Hay Castle: Britain’s Oldest Working Defensive Gates
The Great Gates of Hay Castle in Wales are believed to be the oldest working defensive gates in Britain.
The wooden gates are hugely significant historically, one dating back to around the 14th century and the other from the 17th century.
Each door is of a different construction, suggesting one of the pair (west, left-hand) was replaced at a later time.
The doors have remained in place since they were originally built.
However, a few years ago, the ancient gates were removed for the first time in almost 400 years.
They were removed as part of a Heritage Lottery Fund-backed project to rescue the historic border castle and open it up to the public.
The Prince of Wales officially opened Hay Castle in 2021 by pushing the ancient gate open.
The gates were previously fenced off and hidden behind a tangle of ivy and scaffolding.
The gates have two layers of oak planks, each about 11⁄2 inches thick held together with strong iron nails with decorative heads, passed through the timber from the exterior and bent over on the inner face to hold tightly.
The outer boards were vertical and the inner one - right (west) horizontal.
Dendro-dating has been unable to establish a felling date of the east (left hand) door (when looked at, as here, from outside the castle) and it has been proposed on stylistic grounds to be of c. 1300.
The west (right-hand) door, containing a small wicket gate, has produced a dendro-date of between 1610-1640 – around the time of the Civil Wars or before, when the Jacobean house was completed.
Hay Castle still stands today because of ‘The Hay Castle Trust’ - a registered charity that was formed in 2011 to preserve this historic site and provide a future of cultural enrichment.
The vision was to renovate this beautiful building and make it safe and useable for current and future generations, creating a cultural space in the vibrant Book Town of Hay on Wye.
Maev Kennedy in The Art Newspaper writes...
"When the locally formed Hay Castle Trust bought the castle in 2011, the Grade I listed and scheduled ancient monument was judged by Cadw, the Welsh government’s heritage agency, to be in imminent danger of collapse, with large parts of the building considered to be at risk.
”Years of fundraising and a Heritage Lottery Fund grant in 2016 finally allowed repairs to begin.
”After much debate, it was agreed the exterior should be restored to its original appearance, but the interior has undergone an unabashedly modern refit.
”MICA architects have added handsome oak, steel and glass stairs and floors, including a museum-quality temporary exhibition gallery.
”The redesign has also opened public access to the roof of the keep and its stunning view of the town and the river Wye."
Part Norman, part Jacobean and part Victorian, Hay Castle itself has been a home to invaders, patriots’ citadel, country manor and a world-famous bookshop.
The motte, rising 3m to a summit 20m across near the parish church south-west of the town, is probably the site of the original Hay on Wye Castle, 'castello de haia', which is mentioned in 1121.
It was probably built by William Revel, one of Bernard de Newmarch's knights. Later in the 12th century, a more commanding site to the north-east was utilised for a large oval ringwork 85m by 70m.
Matilda de Braose is said to have built the stone keep in c1200, but it is perhaps more likely that she added the gateway arch to a tower built in the 1180s.
She died of starvation at the command of King John, who burnt the castle and town of Hay in 1216 while attempting to suppress the rebellion of Giles and Reginald de Braose.
They were burnt again by Llywelyn Fawr in 1231 and had to be rebuilt by Henry III.
In 1232 and 1237 he granted the townsfolk of Hay the right to collect a special toll to pay for walling in the town with stone.
The castle was captured by Prince Edward in 1264 and by Simon de Montfort's forces in 1265.
The multi-gabled Jacobean manor was then severely damaged by a devastating fire in 1939, and again in 1977.
The remains of the castle include a four-storey keep and a beautiful arched gateway, and remnants of the 18th century formal gardens and 19th century terraced gardens can still be seen.
In 2011 the castle was sold for around £2 million to Hay Castle Trust, which acquired it to restore the building for use as a centre for arts, literature and learning.
Today, the castle is open daily from 10am for tours.
It’s also home to a lovely cafe, situated on the ground floor of the castle.
With large windows that overlook the lawn and flood the café with natural light, offering a light and airy space to enjoy brunch, light lunches, cakes and snacks.
In the summer you can enjoy your food or drink out on the terrace or purchase an ice cream to take out to the deck chairs on the lawn.
During the winter months the large open fire will be lit ensuring a lovely cosy and warm atmosphere.
The Café is operated by Epicure, a team who have a simple mission - great food, delicious drinks and a warm welcome to all visitors of Hay Castle!
A recent reviews on TripAdvisor said: “Beautiful castle with a lot of investment into it, we really enjoyed our visit here and loved the little video in the cellar showing its history.
”Lady on front desk was very helpful and gave some great history on the castle.”
If you’d like to visit, the address is: “HAY CASTLE, Oxford Rd, Hay-on-Wye, Hereford HR3 5DG.
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