Skenfrith Castle

Skenfrith Castle (Welsh: Ynysgynwraidd) is a medieval castle located in Monmouthshire, Wales. The castle is in the centre of the village of Skenfrith, located on the banks of the River Monnow, five and a half miles north-west of the town of Monmouth. The first defences were built shortly after the Norman Conquest of 1066, although the remains of the castle that stand today date from the early thirteenth century. The castle is a Grade II* listed building as at 19 November 1953.

Grouped with White Castle and Grosmont Castle, Skenfrith is one of the "Three Castles" or Trilateral Castles built in the Monnow Valley as part of the Norman conquest of South Wales.

History of "The Three Castles"

The Monnow Valley was an important route between Hereford and Monmouth in medieval times, due to its position as an area of relatively open land, which provided a break between the river cliffs of the Wye Valley to the east, and the hills around Abergavenny to the west. The Three Castles are usually grouped together by historians because for almost their entire history they were part of a block of territory under the control of a single lord.

Skenfrith

Coordinates: 51°52′37″N 2°47′17″W / 51.877°N 2.788°W / 51.877; -2.788

Skenfrith (Welsh: Ynysgynwraidd) is a small village in Monmouthshire, south-east Wales. It is located on the River Monnow, close to the border between Wales and England, about 6 miles (9.7 km) north-west of Monmouth. The road through the village (B4521) was once the A40, linking Ross-on-Wye and Abergavenny.

History and amenities

The Welsh placename Ynysgynwraidd, from which the English name derives, means "island of Cynfraeth", possibly a local 6th century leader.

Skenfrith is most famous for its castle, one of the Three (or 'trilateral') Castles – with Grosmont Castle and White Castle – built in the area after the Norman conquest by Marcher Lords to subjugate and dominate this part of the turbulent Welsh Marches into the medieval period. The castle was substantially rebuilt by Hubert de Burgh between 1219 and 1223, but by 1538 it was abandoned and in ruins.

St. Bridget's Church, Skenfrith was first mentioned in 1207, and was reconstructed and enlarged in the 14th century. The church has a squat tower and large buttress. The whole is listed Grade1. The interior has a Jacobean pew and the tomb of the last governor of the Three Castles. It also holds the Skenfrith Cope, an embroidered vestment of red velvet and linen which has been dated to the late 15th century. Its design shows the Assumption of the Virgin, surrounded by angels and saints.

Skenfrith Hundred

Skenfrith was an ancient hundred of Monmouthshire.

It contained the following ancient parishes:

The exclave of Welsh Bicknor was transferred to Herefordshire in 1844. Other parts of the hundred are now administered by the local authority of Monmouthshire.

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