Why is Chepstow Castle so BIG?

Chepstow Castle is the oldest surviving post-Roman stone fortification in Britain. Situated in Monmouthshire in Wales on cliffs overlooking a bend in the tidal part of the River Wye, it was the southernmost of a chain of castles built in the Welsh Marches. Construction began in 1067 under the instruction of the Norman Lord William FitzOsbern. It was originally called Striguil, which means River Bend.
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[@danmaltby3271]

so cool you had the place for yourselves

[@georgebarclaysmith4771]

Phhwaarrrrrrrrrrr ark at em jublers mind

[@dav6913]

Something else is of grand proportions

[@MostlyCastles]

It is deceptively huge

[@mykpilgrim]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@MostlyCastles]

😀

[@citizencairn5230]

I'm quite amazed how many people deride the defences of Chepstow. Utter nonsense, in my opinion. The northern flank is protected by sheer cliffs above a wide river, a very simple explanation for the concentration of masonry to the south.

Previše ima prekratkih scena.

[@MostlyCastles]

Ali tada bi film bio jako dugačak.

@@MostlyCastles Da ne bi film bio predugačak, treba izbaciti neke scene. Za oko je ugodnije gledati jednu scenu od 6 sekundi, nego tri scene po dvije sekunde. Sve što je kraće od 6 sekundi, prekratko je. Nije užitak gledati lijepi videozapis sa kratkim scenama, jer lijepu scenu želim što duže gledati, ali me nervira, kad još nisam dobro pogledao jednu scenu, već dolazi druga scena. Zašto trpati što više scena u što kraći videozapis? Treba snimati sa dužim scenama, a ne sa prekratkim.

[@MostlyCastles]

Hvala na unosu. Vidim tvoju poantu. Ovaj se film osjeća pomalo užurbanim u uređivanju. Pokušat ćemo učiniti naše filmove ugodnijima za gledanje ako ne slušate ono što se govori, već više obraćate pažnju na ono što možete vidjeti. Pitam se imaju li i naši kasniji filmovi istu temu.

@@MostlyCastles Ja ne znam niti jedan strani jezik, pa ne slušam što se u videozapisu govori, već samo gledam što se prikazuje i kako se prikazuje. Videozapisi sa dužim scenama me opuštaju, a videozapisi sa kratkim scenama me nerviraju, jer ne stignem pogledati svaki detalj na sceni. Na primjer, uživam gledati videozapise od Hook Line & Chill, jer imaju duge scene. Muzički videozapisi me nerviraju zbog prekratkih scena.

[@MostlyCastles]

Razmišljali smo da bismo možda trebali snimiti neke filmove koji su samo lijepe slike s glazbom, a ne povijesne filmove koje smo snimali. Neka vam oči budu oljuštene u budućnosti.

[@lauralyons9944]

I wish you were still doing your castle videos. You and your videos are just lovely!

[@bobbonner1314]

Oddly enough, when in the castle and looking over the River Wye, you are looking at England, not Wales.

[@MostlyCastles]

Yeah, the boarders are very squiggly. I think the castle helped in that respect

[@medievalmayhem6158]

Excellent video by engaging presenters. Please keep them coming. If you're ever local to Weston Super Mare I'd like to buy you lunch! 😊

[@StaciLeaBeauty]

Wow that does look massive. That ceiling in the cellar so gorgeous.

[@MostlyCastles]

It is huge, and they made excellent use of the space

[@FindingTime]

I love how much is still preserved despite its age. Lovely video as always!

[@MostlyCastles]

Thank you. It really is surprising how much of it there is considering how much could have been easily pinched to build local houses with. Perhaps the locals just liked seeing it there.

[@pete2347]

A very impressive castle! Thanks for the tour!

[@PinnedonPlaces]

Super impressive castle - we are planning a trip later in the year and are going to make sure Chepstow is on that list. Thanks for the great video!

[@MostlyCastles]

Chepstow covers a lot of ground, so it really helped that there were two of us on this one. It's a wonderful castle, and there's a nice pub nearby (assuming it'll be open when you visit) Have fun!

[@tomasbud7746]

William Marshal's abode

[@WizardofOzarks]

Great job guys as always

[@MostlyCastles]

Thank you. Very glad you enjoyed it.

[@magnuslauglo5356]

I'm no experrt on Chepstow, but its size means that it would require quite a large garrison to hold the entire castle in a siege, which in turn, requires lots of stores of food and so forth. I suppose the long thing design takes advantage of the ridge that it sits on, and really makes it very very hard for anyone to pass along the river without the castle's approval.

