St Brides Netherwent

Beside the A48.

A 17th century house on the site of Penhow Castle Link

l land below Penhow Castle the natural plain and its little stream forms a natural barrier

A curious ring wall left around a quarry, and then breached.

Another view of ST4291 : Quarry wall

a series of stern warnings

The A48 runs 119 miles from Gloucester to Carmarthen across South Wales. Link

The A48 runs 119 miles from Gloucester to Carmarthen across South Wales. Link

This is an ancient monument, a 17th century barn and stable Link

Grade II* Listed Penhow was developed from a heavily-built keep and was the first castle with a stone keep to be built in Britain by the conquering Normans in 1070 and has claims to be the oldest inhabited castle in Wales. Less than a century after the keep tower was built the larger area of the inner bailey was enclosed within a thick stone curtain wall. By the 14th century Penhow was quite a stronghold. The drawbridge was operated by counterweights of stone rediscovered in 1979. Above the lower hall, the Great Hall achieved its present shape in the late 1480s. The Lewis family converted Penhow from an old-fashioned castle to a modern house shortly after 1674. Thomas Lewis' son Thomas was High Sheriff of the county. Stephen Weeks bought the Norman stronghold in 1973 and rebuilt the ruins into an award-winning attraction that opened to the public in 1978. Penhow Castle was sold to a London businessman and closed to the public on 29th December 2002. The important thing about the house is that it was home to the famous Seymour family which eventually produced a King and Queen of England in Jane Seymour and Edward VI.

Set back from Pike Road, viewed in January 2019. Penhow Film Studio Link was here in 2012.

Looking to the northeast along Pike Road towards Old Turnpike Cottages. Link

Ahead for the Rock & Fountain and Penhow.