It's impossible not to be awestruck by the magnificence of Pembroke Castle from across the millpond – its imposing walls seems to spring from the rock and stretch into the sky with a foreboding sense of power. This is a castle designed to impress, to act as the seat of power in this corner of west Wales, and of course it's most famously the birthplace of Henry VII, the founder of the Tudor dynasty.
Hundreds of years of sieges and battles have shaped the castle and, in turn, this castle in Pembrokeshire has shaped the course of history. But it wasn't always that way – a century ago Pembroke Castle was an ivy-clad ruin with its stone plundered by locals to build their houses. It became a project for a major general after he left the military in the 1920s and as it passed down family lines it became a place where sisters Clarissa Burgess and Victoria Bruce would call their own playground as little girls.
Today the two sisters are all grown up with their own families but the castle, bought for just £3,000 by their great-grandfather, is still a huge part of their lives. The castle is no longer owned solely by descendants of major general Sir Ivor Philipps but has been placed in a trust made up of three members of the surviving family and another three people from the town of Pembroke. Its mission is simply explained by Victoria, the present chairman of the Pembroke Castle Trust: to conserve and protect the castle for the people of Pembroke and Wales.
