With 24 chapters by a variety of authors, many of them experts in their subject, this books looks at Chepstow Castle from its inception to the current day. Its chapters deal with the different periods of its history, from Norman origins (under William fitz Osbern and the Conqueror), to its substantial enlargement and refurbishing under both the Marshal and the Bigod families, its hunting preserves, the Civil War period, its time as an artillery fort, its relationship with the town, the Picturesque, a base for pageants and recent conservation efforts.