Grosmont Castle | |
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Grosmont, Monmouthshire, Wales | |
Grosmont Castle
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Coordinates | 51°54′55″N 2°51′57″W / 51.915278°N 2.865833°W |
Type | Castle |
Site information | |
Owner | Cadw |
Open to the public |
Yes |
Site history | |
Built | c. 1070 – c. 1350 |
Built by |
William fitzOsbern (possibly) Pain fitzJohn Hubert de Burgh Edmund Crouchback |
In use | c. 1070 – c. 1420 |
Materials | Old Red Sandstone |
Listed Building – Grade I
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Designated | 1956 |
Grosmont Castle (historically also spelled Grisemount and Grisemond;Welsh: Castell y Grysmwnt) is a ruined castle in Grosmont, Monmouthshire, Wales, very near the border with Herefordshire, England, and overlooking a bend in the River Monnow. It is generally considered to have been largely built by Hubert de Burgh early in the 13th century, on an earlier Norman foundation, but was extended in the 14th century. It is located about 11 miles (18 km) north-east of Abergavenny, 11 miles (18 km) north-west of Monmouth, and 15 miles (24 km) south-west of Hereford. The castle ruins are Grade I listed as of 1 September 1956.
Grosmont Castle is believed to have been founded as a wooden motte and bailey castle during, or shortly after, the time that William FitzOsbern was Earl of Hereford immediately after the Norman conquest of England. Earl William was killed in 1071 and his son Roger was stripped of his lands in 1075. The powerful Marcher Lord Pain fitzJohn acquired Grosmont in the reign of King Henry I (1100–35). In 1142, it was granted to Walter of Hereford, and became part of a single lordship with Skenfrith and White Castle. Although it has been asserted that the stone castle was built at the time of Pain fitzJohn, as the centre or caput of the honour of Grosmont, records indicate that, late in the 12th century, it was probably still a timber construction.