Wales · Restored
Roch Castle
Castell y Garn
Roch Castle is a 13th-century stone castle at Roch near Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire, Wales, built around 1200 on a rocky outcrop. It was burned in 1644, restored in the early 20th century, and extensively restored and converted into a hotel in the 21st century.
Its prime
1640
Today
Restored
As it stood in 1640
What Roch Castle looked like in its prime.
Sits atop a low jagged limestone outcrop, the castle presents a compact multi-storey rectangular keep of grey-brown rubble stone with small rectangular windows and a crenellated parapet. A taller, smooth white-painted tower abuts the stone keep, rising with narrow vertical slits and a flat roof with a flagpole. A low coursed-stone boundary wall and a curved paved approach road lead up to the rock; at its prime the fabric and battlements were complete and intact.
Its story
The story of Roch Castle.
Adam de Rupe's Rock, c. 1200
Roch Castle, Castell y Garn in Welsh, was raised on a rocky outcrop near Haverfordwest by the Norman knight Adam de Rupe around 1200, probably on the site of an earlier wooden structure. Roche is the usual French word for rock, while rupestre signifies a plant growing among rocks.
It went up at the same time as Pill Priory near Milford Haven. It was probably built in this location as one of the outer defences of "Little England", or "Landsker", standing near the unmarked border which for centuries has separated the English and Welsh areas of Pembrokeshire.
The de Rupes Die Out, the Walters Arrive, 15th-17th Centuries
The de Rupe family died out in the 15th century, and the castle was taken over eventually, in the 17th century, by the Walter family. Their daughter Lucy was born in the castle. She became a courtesan of Charles II and bore him an acknowledged son, James, 1st Duke of Monmouth.
Burned by Parliament, 1644-1685
During the English Civil War the Walter family declared for King Charles I. Pembrokeshire was initially Royalist, but the Puritans gained the upper hand. The castle changed hands twice; the Walters fled when it was captured for a second time by Parliamentary forces, and it was burned in 1644. It lay dormant and unclaimed afterwards.
Lucy Walter's son led a rebellion. Monmouth was captured at the Battle of Sedgemoor and beheaded on 15 July 1685.
Steel Frame to Hotel, 1900-2013
The castle remained decaying until 1900, when it was purchased by John Philipps, 1st Viscount St Davids, who restored it with a steel frame and new concrete floors to the designs of D. E. Thomas of Haverfordwest. Further works were carried out in 1910 and circa 1918-20, the latter campaign by D. F. Ingleton.
Keith Griffiths purchased the castle in 2008 and restored it as a hotel, to designs by Griffiths and Acanthus Holden, completed in 2013; the hotel has won a number of awards. The building is a Grade I listed building and a National Monument of Wales, in the community of Nolton and Roch.
Step inside
6 places to explore in 1640.
The record describes 6 distinct spots at Roch Castle, including the full exterior approach. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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Recreate Roch Castle with AI to explore it.
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Clans who held Roch Castle.
The families that held Roch Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
de Rupe
Built by Adam de Rupe c.1200; the family held it until the line died out in the 15th century.
Walter
Held by the Walter family in the 17th century, until they fled its capture and burning in 1644.
Purchased and restored from 1900 by John Philipps, 1st Viscount St Davids.
