William FitzOsbern, a Norman lord, began Chepstow Castle in 1067 or soon after. The Great Tower was probably complete by about 1090. The article notes it was built in stone from the start, unlike most contemporary castles. The castle has four baileys, added in turn, and no strong keep.
William Marshal modernized it from the 1190s and built the present main gatehouse. Roger Bigod built the Port Wall and Marten's Tower around 1284. Sir Charles Somerset remodeled the buildings as private accommodation after 1508. It was besieged in 1645 and 1648, and fell to Parliament on May 25, 1648.
Cadw has owned it since 1984, and it was Grade I listed on December 6, 1950. Visitors can walk the battlements and enter Marten's Tower.
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