Raglan Castle
  • Raglan Castle
  • Raglan Castle

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About

Raglan Castle has an unmistakable silhouette crowning a ridge amid glorious Monmouthshire countryside, and is the grandest castle ever built by Welshmen.

We can thank Sir William ap Thomas, the ‘blue knight of Gwent’, for the moated Great Tower of 1435 that still dominates this mighty fortress-palace. His son Sir William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, created the gatehouse with its flared ‘machicolations’.

These stone arches allowed missiles to be rained down on attackers. But Raglan came 150 years later than the turbulent heyday of castle-building. It was designed to impress as much as to intimidate.

Under various earls of Worcester Raglan was transformed into a magnificent country seat with a fashionable long gallery and one of the finest Renaissance gardens in Britain. But loyalty to the crown was to prove its undoing.

Despite a garrison of 800 men and one of the longest sieges of the Civil War, it fell to parliamentary forces and was deliberately destroyed. Among the looted treasures was a piece of Tudor wooden panelling, now proudly displayed in the visitor centre after being rescued from a cow shed in the 1950s.

Raglan Castle Renaissance Gardens

The landscape surrounding Raglan Castle is recognised as one of the most significant surviving gardens from the Renaissance period in Britain. Although only the structure of the gardens is visible today.

The castle gardens had their heyday in the 1620s when there were terraces, knot gardens, a moated walk, and a water parterre, one of only a handful made in Britain at that time. Water channels were cut in diamond shapes to create islands at the head of the lake. Boggy channels and mounds, which can still be seen today in the meadow below the kitchen tower, provide evidence of this unusual feature. After the Civil War the castle was abandoned and the gardens have been left overgrown and largely untouched. However, the original structure can be clearly seen in earthworks surviving on the ground.

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Events

30th Nov 2024 - 1st Dec 2024

Santa at RaglanChristmas Starts Here!Put on your Christmas jumper and get into the festive spirit with us at Raglan Castle! Optional grotto available.
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Related

Raglan CastleGroup Visits to Raglan Castle, RaglanGroups of 15 or more receive a 10% discount ‘party rate’ as long as one payment transaction is made per group. Coach drivers who bring groups may always come in for free on the day with their party.

Facilities

Accessibility

  • Disabled access
  • Disabled toilets
  • Facilities for hearing impaired

Catering

  • On-site light refreshments
  • Picnic site

Children

  • Baby changing facilities
  • Children welcome

Parking

  • Free Parking

Property Facilities

  • Dogs Accepted
  • Gift shop
  • Public toilets
  • Smoking not allowed

Site Features

  • Regional Tourist Board Member

Target Markets

  • Accepts groups

Map & Directions

Road Directions

A40 south-west from Monmouth & at the junction with the A449, take the A40 towards Abergavenny. Raglan Castle is signed at the next roundabout (go right around the roundabout and then first left).Bus: 7 miles (11km) Monmouth, route No 60, Newport-Monmouth. 2-hourly daily. Bike: Regional Route No.30 (0.6 mile/1km). Accessible by Public Transport: Abergavenny station is 9 miles away.

Raglan Castle (Cadw)

Type:Castle

Raglan Castle, Raglan, Monmouthshire, NP15 2BT
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Call direct on:

Tel03000 252239

Awards

  • Visit WalesCadw Welsh Government Cadw Welsh Government 2016
  • Visit WalesVisit Wales VAQAS Visit Wales VAQAS 2016
  • Regional and MiscellaneousWTTC Safe Travels WTTC Safe Travels 2021

Opening Times

Season (1 Jan 2024 - 31 Dec 2024)

What's Nearby

  1. The Dell Vineyard is a small, family-run vineyard near Raglan selling award-winning wine.

    0.96 miles away
  2. Raglan farm park is open whatever the weather.

    1.07 miles away
  3. Located in the heart of the Monmouthshire countryside, Court Robert Arts sell garden…

    1.26 miles away
  4. Kitty's Orchard contains a tranquil woodland and flower-rich meadow managed by Gwent…

    2.46 miles away
  1. A design led garden, built to entertain, which has opened for 13 years under the NGS.

    2.49 miles away
  2. Longhouse Farm has a garden matured over 25 years, with continual development. Enjoy a…

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  3. Coed y Bwnydd is the largest and possibly best-preserved Iron Age hill fort in…

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  4. A Noble Mansion. It occupies a commanding situation from whence are surveyed some of the…

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  5. Grade I listed medieval church which was rebuilt in the 1800s, carefully reusing some of…

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  6. Like something out of a fairy-tale, this stunning ancient woodland is a tranquil place to…

    4.03 miles away
  7. This diminutive Grade I listed church dates from the 13th century, and is said to house…

    4.04 miles away
  8. Visit Glebe House garden.

    4.08 miles away
  9. This stunning ancient woodland offers peace and tranquillity and a wealth of wildlife.

    4.26 miles away
  10. The Wern is a beautiful 3 hectare reserve near Monmouth with great views.

    4.36 miles away
  11. Probably a manorial site belonging to the bishops of Llandaff in the thirteenth and…

    4.4 miles away
  12. Established in 2001, Craft Renaissance is a collective of independent businesses based in…

    4.57 miles away
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