One castle in Wales has a rather eventful history and was even the birthplace of the first Tudor king
Pembroke Castle may be known to history as the birthplace of Henry VII, but its history goes back much further than that – and even Henry’s birth is perhaps a more dramatic tale than you may think.
The castle’s original structure dates back to 1093, when the Anglo-Norman nobleman Arnulf de Montgomery built a small fortified bailey on the site during the Norman invasion of Wales.
Around 100 years later, the castle was granted to William Marshal by Richard I. Marshal had been knighted in 1166, and in 1189, he became Earl of Pembroke through his marriage to Isabel de Clare.
After Marshal’s death in 1219, he was eulogised by Stephen Langton, the Archbishop of Canterbury, as the “greatest knight that ever lived.”
During his time at Pembroke Castle, Marshal rebuilt the castle in stone, and it’s this structure that still stands on the site today.
Upon his death, Marshal’s sons inherited the castle, but all died with no legitimate heirs, and the castle instead passed to William de Valence. The castle remained in the hands of the Valence family until 1389, when the final heir of the line died, and the castle was instead inherited by King Richard II.
Then in 1452, King Henry VI granted the castle and Earldom of Pembroke to his half-brother Jasper Tudor. While their other brother, Edmund Tudor, was made the Earl of Richmond.
In 1455, at age 25, Edmund married the then 12-year-old Lady Margaret Beaufort, the descendent of King Edward III, through the illegitimate Beaufort line. Despite her young age, Margaret quickly fell pregnant.
Following their wedding, Edmund and Margaret resided at Pembrokeshire’s Lamphey Palace, which now lies in ruins. Less than a year into their marriage, Edmund was captured and imprisoned by Yorkist forces at Carmarthen Castle.
During his imprisonment, Edmund contracted the bubonic plague and died on November 3, 1456, three months before the birth of his son. Edmund’s death left the 13-year-old Margaret a heavily pregnant widow, surrounded by war and plague.
After the death of his brother, Jasper brought his widowed sister-in-law to his home of Pembroke Castle, to ensure her and her unborn child’s safety during the plague epidemic.
It was at Pembroke Castle on January 28, 1457 that Margaret gave birth to a son, whom she named Henry.
A tower thought to have been the location of his birth has been named Henry VII Tower, although some historians have since cast doubt on this being the exact location.
Despite not being in the line of succession at the time of his birth, Henry Tudor would go on to be crowned King Henry VII, after he proved victorious at the Battle of Bosworth.
During the 15th and 16th centuries, Pembroke Castle experienced a lengthy period of peace until the outbreak of the English Civil War, when it was besieged first by Royalist forces and then by Parliamentarians after the allegiance of the castle’s occupants changed.
At least one of the attacks on Pembroke Castle is believed to have been led by Oliver Cromwell himself prior to him becoming Lord Protector.
Following the end of the Civil War, Pembroke Castle was left to fall into ruin, until a three year restoration project began in 1880.
The castle was then acquired by Major-General Sir Ivor Philipps in 1928 and he continued the castle’s restoration. Pembroke Castle has since remained in the hands of the Philipps family and is run by the Pembrokeshire Castle Trust.
