Picton Castle

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Engraving of Picton Castle

Picton Castle in 2006

Picton Castle is a medieval castle near Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire, West Wales.

It was originally built at the end of the 13th century by Sir John Wogan and is still inhabited by his descendants, the Philipps family (see Baron Milford and Viscount St Davids).

The castle is now owned and operated by the Picton Castle Trust. It has been extensively remodelled, especially in 1697 and 1749-52, but preserving a generally medieval style, and many of the original outer walls, now with larger windows.

Cesar Picton, was named after the castle. He was enslaved as a child in his native Senegal, before being a servant of the Philipps family for many years, and then going on to become a wealthy coal-merchant in Kingston-on-Thames, Surrey, very possibly selling coal bought from the Picton mines of his ex-employers.

The Welsh-built barque Picton Castle (now a Canadian sail training ship) is also named after the castle.

A secret passage leading to the inside of the castle emerges on the bank of the River Cleddau and is visible from the water at low tide. The entrance is currently blocked up but during World War II, when the castle was used as a command centre, it was considered a valuable escape route.