Church of Santiago de Gobiendes, Colunga, Spain

Photo from Flickr, copyright stevemcdowell184

Historic Site of the week

Pembroke Castle

Pembroke Castle is a Norman castle, founded in 1093. It survived many changes of ownership and is now the largest privately owned castle in Wales. It was the birthplace of Henry Tudor (later Henry VII of England) in 1457.

Pembroke Castle stands on a site that has been occupied at least since the Roman period. Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury founded the first castle here in the 11th century. Although only made from earth and wood, Pembroke Castle resisted several Welsh attacks and sieges over the next 30 years. The castle was established at the heart of the Norman-controlled lands of southwest Wales.

When William Rufus died, Arnulf de Montgomery joined his elder brother, Robert of Bellême, in rebellion against Henry I, William's brother and successor as king; when the rebellion failed, he was forced to forfeit all his British lands and titles. Henry appointed his castellan, but when the chosen ally turned out to be incompetent, the King reappointed Gerald in 1102. By 1138 King Stephen had given Pembroke Castle to Gilbert de Clare who used it as an important base in the Norman invasion of Ireland.

In August 1189 Richard I arranged the marriage of Isabel, de Clare's granddaughter, to William Marshal who received both the castle and the title, Earl of Pembroke. He had the castle rebuilt in stone and established the great keep at the same time. Marshal was succeeded in turn by each of his five sons. His third son, Gilbert Marshal, was responsible for enlarging and further strengthening the castle between 1234 and 1241.

Later de Valence family held Pembroke for 70 years. During this time, the town was fortified with defensive walls, three main gates and a postern. Pembroke Castle became de Valence's military base for fighting the Welsh princes during the conquest of North Wales by Edward I between 1277 and 1295.

Pembroke Castle then reverted to the crown. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the castle was a place of peace until the outbreak of the English Civil War. Although most of South Wales sided with the King, Pembroke declared for Parliament. It was besieged by Royalist troops but was saved after Parliamentary reinforcements arrived by sea from nearby Milford Haven. Parliamentary forces then went on to capture the Royalist castles of Tenby, Haverfordwest and Carew.

In 1648, at the beginning of the Second Civil War, Pembroke's commander Colonel John Poyer led a Royalist uprising. Oliver Cromwell came to Pembroke on 24 May 1648 and took the castle after a seven-week siege. Its three leaders were found guilty of treason and Cromwell ordered the castle to be destroyed. Townspeople were even encouraged to disassemble the fortress and re-use its stone for their purposes.

The castle was then abandoned and allowed to decay. It remained in ruins until 1880, when a three-year restoration project was undertaken. Nothing further was done until 1928, when Major-General Sir Ivor Philipps acquired the castle and began an extensive restoration of the castle's walls, gatehouses, and towers. After his death, a trust was set up for the castle, jointly managed by the Philipps family and Pembroke town council.

Architecture

The castle is sited on a strategic rocky promontory by the Milford Haven Waterway. The first fortification on the site was a Norman motte-and-bailey. It had earthen ramparts and a timber palisade.

In 1189, Pembroke Castle was acquired by William Marshal. He soon became Lord Marshal of England, and set about turning the earth and wood fort into an impressive Norman stone castle. The inner ward, which was constructed first, contains the huge round keep with its domed roof. Its original first-floor entrance was through an external stairwell. Inside, a spiral staircase connected its four stories. The keep's domed roof also has several putlog holes that supported a wooden fighting-platform. If the castle was attacked, the hoarding allowed defenders to go out beyond the keep's massive walls above the heads of the attackers.

The inner ward's curtain wall had a large horseshoe-shaped gateway. But only a thin wall was required along the promontory. This section of the wall has a small observation turret and a square stone platform. Domestic buildings including William Marshal's Great Hall and private apartments were within the inner ward. The 13th century keep is 23 metres tall with walls up to 6 metres thick at its base.

In the late 13th century, additional buildings were added to the inner ward, including a new Great Hall. A 55-step spiral staircase was also created that led down to a large limestone cave, known as Wogan Cavern, beneath the castle. The cave, which was created by natural water erosion, was fortified with a wall, a barred gateway and arrowslits. It may have served as a boathouse or a sallyport to the river where cargo or people could have been transferred.

The outer ward was defended by a large twin-towered gatehouse, a barbican and several round towers. The outer wall is 5 metres thick in places and constructed from Siltstone ashlar.

Although Pembroke Castle is a Norman-style enclosure castle with great keep, it can be more accurately described as a linear fortification because, like the later 13th-century castles at Caernarfon and Conwy, it was built on a rocky promontory surrounded by water. This meant that attacking forces could only assault on a narrow front. Architecturally, Pembroke's thickest walls and towers are all concentrated on its landward side facing the town, with Pembroke River providing a natural defense around the rest of its perimeter.

José Julio Melgares (8 months ago)
In the vicinity of the church there is an epigraph that explains its history: "The church of Gobiandes belongs to the select cast of monuments of Asturian pre-Romanesque art, in an early medieval style of architecture with splendidly preserved elements and closely linked to the origin of the Kingdom of Asturias. It has a basilica plan with three naves divided into four sections and covered with wood; the naves are separated by square pillars with imposts that support semicircular arches made of brick. The head is straight with three vaulted chapels with barrels, of which the central one has disappeared, which preserves fragments of the arches that ran along its walls (the current one, of excessive proportions, is the product of a remodeling). The columns of the headboards are decorated with capitals with Asturian motifs: ropes and acanthus leaves. Its original pre-Romanesque structure currently presents greatly modified both its external appearance and the interior vision of its head. In the 19th century a rebuilding of the church was carried out, the product of which are the main chapel, the sacristy of the south wall, the body of the belfry and the portico that surrounds the eastern and southern facades. From the pre-Romanesque period, the mullioned window of the south wall is preserved, on which the rebuilding date, several capitals and remains of the other window were inscribed. It was restored between 1985 and 1987 by the Government of the Principality of Asturias. It was declared a National Monument on June 3, 1991. "

Pilar Galones Santamaria (9 months ago)
Beautiful Loroñe town before reaching the Fito viewpoint .....

Paz Cruz Hernandez (9 months ago)
The landscape is very beautiful and has unbeatable views.

Jose Luis Castaño (9 months ago)
It is in a beautiful setting, overlooking the river and the sea. It is next to the sueve museum and its parking lot. They have bicycles for rent and all in a very quiet environment two minutes from the beach.

J L Rodríguez (10 months ago)
Late pre-Roman church 10th century. It is made up of three naves. It has some pretty stained glass. It was reformed in the 19th century. The stone of the low walls was covered with little success. It has a stoned floor making geometric drawings. From the outside nothing is seen from the inside. There are guided tours in the summer for € 2.50 tickets purchased at the Sueve Interpretation Center. A building on the right 100 meters before the church. Where there is ample parking. Good views of the coast, the Gobiendes palace and a small, easy and flat route to the Obaya spring.

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