White Castle, Abergavenny

Client :
CADW
Architect :
Project Managed by OPUS International
Position :
Principal Contractor
Total Value :
£150K
Date :
2012

Cbs have completed essential conservation and consolidation works to the masonry of the C13th inner ward curtain wall and magnificant inner gatehouse and we have now won and embarked on a second phase of work to repair the pedestrian bridge which spans the impressive castle moat.

Our work includes masonry repairs, repointing of mortar joints and the removal of invasive vegetation, conservation of medeival render and repairs to the bridge including the concrete super structure, as well as landscaping the new access and hundreds of meters of new estate fencing.

Although, the work is vital for the long term preservation of the historic fabric of White Castle it will not affect visitors' enjoyment of this memorable monument which will remain open.

White Castle is the best preserved of the Three Castles, namely, White, Skenfrith and Grosmont. The heart of this castle is surrounded by powerful round towers.

The Three Castles are usually grouped together because for a large part of their history they were part of a block of territory under the control of a single lord, Hubert de Burgh.

Hubert had gleaned a great deal about military architecture from his time fighting in France. He rebuilt Skenfrith and Grosmont in stone, adding domestic apartments to both castles, so that they could be used as lordly residences. However, this doesn’t seem to have been the case with White. Rather than a nobleman’s residence, it seems to have been built for military work. A workhorse of a castle, you might say. The internal buildings did, however, include a chapel, hall and kitchen, but were more befitting a garrison commander than a great lord.

After Hubert de Burgh, the Three Castles were held in royal hands, and in 1254 Henry III granted them to his eldest son, the future Edward I. The rest is, as they say, history!