The Castle and Great Castle House

Great House

Little remains of Monmouth Castle, the birthplace of HENRY V.

It dates from soon after the Norman invasion of 1066 and was part of a chain of might stone castles in the area, used as based for controlling the local people and for further conquests westwards.

In Shakespeare's account of HENRY V, the King has a conversation on the eve of the battle of Agincourt with a Welsh soldier, Fluellen, in which Henry talks of the Wye and his own Welshness.

The town is proud of their connections with Henry, despite the fact that he left as a small baby.

There is detailed information on Henry in the Regimental Museum.

The House was built in 1673 by the Marquis of Worcester, using some of the stone from the ruined Castle.

Today it is the home of the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia) and houses the Regimental Museum.

The Regiment's origins go back to 1539 - just after Monmouth was made a County Town - and it became a Militia Regiment, based in the county.

In 1877, seeking a more active role, it transferred into the Royal Engineers Special Reserve and, as the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers, served in the Boer War, the two World Wars, and recently in Iraq.

It is the only survivor of the Militia system - and is the Senior Regiment of the Reserve Army.

Castle Wall