St Briavels Castle

.]] King John enjoyed regular hunting in the Forest each November, and used St Briavels Castle as his base for such trips. The king entertained the Welsh lord Gruffyd ap Cadwallon at the castle in 1207. This royal interest resulted in further building works and substantial expenditure, with £291 being spent in the next four years. A stone curtain wall replaced an earlier wooden one between 1209–11, complete with a tower and gateway. Inside the bailey a number of buildings suitable for use by the king as a lodge were constructed. A wooden chapel was built within the castle in 1236–7.

In 1217 the Charter of the Forest was passed, in part to mitigate the worst excesses of royal jurisdiction. The forest laws, however, did allow for a very wide range of fines to be imposed on local peasants who broke the numerous edicts in place to protect both wildlife and the trees in the forest. The courts held at St Briavels Castle imposed a relatively large number of fines, or amercements, for both illegal wood-cutting and the poaching of venison during the period.

After King John's death, however, St Briavels Castle became the primary centre for English quarrel manufacture. The crossbow was an important military advance on the older short bow and was the favoured weapon by the time of Richard Imany crossbows and even more quarrels were needed to supply royal forces. Crossbows were primarily built at the Tower of London, but St Briavels Castle, with the local forest to provide raw materials, became the national centre for quarrel manufacture.