Great Castle House, Monmouth
In 1673, after the Restoration of the Monarchy, Henry Somerset, the wealthy third Marquis of Worcester [later first Duke of Beaufort] built Great Castle House to exalt his standing as Lord President of the Council of Wales and the Marches.
The building stands on the site of the Round Tower of the old Castle, which had been pulled down after the Civil War, and stones from the former Gatehouse were used in its construction.
Great Castle House is noteworthy for the quiet dignity of its facade, good proportions, simplicity of detail, and perfect symmetry. But being built for prestige it is all frontage and has little depth. Originally it was free standing - the side wings were added in 1863. A striking feature of the interior is the extravagant decoration of the plaster ceilings on the first floor.
After Henry Somerset left the scene the Assizes moved across from the Great Hall of the Castle into the house. The five rooms on the first floor were merged to make one large court room where criminal and civil cases of the Assizes were heard at the two ends, often with very different moods.
But soon the Assizes moved to a purpose-built Shire Hall. The house then provided lodgings for the judges, and later housed a school for young ladies, until the Militia Regiment moved in in 1853. Great Castle House is now in daily use as the headquarters of the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia) and is not normally open to the public.
Inside the house the hall suffers from the addition of supporting pillars and an internal porch, but the fireplace and mantel are original. A plain but solid dog-leg staircase leads upstairs, jutting back behind the house to allow more space inside. The first floor is one large room, but the ceiling pattern shows that originally it was five rooms. The plasterwork on most of the ceilings was made by travelling craftsmen using established patterns, but in the Duke's sanctum it has been lavishly fashioned, with pendant floral festoons laced with ribbons, and is ostentatiously impressive. In contrast the wood panelling is crude and ill-fitting as it was added later when the court room was created.
Great Castle House has never been a family home. Successive Dukes of Beaufort lived in their great stately home at Badminton, and they also owned Troy House outside Monmouth.