Penhow Castle
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Penhow Castle
| image = Penhow Castle from Church.jpg
| caption =
| type = Castle
| locmapin = Wales Newport
| map_relief = yes
| coordinates = {{coord|51.6137|-2.8337 |display=inline,title}}
| area =
| built = 12th century onwards
| architect =
| architecture = castellated
| governing_body = Privately owned
| designation1 = Grade II* listed building
| designation1_offname = Penhow Castle
| designation1_date = 1 March 1963
| designation1_number = 3078
| designation2 = Grade II listed building
| designation2_offname = Barn to south-west of Penhow Castle
| designation2_date = 24 February 1976
| designation2_number = 3056
| designation3 = Grade II listed building
| designation3_offname = L-shaped Byre Range to south-west of Penhow Castle
| designation3_date = 24 February 1976
| designation3_number = 17079
| designation4 = Grade II listed building
| designation4_offname = Stable Block to far south-west of Penhow Castle
| designation4_date = 19 December 1995
| designation4_number = 17081
| designation5 = Grade II listed building
| designation5_offname = Five bay Barn and attached Byre to far south-west of Penhow Castle
| designation5_date = 19 December 1995
| designation5_number = 17080
}}
Penhow Castle, Penhow, Newport dates from the early 12th century. Extended and reconstructed in almost every century since, it has been claimed to be the oldest continuously-inhabited castle in Wales. The castle is a Grade II* listed building.
History
The manor of Penhow was held by Caradog ap Gruffydd, prince of Gwent at the time of the Norman invasion of Wales.{{National Historic Assets of Wales|num=3078|desc=Penhow Castle|grade=II*|access-date=22 March 2020}} The estate was seized by the Seymour family (anciently de St. Maur) and by 1129, Sir Roger de St Maur had built a fortified manor at the site. The house was extended and further fortified in the 15th and 17th centuries. In the 16th century, the manor passed to the Somersets. In 1674, it was purchased by the Lewis family of St Pierre.{{Cite web|url=http://www.castlewales.com/penhow.html|title=Penhow Castle|publisher=Castles of Wales|website=www.castlewales.com|accessdate=22 March 2020}} Viscount Rhondda, an industrialist and conservator of ancient buildings in Wales, bought the castle in 1914.{{Cite web|url=http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/Welshsites/591.html|title=Penhow Castle (The Gatehouse Record)|publisher=The Gatehouse Gazetteer|website=www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info|accessdate=22 March 2020}} By the mid-20th century, the castle was in a state of some dilapidation, until bought and restored by the film director Stephen Weeks.{{cite web|url=http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/4611913.Has_Penhow_Castle_got_American_owners_/|title=Has Penhow Castle got American owners?|author=Staff writer|publisher=South Wales Argus|date=16 April 2003|website=www.southwalesargus.co.uk}} During his tenure, the castle was open to the public, while also serving as Weeks’ residence. In 2002, it was sold and reverted to a private home.{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/2618151.stm|title=Castle closes gates to visitors|date=December 31, 2002|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=22 March 2020}} Penhow is frequently claimed to be the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Wales.{{efn|John Newman suggests Cardiff Castle, Fonmon Castle and St Donat's Castle as alternative claimants.{{sfn|Newman|1995|p=552}}}}{{cite web|url=https://www.castlexplorer.co.uk/wales/penhow/penhow.html|title=Penhow Castle|publisher=Castles of England, Scotland & Wales|accessdate=25 May 2018|website=www.castlexplorer.co.uk|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150414005144/http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk/wales/penhow/penhow.html|archive-date=14 April 2015|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}
Architecture and description
The architectural historian John Newman, in his Gwent/Monmouthshire Pevsner, describes Penhow as "small and [un]convincingly defensive".{{sfn|Newman|2000|pp=464-465}} It is constructed of local Old red sandstone rubble. The oldest portion of the castle is the west tower, which dates from the time of the Seymours. The two-storeyed hall range is later, of the 14th-15th centuries.{{sfn|Newman|2000|pp=464-465}} Further large-scale remodelling took place in the 17th and 18th centuries, when the castle was refashioned as a comfortable country house. The Cadw listing records notes the "exceptionally fine Restoration period interiors”. The castle is listed Grade II*.
Two ranges of ancillary buildings contain some important agricultural structures, each with their own listings. The grouping immediately to the south-west of the castle includes a barn{{National Historic Assets of Wales|num=3056|desc=Barn to south-west of Penhow Castle|grade=II|access-date=22 March 2020}} and a byre.{{National Historic Assets of Wales|num=17079|desc=L-shaped Byre Range to south-west of Penhow Castle |grade=II|access-date=22 March 2020}} The grouping further from the castle to the south includes an additional barn,{{National Historic Assets of Wales|num=17080|desc=Five bay Barn and attached Byre to far south-west of Penhow Castle|grade=II|access-date=22 March 2020}} another byre{{National Historic Assets of Wales|num=17082|desc=L-shaped Byre Range to far south-west of Penhow Castle|grade=II|access-date=22 March 2020}} and a stable block.{{National Historic Assets of Wales|num=17081|desc=Stable Block to far south-west of Penhow Castle |grade=II|access-date=22 March 2020}}
Notes
{{notes}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Sources
- {{cite book
| last = Newman
| first = John
| authorlink=John Newman (architectural historian)
| year = 1995
| title = Glamorgan
| series = The Buildings of Wales
| publisher = Penguin Books
| location= London
| isbn = 9780140710564
| oclc = 231881843
}}
- {{Cite book
|last=Newman|first=John
|author-mask=1
|series=The Buildings of Wales
|title=Gwent/Monmouthshire
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=knRf4U60QjcC&dq=The+Buildings+of+Wales%3A+Gwent%2FMonmouthshire&pg=PA2
|year=2000
|publisher=Penguin
|location=London
|isbn=0-14-071053-1
}}
Category:Grade II* listed buildings in Newport, Wales