19 May 2026: 6 Stops on a Rainy Day on the Welsh Border
Today I had typical English weather, but got to visit 3 Ruined Castles, one beautiful Castle, a huge Church, and one Church that used to be a Priory and was built in the 1200's.
Stop #1 was an old church in the Herefordshire country side. St. John the Baptist Priory Church was built around 1230, in conjunction with a priory founded by Margaret de Braose de Lacy. Yesterday I mentioned that King John had destroyed the de Braose family. It came about when William de Braose, Margeret's father, had knowledge of King John killing his nephew, Arthur Plantagenet. De Braose was a close advisor to King John, and did some pretty despicable things in his lifetime, earning himself the nickname "The Ogre of Abergavenny".
King John died in 1216, and when his son Henry III came to power, Margeret de Lacy, William's daughter, petitioned the King to found Aconbury Priory, where she could bury her parents. The Priory was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII, but the church remained, and became the local parish church.
Today, the church isn't used, but it hasn't been destroyed either. There are numerous flagstones near the altar, possibly marking the final resting place of nobles and locals who were buried underneath them. This is also considered one of the most haunted churches in England. The people who I spoke with that live next door to the church said that a monk that was buried somewhere in the church haunts it today.
The walls inside the church had a flowery paint design that looked rather old. The floors were covered in bird droppings, and there were a few flying inside when I visited. In the pictures, the farmer who lives next door to the church is telling me about the church, and when he used to attend services there in 1972, but as you can see, it hasn't been used in a while. The Church is locked up all the time, so unless you befriend the farmer, you'll have to see it from the outside. Enjoy the pics!
The next stop was just over the Welsh border, Skenfrith Castle. Skenfrith Castle (Welsh: Castell Ynysgynwraidd) is a ruined castle in the village of Skenfrith in Monmouthshire, Wales. The fortification was established by the Normans in the wake of the invasion of England in 1066, to protect the route from Wales to Hereford. Possibly commissioned by William fitz Osbern, the First Earl of Hereford (my 28th Great Grandfather), the castle comprised earthworks with timber defenses. In 1135, a major Welsh revolt took place and in response King Stephen brought together Skenfrith Castle and its sister fortifications of Grosmont and White Castle to form a lordship known as the "Three Castles", which continued to play a role in defending the region from Welsh attack for several centuries.
There is a beautiful river to the East of the ruined castle, and plenty of sign boards to explain what it was, and its importance to England. My ancestor associated with Skenfrith is Ralph de Wallis, his son Sir Knight John Wallis and his Grandaughter, Alice. At the end of the 12th century, Skenfrith was rebuilt in stone. In 1201, King John gave the castle to a powerful royal official, Hubert de Burgh. During the course of the next few decades, it passed back and forth between several owners, including Hubert, the rival de Braose family, and the Crown. Hubert levelled the old castle and built a new rectangular fortification with round towers and a circular keep. In 1267 it was granted to Edmund, the Earl of Lancaster, and remained in the hands of the earldom, and later duchy, of Lancaster until 1825.
Edward I's conquest of Wales in 1282 removed much of Skenfrith Castle's military utility, and by the 16th century it had fallen into disuse and ruin. The castle was placed into the care of the state by the National Trust in 1936, and is now managed by the Cadw heritage agency.
The third stop was Monmouth Castle in the Welsh border town of Monmouth. This was the birthplace of Henry V, and you can see it everywhere in this town, even though the castle is a ruin, and there isn't much of it to be seen.
Two of my ancestors were died at Monmouth Castle. Sir Gilbert "The Red" de Clare (1295), and William Fitzbaderon (1130) of old age. Here are few pictures of what was left of the castle when I visited.
The 4th place today was Wilton Castle, near Ross on Wye in Herefordshire. This castle is in private hands, and I did not have access to it, but there is a walking path around the castle that allowed me to see and take some pictures of it.
I have a lot of ancestors who lived in this castle. There have last names of: De Grey, De Longchamp, and De Lacy. Sir Reynold de Grey was born in the castle in 1235, and it stayed in the hands of my ancestors until 1395. I would have loved to had access to it, but can only imagine how beautiful this castle was years ago.
The last two stops were right next to each other, Thornbury Castle, and St. Mary the Virgin Church in the town of Thornbury. The rain was really coming down when I arrived, so I hid out in the church. It was so much more than just a church. It was a small cathedral, with high ceilings, and surrounded by a churchyard. Thayers, Dimerys, and Gaynors all worshipped at the church, and were buried there. The castle was a stop that I couldn't miss. It is in private hands, but has been turned into a hotel, and the grounds are fabulous. The castle was built and lived in by the Stafford family around 1510, but all of the Stafford's in my family tree are from before that. Still, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn stayed there after it was built. Here are a few pictures of the castle, and a few from the Church.
