured. Talbot evaded capture and turned back to Hereford which he set fire to in mid June.
1403
Owain Glyndwr attacked and badly damaged Weobley Castle. [1]
Weobley Castle (Herefordshire)
ot to be confused with the castle of the same name in South Wales. This castle appears to be only earthwork remains. No further details.| County | Herefordshire, England (7 castles) | Categories | TBC |
| Remains | TBC | Access | TBC - Please check before visiting |
| Location | 51.61276,-4.19937 (Google Maps) ///decently.lasts.opera | Directions | Directions via Google Maps |
| County |
| Categories |
TBC |
| Remains |
TBC |
| Access |
TBC - Please check before visiting |
| Location |
| 51.61276,-4.19937 ///decently.lasts.opera |
| Directions |
| Directions via Google Maps |
Wisbech Castle
otte and Bailey castle built in around 1070. It was badly damaged by a storm along with the town in 1236. The castle became a prison holding political prisoners during Tudor times and then during the English Civil War. Nothing now remains.| County | Cambridgeshire, England (3 castles) | Categories | TBC |
| Remains | TBC | Access | TBC - Please check before visiting |
| Location | 52.66423,0.16011 (Google Maps) | Directions | Directions via Google Maps |
| County |
| Categories |
TBC |
| Remains |
TBC |
| Access |
TBC - Please check before visiting |
| Location |
| 52.66423,0.16011 |
| Directions |
| Directions via Google Maps |
Timeline
1236
The town and castle at Wisbech were hit by a fierce storm. [1]
Wiston Castle
Wiston Castle is located in Pembrokeshire in the village of Wiston which is a few miles to the east of Haverfordwest. A limited number of remains are all that are left of the small motte and bailey castle including a section of the polygonal shell keep on summit of the motte made from rubble. The castle was built by a Flemish settler called Wizo in the early twelfth century, The castle is mentioned in records being attacked and captured by the Welsh several times, but each time the castle was recaptured by the English. The first occurrence was in 1147. In 1220 the castle was captured by Llywelyn the Great when hostilities broke out between him and William Marshall. After this the history of the castle is uncertain but it is known that the owner moved to the nearby Picton Castle.
| County | Pembrokeshire, Wales (12 castles) | Categories | Motte & Bailey / Shell Keep / Baronial castle |
| Remains | Small amount survives | Access | Only open at certain times |
| Location | 51.82641,-4.87177 (Google Maps) | Directions | Directions via Google Maps |
| County |
| Categories |
Motte & Bailey / Shell Keep / Baronial castle |
| Remains |
Small amount survives |
| Access |
Only open at certain times |
| Location |
| 51.82641,-4.87177 |
| Directions |
| Directions via Google Maps |
Location Map (click to explore)
Timeline
1220
Llywelyn, the Prince of Wales, began raiding Pembrokeshire to retake land that he accused William Marshall, the younger, of stealing. This included Wiston Castle. [2]
Selection of references used:
- 1: John Kinross, Discovering Castles in England and Wales, Shire Publications Ltd
- 2: H.W.C.Davis, England under the Normans and Angevins, 1949
- 3: G H Cook, English Cathedrals through the centuries
A Medieval Mystery
There appear to be some strange connections between the fourteenth century Old Wardour Castle and ancient stone circle Stonehenge.
1: Location
Old Wardour Castle appears to be aligned to ancient sites in the Stonehenge landscape.
2: Alignment
Stonehenge is aligned to the Summer Solstice. Old Wardour has a very similar alignment.
3: Size
Could the builders of Old Wardour used mesaurements from Stonehenge to layout the geometrical keep?
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