Manorbier Castle

Manorbier Castle
Manorbier Castle sits majestically above the adjacent roadway which leads to the main entrance. Sheltered by trees and shrubbery, the castle suddenly pops out before you when you set foot on the grounds. Ahead is the outer bailey, with its fascinating relics from the English Civil War: the redan, a series of earthen embankments and ditches which were reinforced with stone, and would have impeded the advance of the enemy. On your left, the rectangular great gatehouse is a lovely spectacle. Rather simple in design, it projects over the surrounding ditch and beckons entry.

Like many gatehouses, the one at Manorbier contains several defensive features: strong battlements, a portcullis, arrow-slits and machicolations (openings over the passageway through which liquids or solid missiles were thrown down upon attackers). Its simplicity indicates a lack of fear on the part of the castle's owners, but the defenses imply recognition of the potential for outside attack. The fine gatehouse leads directly to the inner ward.

The inner ward is attractive, with its brilliantly coloured flowers and bright green lawn encompassed by well preserved brownstone. The castle's basic plan is almost rectangular, and consists of a sturdy battlemented curtain wall with niches and powerful corner towers (one of which is round and offers a breathtaking vista of the landscape), a complex hall-range, and a huge barn. Undoubtedly the most intriguing features of the inner ward are the massive industrial hearths on the west and southern walls, notable for their novel Flemish chimneys. They create an atmosphere of domesticity even though their purpose was probably the forging of metals.

The main domestic wing at Manorbier Castle was the hall-block, built in the 12th century by William de Barri. Unlike many Norman strongholds in Wales, the de Barri's castle contained a hall-keep, built as an integral part of the curtain wall rather than as a free-standing structure.