Castles of Pembrokeshire.
Pembroke.—Giraldus says that Arnulf de Montgomeri first built this castle of sods and wattles, a scanty and slender construction, in the reign of Henry I.[911] This date, however, must certainly be wrong, for the castle sustained a siege from the Welsh in 1094, and in 1098 Arnulf gave the chapel of St Nicholas in his castle of Pembroke to the abbey of St Martin at Sées.[912] There is no motte at Pembroke Castle; the magnificent keep (clearly of the 13th century or later) stands in a small ward at the edge of a cliff,[913] separated by a former ditch from the immense encircling bailey whose walls and towers are clearly of Edwardian date. The words of Giraldus “a castle of wattles and turf” might lead us to think that the first castle was a motte of the usual type, but the use which he makes of the same expression in his work on Ireland leads one to think that he means a less defensible fort, a mere bank and fence.[914] There is some reason, moreover, to doubt whether the present castle of Pembroke stands on the same site as Arnulf’s, as after the banishment of the latter, Gerald, the royal Seneschal of Pembroke “built the castle anew in the place called Little Cengarth.”[915]
But however this may be, the castle of Pembroke was certainly strong enough in 1094 to resist a great insurrection of the Welsh, when all the castles of south-west Wales were destroyed, except Pembroke and Rhyd y Gors. And it continued to be one of the chief strongholds of English power in South Wales until Edward I. completed the conquest of the country. Its splendid situation on a high cliff at the mouth of an excellent harbour, to which supplies could be brought by sea, was one of the secrets of its strength. A passage cut in the rock led from the castle to a cave below opening on to the water.
*Newport, or Trefdaeth, was the head of the Barony of Keymes, an independent lordship founded at the time of the first Norman advance, by Martin of Tours.[916] There is no mention of it before 1215. The present ruined castle of Newport is not earlier than the 13th century, but about 1½ miles higher up the river, at Llanhyfer, is a fine motte and bailey, which probably mark the site of the first castle of Martin of Tours.[917]
Wiston, alias Gwys or Wiz.—First mentioned in 1148, when it was taken by the Welsh.[918] At a later period we find it one of the castles of the Earl of Pembroke. There is a motte still remaining, with a shell wall on top, 6 feet thick, having a plain round arched entrance. This masonry is probably the work of William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, as he restored the castle in 1220 after it had been razed to the ground by Llywelyn ap Jorwerth.[919] The bailey is large and bean-shaped.
Lawhaden, or Llanyhadein, or Lauwadein.—First mention in 1192.[920] It afterwards became a palace of the bishops of St David’s. There is no motte, though the circular outline of the platform on which the fine ruins of the castle stand, very much suggests a lowered motte.
Haverfordwest.—First mentioned in the Pipe Roll of 1214-1215, when it was in the custody of the Earl of Pembroke. Although this castle is now a gaol, and the whole site masked with gaol buildings, the motte can still be seen distinctly from one side, though the keep which stands upon it is blocked by buildings. The ditch which went round the motte can also be traced. [H. W.]
Narberth.—This castle is first mentioned in 1115, when it was burnt by the Welsh. Said to have been the castle of Stephen Perrot.[921] The present ruins are entirely of the 13th century, and there is no motte; but Lewis states that the first castle was in another site, between the present town and Templeton; about which we have no information.
Tenby.—First mention in 1152. An important coast station. The small and curious round keep is placed on the highest point of a small island; it is a miniature copy of the keep of Pembroke, and was probably built by one of the earls Marshall, not earlier than the 13th century. There is no motte, nor was one needed in such a situation.