This video focuses on two sites in South Wales established by the Lords of Chepstow: Chepstow Castle and Tintern Abbey Chepstow Castle was begun in 1067 by the first Earl of Hereford, William Fitz Osbern, who was a close friend of William the conqueror. As you can see by the early date at which the first motte and bailey castle was begun, Chepstow was seen as a crucial early castle for control of the March. It is located on the western, or Welsh, bank of the Wye River, and thus for hundreds of years gave the Normans a foothold in Wales. Crucially, though it is in Wales, it can be supplied from the river in the event of a siege. Subsequent Lords of Chepstow included William Marshal, the Earl of Pembroke and Roger Bigod, the Earl of Norfolk, each of Read more…