Manorbier Castle

Lore & Background

The land was granted to Odo de Barri, a Norman knight, at the end of the 11th century. Initially, he constructed a motte-and-bailey castle with a wooden keep defended by a palisade and earthworks. In the early 12th century, William de Barri, Odo's son, used locally quarried limestone to strengthen the fortification. The castle's domestic ranges, completed in the 1140s, included kitchens, apartments, and a Great hall, with windows replacing earlier arrowslits. A chapel with elaborate vaulting and plaster-work was built around 1260, and some original medieval frescoes survive.

Reader's Guide

Manorbier Castle is significant as a well-preserved example of a Norman enclosure castle on a coastal promontory, featuring curtain walls, round and square towers, and a tower gateway with portcullis. Its history is closely tied to the de Barry family and the birth of Gerald of Wales, who praised it as 'the most pleasant place by far' in all of Wales. The castle was only attacked twice: in 1327 during a family succession dispute and in 1645 during the English Civil War, after which it was slighted. It fell into decay through the 17th and 18th centuries but was partially restored in 1880 by tenant J.R. Cobb. Today, the privately owned castle is open to the public, serves as a wedding venue, and includes a holiday cottage, gardens, dovecote, and mill.

Did You Know?

• Gerald of Wales, the 12th-century scholar, was born at Manorbier Castle in 1146.
• The castle was attacked multiple times, including in 1327, during the Glyndŵr Rising in 1405, and during the English Civil War in 1645.
• A chapel with elaborate vaulting and plaster-work was built around 1260, and some original medieval frescoes survive.
• The castle was partially restored in 1880 by tenant J.R. Cobb.