Pembroke Castle

Part of Pembroke Castle. The massive keep (on the left) was built in 1200 AD, its height is 23 metres (75 feet) and the walls at its base are 6 metres (19 feet) thick..
Larger version

Pembroke Castle, located in the centre of the town of Pembroke, is one of the most impressive Norman castles in south Wales, first established in about 1095, when the Norman Conquest of Wales was far from complete.

In 1138, it became the property of Gilbert de Clare, first Earl of Pembroke. Eventually it was given to Jasper Tudor along with the earldom, and he brought his widowed sister-in-law, Margaret Beaufort, to the castle to give birth to her only child, the future King Henry VII of England (1457).

Most of the damage to the castle was done during the English Civil War, when its owners changed sides at an inopportune moment. Today the castle is in the care of Cadw and open to the public.

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