Chepstow

#95 Chepstow Castle
Gwent, Wales
1067-1300
This is NOT an official Lego site

This project is in honor of Frances and Joseph Gies, my aunt and uncle, whose many books about medieval life and castles,
beginning with Life in a Medieval City in 1969, have been a continuing source of inspiration to me. Their Life in a Medieval
Castle, published by Crowell in 1974, tells the story of Chepstow Castle and can still be found 30 years later in many bookstores.

Chepstow Castle is one of the most famous and formidible fortresses in Wales. The castle is located on the River Wye which divides England from south Wales, near the main road from Gloucestershire into Gwent. Guarding the bridge on the most southern coastal land route into Wales, Chepstow's importance increased because the steep river cliffs of the Wye left no other useable crossing until one reached Monmouth about 15 miles up the river (see Monnow Bridge page). The castle also guarded the flourishing Norman town of Cheap-stow (= 'the market town') at the mouth of the Wye.

The construction of Chepstow began within months of the battle of Hastings, when William fitz Osbern was made Earl of Hereford and built Chepstow 1 (see stages below) as his base for the conquest of the Welsh kingdom of Gwent. The Great Keep in the center is the earliest dateable secular building in Britain. Chepstow was granted to the de Clare family about 1115, but no new construction was done until the castle, part of the vast inheritance of Isabella de Clare upon the death of her father Strongbow, passed to William Marshall upon his marriage to Isabella. William's addition of two towers to the vulnerable east end of the castle was greatly augmented by the further additions by 4 of his 5 sons between 1219 and 1245. These improvements included the lower ward with its gatehouse on the east end and the upper ward on the west end with two separate battlemented residential towers. The west end of the Great Tower was heightened as well.

The Marshall brothers all died childless by 1245 and the families holdings were thus divided among the sisters. The eldest, Maud, received Chepstow which she passed upon her death to son Roger Bigod II, the Earl of Norfolk. While the Earl's interests were elsewhere, his son Roger Bigod III was very interested in his Marcher lordship when he inherited Chepstow in 1270. The lower ward of the castle received an enlarged curtain tower and a major residential range, the west end was strengthened further with the barbican gatehouse, and the Great Tower was further embellished. Bigod's numerous building projects left him in debt and Chepstow passed to the king upon his death in 1306. Most major action was avoided at Chepstow until the Civil War, when the castle's impregnable location and medeival defenses quickly succumbed to Cromwellian cannon.


Chepstow 1: William fitz Osbern's castle about 1067-1075.	Chepstow 2: William Marshall the Elder's castle with new defenses, about 1200.	Chepstow 3: Chepstow is enlarged by' the younger Marshalls from 1219-1245.	Chepstow 4: Roger Bigod III completes Chepstow as his noble residence from 1270 to 1300.


East view of layout - with Marten's Tower outlines in the foreground.	The cliffs along the River Wye begin to take shape...	Setting Marten's Tower at a 45º angle is one of several difficult tasks to resolve in Lego.	Construction continues on the Outer Gatehouse and Residential Range...


Finally on February 22 the east face is complete, protecting the castle's most vulnerable part.	Here's a view from the river of the almost finished Residential Range & Marten's Tower.	On March 13 the eastern Outer and Wards are completed, and the Great Tower rises on the west end...	This view shows the completed Residential Range plus the Great Tower and Gallery forming.

Photos of the Lego Model
Built Winter-Spring 2004
The model contains 26,352 bricks, making it the third largest of my castles, after Chillon and Wartburg. It is of course
the longest! The castle itself was built with 16,785 light gray Lego bricks; the cliff with 3,150 dark gray bricks and
plates plus 116 BURPs and LURPs; and the landscaping with 1007 green slopes.


Here's a scene showing some of the residential range in the lower ward.	Here's a detail of the gate between the lower and middle baileys.	And a view of the residential range, middle ward and great tower from the WNW.	The cove beneath the Hall Block - used to supply the castle from the river.


The west barbican and upper bailey also guard the massive Great Tower	The upper gatehouse is the west entrance to Chepstow.	The barbican with the timber- backed south-west tower.	The barbican and upper bailey are separated by yet another drawbridge.

Build Your Own
The plan for Chepstow was drawn in 1990, but at that time I not only
lacked the Lego to build the castle, the old ping pong table on which
I built would not handle an 8'6" model. Not a problem with the new
table though! The model is expanded to 10 feet!

Here's the link to the 76KB Lego Plan - good for an overview but not
large enough for an actual builder. Therefore I've broken the plan into
4 overlapping sections, each large enough to be readable.


General Plan of Chepstow Castle	Drawing of the ruin with key	Drawing of the Gatehouse about 1240 (Chepstow 3)	Drawing of the Great Tower' about 1250 (Chepstow 3)


Barbican & Upper Ward	Great Tower	Middle Ward	Lower Ward


Here's the view approaching the outer bailey from the northeast.	The view from the east with the huge Marten's tower.	The entire 10 foot, 1 inch model from the southeast.


A closer view of the Great Tower and its gallery, plus the upper ward.	A panorama of the entire castle from the south.	The castle from the WSW.