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ST BRIAVELS CASTLE

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St Briavels Castle is situated on the edge of a steep scarp above the River Wye and is believed to have been sited on this spot to control a nearby ford at Bigsweir. The castle is thought to have been built on the site of an earlier motte and bailey, which was constructed after William Fitz Baderon acquired the estate in 1086 AD. A square stone keep over 100 feet high was constructed on top of the motte in the 12th century. Between 1209 and 1211, there were extensive additions to the castle including a domestic range, providing 'royal apartments', and a twin towered gatehouse. The gatehouse was rebuilt by Edward I between 1292 and 1293, which is the main structure that can be seen today. In the 14th century a chapel was built in the castle ward. St Briavels Castle was the Crown's administration centre for the Forest of Dean and numerous royal visitors during it's history included King John, Henry II and Edward II. It was one of a sequence of castles along the border built as a defensive strategy against the Welsh. However it was also used as a seat of legal administration including the Hundred Court, the Court Baron of the manor and castle, the Court of Criminal jurisdiction and the Mine-Law Court as well as a prison. Furthermore the castle served as an arsenal for locally produced weaponry. Following the conquest of Wales in the late 15th century the importance of the castle declined. In 1680, several parts were demolished, in 1752 the keep collapsed and in 1777 the east tower collapsed. It was used as a prison until 1842 before restoration in the late 19th century and use as a youth hostel from 1952. The extant remains mainly date from the 13th century and include a dry moat, rubble curtain walls, parts of the square keep, the domestic range, the site of the hall, and the twin towered gatehouse with a defended passage.

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(SO 558045) St. Briavels Castle (NR) (Remains of). (1)

A Royal castle (Pipe Rolls 31 Hen I AD 1129-30), but, according to Giraldae Cambrensis built by Milo, Earl of Hereford. (Earldom conferred AD 1141). History of the castle from 1129-1485. (2)

The existing buildings chiefly date from AD 1276, and include the twin-towered gatehouse and the kitchen. The keep collapsed in 1752, but the chapel rebuilt in the 14th.c. still stands against a building which was probably the King's chamber, beyond which is another chamber with a 14th.c.fireplace. The castle was allowed to decay at an early date, but was rendered habitable in 1906, and in 1952 was occupied by the Youth Hostels Association. Grade 1. (3-5)

St. Briavels castle is as described above. It has been used as a Youth Hostel since 1948 (a). See GP AO(WM) 70/3/10.

The moat that surrounds the castle is dry and has been made into a public garden by a local society formed in 1961, to preserve it. In the making of the garden much of the original moat has been
filled in, leaving only the west and South-west portions.
Published survey (25") revised. (6)

The 'Bailey Tump', forms a level platform to the west bounded by two steep scarps on the south and west sides where the ground drops sharply away to the Wye. (7)

Castle (NR). (8)

During 1982 St Briavels Castle was taken into the care of the Dept of the Enviroment. (9)

Verey considers that the irregular polygonal plan of the ward suggests that it was built on an earlier earthwork. (10)

Listed Grade I. (11)

Scheduled RSM Number 28868.
St Briavels Castle is situated on the edge of a steep scarp above the River Wye and is believed to have been sited on this spot to control a nearby ford at Bigsweir. The castle is thought to have been built on the site of an earlier motte and bailey, which was constructed after William Fitz Baderon acquired the estate in 1086 AD. A square stone keep over 100 feet high was constructed on top of the motte in the 12th century. Between 1209 and 1211, there were extensive additions to the castle including a domestic range, providing 'royal apartments', and a twin towered gatehouse. The gatehouse was rebuilt by Edward I between 1292 and 1293, which is the main structure that can be seen today. In the 14th century a chapel was built in the castle ward. St Briavels Castle was the Crown's administration centre for the Forest of Dean and numerous royal visitors during it's history included King John, Henry II and Edward II. It was one of a sequence of castles along the border built as a defensive strategy against the Welsh. However it was also used as a seat of legal administration including the Hundred Court, the Court Baron of the manor and castle, the Court of Criminal jurisdiction and the Mine-Law Court as well as a prison. Furthermore the castle served as an arsenal for locally produced weaponry. Following the conquest of Wales in the late 15th century the importance of the castle declined. In 1680, several parts were demolished, in 1752 the keep collapsed and in 1777 the east tower collapsed. It was used as a prison until 1842 before restoration in the late 19th century and use as a youth hostel from 1952. The extant remains mainly date from the 13th century and include a dry moat, rubble curtain walls, parts of the square keep, the domestic range, the site of the hall, and the twin towered gatehouse with a defended passage. (12)

Listed by Cathcart King. He considers that a nearby damaged ringwork (SO50NE7) was the predecessor of this castle. (13)

The castle falls within the area mapped by EH's Gloucestershire NMP. The buildings and outer walls, as well as traces of the mound and moat, are visible on aerial photographs taken in1946 and 1951. (14-15)

This article describes the castle including the keep, curtain walls, demolished buildings in the bailey, the domestic range, and the Edwardian gatehouse of 1292-3. (16)

Archaeological excavations took place in 1994 within the late 13th century gatehouse. Medieval stratigraphy and wall footings were found to have survived in the south-east of the gatehouse. The footings have been interpreted as representing the foundation plinths for part of the late 13th century gatehouse. (17)

A series of archaeological monitoring and excavation was carried out in 2003 during groundworks. Alterations of the castle structure from the 13th century to the present date were recorded. These included an underground rectangular structure, parts of the gatehouse buttress, a blocked chamfered window, and a stepped foundation. (18)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 6" 1954

( 2) R Allen Brown, H M Colvin and A J Taylor 1963 The history of the King's Works, volume 2 : the Middle Ages

Page(s)821-3

( 3) Royal Archaeological Institute The Archaeological Journal

Illus (Hamilton Thompson) 78, 1921 Page(s)448-50

( 4) List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest

2220/11/A, FEB-1952 Page(s)4

( 5) General reference

Little Guide to Gloucestershire 1949 (J.C. Cox) Page(s)141

( 6a) Oral information, correspondence (not archived) or staff comments

( 6) Field Investigators Comments

F1 DRB 15-SEP-70

( 7) Field Investigators Comments

F2 FKB 21-SEP-70

( 8) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 1:10 000 1976

(9) edited by Henry Cleere 1984 Archaeology in Britain 1983 [reports by official bodies, national bodies, research projects, and local organizations in England-Scotland-Wales]

Page(s)14

(10) by David Verey 1970 Gloucestershire, 2 : the Vale and the Forest of Dean

The Buildings of England Page(s)332-3

(11) List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest

Forest of Dean, 07-MAR-1988 1686 Page(s)79

(12) Scheduled Monument Notification

Schedule amendment 01-AUG-2000

(13) by David J Cathcart King 1983 Castellarium anglicanum : an index and bibliography of the castles in England, Wales and the islands. Volume I : Anglesey - Montgomery

1 Page(s)182

(14) Vertical aerial photograph reference number

RAF 106G/UK/1355 5422-3 02-APR-1946

(15) Vertical aerial photograph reference number

RAF 540/545 4024-5 01-JUL-1951

(16) by P E Curnow, E A Johnson 1985 St Briavels Castle

Chteau Gaillard Curnow, P E & Johnson, E A 1985 St Briavels Castle 12 Page(s)91 - 114

(17) C Bateman 1995 St Briavels Castle, Gloucestershire. Archaeological Excavation

Page(s)1-14

(18) R Barret 2004 Archaeological Watching Brief and Excavation at St. Briavels Castle, Gloucestershire

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