Panorama of the outer ward of Pembroke Castle, Pembrokeshire, Wales. May 2003. Click on the photo for a larger version.
It seemed appropriate to start the Picture of the Week with the birthplace of the first Tudor monarch – Henry VII.
The first castle on the site dates back to the last 11th century, but the earliest stone buildings date to the late-12th to early-13th century when William Marshall became the Earl of Pembroke. The impressive Great Tower (the round tower at the left of the photo) dates to that period.
In the mid-15th century, the earldom and castle became the property of Jasper Tudor, half-brother to King Henry VI and it was in 1457 that the young, recently-widowed Margaret Beaufort gave birth to Henry Tudor, her only child, in her brother-in-law’s castle. The tower to the far right of the photo is known as Henry VII’s tower, since he is thought to have been born in a room in that section of the castle.
To get the full, stirring – if anachronistic – flavor of Pembroke’s 15th-century history, you can listen to “Men of Harlech,” a song written in the 19th century to commemorate the 1468 siege of Pembroke, which involved Jasper Tudor, David ap Eynon and later Tudor favorite William Herbert (eventually given Jasper’s title of Pembroke by Edward IV for his success in taking the castle and finding there some “treasonable” letters of Queen Margaret).
“Tis the tramp of Saxon foemen,
Saxon spearmen, Saxon bowmen,
Be they knights or hinds or yeomen,
They shall bite the ground!” etc., etc.
You can listen to it at http://www.contemplator.com/wales/harlech.html – it’s a great resource for folk music of the British Isles.
Oops, that was Harlech, not Pembroke! (Obviously, from the song title). But it’s still a great “historical” song and the ruins of Pembroke fit well with the story.
Well, I’ve been to Harlech too, so maybe I can work in a photo of it in the future. 🙂
This makes me want to start digging back into my Jasper research, but I really shouldn’t right now… too many other things need doing!