[@MostlyCastles]

Yeah, they definitely made the most of the advantage gained by the landscape. And when Chepstow port wall went up they had even greater control

[@henryvagincourt4502]

I understand the Great Tower dated before 1071 is the oldest in Britain, predating the more famous White Tower of the Tower of London. Very enjoyable, as normal.

[@MostlyCastles]

That is interesting, wish we’d known that going in! Thank you for sharing, and glad you enjoyed😊

[@henryvagincourt4502]

@@MostlyCastles I trust you two are well, I hope you are planning to return?

[@lustforlife358]

Nicely done!!

[@MostlyCastles]

Thanks!

[@DanHaug]

Great video! Love your shots of the castle, as well as your humor. My wife tells me that Chepstow was built as foothold into Wales, which is why the side facing the river is not particularly well fortified. They were more concerned about the Welsh hordes attacking from the west. :)

[@MostlyCastles]

Thank you. She's absolutely right. Besides which you would have to have some serious climbing skill to get up to the castle from the river side. I can't imagine it would be much fun either. That mud is really quite unpleasant. There is supposed to be a cave at the water level, which formerly allowed access to the castle. I don't think it is still accessible though. The Welsh must have been a particularly difficult foe when you consider the number of castles built to subdue them. Also thank you for becoming our 300th subscriber.

[@bigbird6039]

In the 1970’s my mother used to sell entry tickets to the Castle. Then the ticket office was a wooden 6x4 ft shed just inside the front gate. My mates and I enjoyed free access in the school holidays great fun in summer.

[@MostlyCastles]

What wonderful memories! That must have been quite the playground, the welcome desk has definitely expanded quite a bit since your Mother’s time

[@philtrundle]

That looked a big task getting around all of the place! Great video both.

[@MostlyCastles]

It was, it’s one of the reasons we split up to explore. I think we did manage to see it all between the two of us, but it still took a large portion of the day

[@davidokihara4171]

A very beautiful castle. Its just amazing tht it is still intact after several years.

[@MostlyCastles]

And after people tried to tear it down too

[@bigbird6039]

They’re still building it . Bloody Chepstow builders dragging work out as usual.

[@mustafa1name]

Lax editing: at one point it is correctly mentioned that the castle was originally named after the town's old name, Striguil ('strig-will'), meaning bend in the river, then later someone wrongly states that it was named after the river "stry gwell". William Marshall, the most famous knight ever, and the inspiration for the movie "The Knights Tale", became lord of the castle when he married the Countess of Pembroke and Striguil. He built large sections of it. The castle was only besieged much later, during the civil war, when it was held by Royalists. For most of it's existence it was used for accommodation. The doors were not just "replaced" they were replaced by replicas built by the army, which seems rather fitting. That small white bridge over the river used to be the main crossing point between England and south Wales!

[@MostlyCastles]

Thanks for taking the time to correct us. Certainly some stuff there we didn't know.

[@mustafa1name]

@@MostlyCastles I've been reading a little bit of history after discovering the castle this summer. Those times under Henry II really were the foundation of modern Britain. The Great Hall in Westminster, where the queens body lay in state in autumn, was also built during those times. The river itself (Wye, or Gwy in Welsh) is also interesting, with one of the biggest tidal ranges in the entire world. Thanks for your content, it really is an atmospheric and charismatic place, and the view from the river up the enormous black back wall is truly dramatic, especially at low tide

[@MostlyCastles]

It does make quite the statement! I’m not sure if I didn’t know about the tidal range, or had forgotten… Since you’re interested in the Wye as well, look up Beachly Head- it’s a tiny little spit of land, but it has quite an interesting history

[@mustafa1name]

@@MostlyCastles Thank you, yes very interesting! When I was in Chepstow I ran the local Parkrun on Saturday morning. The course is all on the walkway of the old Severn bridge (technically 2 bridges), passing over the Wye, across the Beachley peninsula, then out over the river Severn into England before a U-turn back into Wales. Fabulous scenery there too

[@mustafa1name]

@@MostlyCastles Thanks, very interesting indeed! The replica doors on the castle were actually made by the army apprentice school, which used to be at Beachley. I even saw Beachley when I visited, without realising it, because I ran the local Parkrun, which follows the walkway on the Severn bridge. It is technically 2 bridges: one from Wales across the Wye to the Beachley peninsula (in England) and the second across the Severn, but for all practical purposes it is a continuous structure. There is no exit at Beachley, it just passes over. Fabulous scenery there too.