IN the 1100s Roger Picard II did what many bloodthirsty and power-hungry Normans did when arriving in Wales - he built a castle to keep the locals out!

Yet Tretower was more than just a four-storey bastion of ego and conquest. Its nine feet thick stone walls were as much a brag of opulence and social standing as they were to impose and deter.

Fast forward a few centuries and Welsh boy Sir Roger Vaughan decided to capitalise on the fame he earned during the Wars of the Roses and enhance the famed Tower of the Picards with a medieval court.

So lavish and welcoming was Vaughn’s Court that medieval Welsh poets would flock there in their droves to sample the wines, eat the cheese, and write verses in praise of their magnanimous host.

Yet by the time the 1700s arrived, the log fires in the Great Hall had burnt to ashes, the goblets were empty, and Tretower’s song looked all but sung.

The Vaughan family had fled their home and tenant farmers had moved in. Where once there were silk sheets and lords and ladies there was now hay, muck, and pigs.

The indignity couldn’t last. After a couple of hundred years of being left to rot, Tretower was finally brought for the nation in 1934.

Now in the caring hands of Cadw, a site that has played a pivotal role in Welsh history has been restored to glory for all to visit, wander, and wonder at a place quite unlike any other!

If a picture paints a thousand words then check out the video above!