page_title: Three Castles
section_title: 11th-12th centuries
hierarchical_section_title: Three Castles / History / 11th-12th centuries
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Tapisserie de Bayeux - Scène 19&#160;: le siège de Dinan (détail). Les soldats de Guillaume, duc de Normandie, attaquent la motte castrale de Dinan. Le duc de Bretagne, Conan, capitule et remet les clefs de la ville sur une lance. English: Bayeux Tapestry - Scene 19: siege of Dinan (detail). The soldiers of William, Duke of Normandy attack the motte-and-bailey castle of Dinan. Conan II, Duke of Brittany surrenders and gives the keys to Dinan via a lance.
context_page_description: The Three Castles was a former medieval lordship, comprising the fortifications of Grosmont, Skenfrith and White Castle in Monmouthshire, Wales. The castles were established by the Normans in the wake of their conquest of England in 1066, to protect the route from Wales to Hereford. Possibly commissioned by William fitz Osbern, the Earl of Hereford, they initially comprised earthwork fortifications with timber defences. In 1135, a major Welsh revolt took place and in response King Stephen brought the castles together to form the lordship, which continued to play a role in defending the region for several centuries.
  Some work was carried out to develop the castles in the 12th century, but their current form mainly dates from the 13th century. In 1201, King John gave the castles to a powerful royal official, Hubert de Burgh. During the course of the next few decades, the lordship passed back and forth between several owners, including Hubert, the rival de Braose family, and the Crown. During his tenure, Hubert completely levelled and rebuilt Skenfrith Castle, and substantially redeveloped Grosmont.
context_section_description: The fortifications that came to make up the lordship of the "Three Castles" were built in the wake of the Norman invasion of England in 1066. Shortly after the invasion, the Normans pushed up into the Welsh Marches, where William the Conqueror made William fitz Osbern the Earl of Hereford. Earl William added further to his new lands, capturing the towns of Monmouth and Chepstow. The Normans used castles extensively to subdue the Welsh, establish new settlements and exert their claims of lordship over the territories.
  Grosmont, Skenfrith, and White Castle were all constructed in the Monnow valley around this time, possibly by Earl William himself, to protect the route from Wales to Hereford. The first castles on these sites were built from earth and timber. The earldom's landholdings in the region were slowly broken up after William's son, Roger de Breteuil, rebelled against the King in 1075. In 1135, a major Welsh revolt took place, however, and in response King Stephen restructured the landholdings along this section of the Marches, bringing the castles back under the control of the Crown to form the lordship known as the "Three Castles".
  Conflict with the Welsh continued, and following a period of détente under King Henry II in the 1160s, the de Mortimer and de Braose Marcher families attacked their Welsh rivals during the 1170s, leading to a Welsh assault on nearby Abergavenny Castle in 1182. In response, the Crown readied the castle to face an attack, including rebuilding parts of Skenfrith and White Castle in stone.
caption: The construction of earth and timber castles were essential to the Norman conquest of England and the Welsh Marches[1]
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