Overview
Raglan Castle was a late medieval fortress-palace built to impress as much as defend. Sir William ap Thomas began its great moated tower in 1435, his heirs created a noble residence, and a long Civil War siege in 1646 ended with surrender and deliberate destruction.
Who built and held it
Sir William ap Thomas, the Blue Knight of Gwent, began the moated Great Tower in 1435. His son William Herbert, later earl of Pembroke, added the gatehouse and courts. Through marriage Raglan passed to the Somerset earls of Worcester, who made it one of Wales's grandest houses.
Attack, change and use
The Somersets added a long gallery, improved the hall and made Renaissance gardens. During the Civil War Henry Somerset held Raglan for Charles I with a large garrison. After a long siege it surrendered to Sir Thomas Fairfax in August 1646 and Parliament ordered it broken.
What survives
The gatehouse, Fountain Court, hall, long gallery walls, kitchen, cellars and much of the Great Tower survive. The damaged tower still dominates its separate moat, and the ruins preserve both heavy defences and the scale of a noble household.
Why it mattered
Raglan shows a Welsh family rising into the highest ranks after the Wars of the Roses. Its comfort marks the move from fortress to palace, while its destruction records the cost of becoming a working royalist stronghold.
History checked 2026-08-15 against the named sources below.
Places near here
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