© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw
Abergavenny Castle is a Norman castle founded in the late eleventh century by Hamelin de Ballon, establishing a stronghold within the lordship of Abergavenny in Monmouthshire. The castle comprises a substantial motte-and-bailey earthwork crowned by a stone keep, with the remains of a gatehouse and defensive walls that reflect its strategic importance controlling the Usk valley. Originally built to anchor Norman military control in the Welsh Marches, the castle remained a significant defended settlement throughout the medieval period, with phases of stone construction and modification extending into the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The surviving structures, though substantially ruined, retain their defensive character and remain a prominent feature within the modern town of Abergavenny.
Abergavenny Castle is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference MM056. View the official record →
Abergavenny Castle is a Norman castle founded in the late eleventh century by Hamelin de Ballon, establishing a stronghold within the lordship of Abergavenny in Monmouthshire. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference MM056.
Abergavenny Castle dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a castle. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Abergavenny Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is MM056.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including St. Bartholomew's Churchyard Cross, Llanover (4.9 km), Llanvihangel Nigh Usk Churchyard Cross (6.6 km), Blaenafon Ironworks (6.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Abergavenny Castle's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Abergavenny Castle stands on Lower Devonian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.