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 Pembroke Castle, Pembroke, Co. Pembrokeshire
Once the chief power base of the Norman overlords in South Wales , Pembroke Castle was the birthplace of King Henry VII and seat of the Tudor Dynasty that ruled Britain from 1485 to 1603.
 Image © by Christopher Mazzoli
Situated on the tip of a rocky limestone headland almost surrounded by the Pembroke River, once a tidal estuary, the castle was founded by Roger de Montgomery in 1093. As a key Norman stronghold it was never taken by the Welsh natives and was a base for campaigning in South Wales and Ireland.
Though it was finally defeated and left badly damaged by Cromwell’s forces in the Civil War, the Castle was in use up until 1945 and was home to the earls of Pembroke for over 300 years.
In 1457 Henry Tudor the future King Henry VII was born in one of the small towers of this castle. His defeat of Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 ended the War of the Roses and begun the turbulent Tudor Dynasty that was to be followed by
Henry VIII , and ending with Elizabeth I .
The centrepiece of the castle is the ominous looking stone keep, the earliest part of Pembroke Castle, if it’s not too windy you can climb the one hundred winding steps to the top of the 75-foot high tower and take in the wide views across the countryside. Another interesting feature of the castle is the Wogan Cave a natural cave beneath the castle that according to archaeological evidence has been a safe haven since the Stone Age.
This attraction is included in the Great British Heritage Pass.
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