Caldicot Castle
Visit Caldicot Castle in its beautiful setting of tranquil gardens and a wooded country park. Founded by the Normans, developed in royal hands as a stronghold in the Middle Ages and restored as a Victorian family home, the castle has a romantic and colourful history. Find out more with an audio tour, explore the medieval towers and take in the breath-taking views of the parklands and surrounding area from the battlements. Enjoy a leisurely game of chess or drafts, using giant playing pieces, visit the Childrens Activity Station or relax in the gardens and grounds. Events take place throughout the season. Caldicot Castle is open daily from March to October from 11am to 5pm. Go to their website of www.caldicotcastle.co.uk for further information
The area in which the castle now stands has been occupied since the Bronze Age. Boat timbers, a bridge or jetty and other evidence of human activity were found on what would have been the bed of the river Nedern during this period. In the hills nearby was Llanmelin, the great iron-age fort of the Silures tribe. When the Romans reached the area and imposed military control, they built a new capital, called Venta Silurum, for the Silures at nearby Caerwent.
At the time that the Domesday Book was written, Caldicot was held by Durand, Sheriff of Gloucester, and the estate was valued at six pounds. The people living in Caldicot at the time included a knight, who would have needed a substantial home, but there is no evidence of a timber castle at Caldicot at that date. In 1127 the estate passed to Durand's nephew Walter Fitzroger, Constable of England, a great castle builder. The first phase of building in stone was during the thirteenth century when the round keep was built. The castle would have dominated the area around it, including the crossing points of the nearby river Nedern, which was then navigable and of the River Severn, w
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