The castle has gone under some restoration since my last visit, and the Great Hall has been restored to what it would have looked like in the time of Hugh Despencer, favourite of Edward II and married to his niece, Eleanor de Clare. The inside of the roof was most impressive.
The hall has been set up as if the Lord and Lady were dining, with 2 chairs at the head of the table. The table itself is covered with a cloth which tells the story of Hugh Despencer. It's the first time I've seen it and I managed to take some photos.
First up, the wedding of Hugh and Eleanor.
The story of Llewelyn Bren. Not Hugh Despencer's finest hour!
An unhappy Isabella heads to France as Edward is seemingly ruled by Despencer.
Edward and Despencer flee to Despencer's castle at Caerphilly before making their way to Neath Abbey where they surrender to Isabella. Below is the execution of Despencer. Those familiar with this famous depiction of Despencer's dreadful execution will realise the embroiders for this cloth have respected Despencer's modesty!
That cloth must be new.
ReplyDeleteBut Isabella should get her second foot into that boat pronto, or she'll keel over and take a swim. :-)
Yes it is new. That's why I like to revisit castles every few years because they constantly change things. The cloth isn't the only new feature- there's also an interactive video room telling the story of the castle.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had the money to revisit castles on a regular basis, but Wales is a bit far away. :-) I have revisited a few local ones like the Weidelsburg after the renovation of the second keep.
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