Raglan Castle

Raglan Castle

Castles from the Clouds: Raglan Castle - Cymru o'r Awyr: Raglan Castle, Reglan, United Kingdom How does one begin to describe the handsome majesty that is Raglan Castle? Raglan, with its great multi-angular towers and Tudor-styling, is unlike any other castle in Wales. There were only three times during our vacation, when visiting a site, I said to myself, "this is why we came to Wales." The first time was while viewing Conwy Castle from the spur wall near the Quay. The second was upon seeing the cathedral and Bishop's Palace at St. Davids, and the last was while standing in front of the double-towered gatehouse at Raglan.The main stone used in construction of the castle is sandstone, but of two different types. The 15th century castle is characterized by pale, almost yellowish sandstone from Redbrook on the Wye river, three miles away. The other sandstone is local Old Red Sandstone, red, brown or purplish in color, used in the Tudor work. A paler stone was also used in the fireplaces. From a distance, Raglan seemed to have a reddish cast, although on approaching the gatehouse, the castle's yellow sandstone becomes obvious. www.castlewales.com Filmed as part of a new series of videos that showcase Cadw's historic monuments from the air. For a castle built for show rather than battle, Raglan Castle impressively held off Oliver Cromwell's forces for 13 weeks in one of the last sieges of the Civil War. The castle, created by William Harbert, was eventually taken and was systematically destroyed by parliament.