List of castles in Wales

Wales is sometimes called the "castle capital of the world" because of the large number of castles in a relatively small area.^[1]^[2] Wales had about 600 castles,^[3] of which over 100 are still standing, either as ruins or as restored buildings. The rest have returned to nature, and today consist of ditches, mounds, and earthworks, often in commanding positions. Many of the sites in Wales are cared for by Cadw, the Welsh government's historic environment service.

A reconstruction of Holt Castle in 1495

The four castles of Beaumaris, Caernarfon, Conwy, and Harlech together make up the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd World Heritage Site, considered to be the "finest examples of late 13th century and early 14th century military architecture in Europe".^[4]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

Name	Type	Date	Condition	Ownership / Access	Notes
Candleston Castle	Fortified manor house	14th century	Ruined		Only the tower remains of a C14 fortified manor house built by the de Cantelupes.^[6]
Coity Castle	Keep and bailey	12th - 14th centuries	Ruined	Cadw	Prominently sited above Heol West Plas, Coity Castle was founded in the early twelfth century and was granted to the Norman family of Turberville.^[7]
Kenfig Castle	Keep and bailey	12th century	Fragmentary remains		The scanty remains of Kenfig Castle, a once great medieval fortress, rise from the dunes beside the Cynfig river.^[8]
Llangynwyd Castle		12th century	Fragmentary remains		At Llangynwyd the remains of a once splendid medieval fortress are now reduced to scanty ruins and earthworks.^[9]
Newcastle	Enclosure castle	12th century	Ruined	Cadw	The castle's most outstanding feature is its complete Norman doorway, which greets the visitor approaching the castle from the south.^[10]

Name	Type	Date	Condition	Ownership / Access	Notes
Caerphilly Castle	Concentric castle	13th - 14th century	Ruined, with partial restoration	Cadw	Caerphilly is the largest medieval castle in Wales and one of the most impressive in Europe.^[11]
Morgraig Castle	Enclosure castle	13th century	Fragmentary remains		Built between 1243 and 1267, the form of the castle is unusual and has no comparisons elsewhere. Debate has centred on whether the castle was built by the Welsh Lords of Senghenydd, or by the Norman Lords of Glamorgan.^[12]^[13]
Ruperra Castle	Mock castle	17th century	Ruined	Private	Built c1626 by Sir Thomas Morgan, steward to the Earl of Pembroke, and the latest example of the Elizabethan and Jacobean court taste for castellated mansions.^[14]
Ruperra Motte	Motte and bailey	12th century	Ruined, with partial restoration	Ruperra Conservation Trust	The site includes remains of a medieval castle motte on a much earlier Iron Age hillfort.^[15]

Name	Type	Date	Condition	Ownership / Access	Notes
Cardiff Castle	Shell Keep	11th century	Ruined, with partial restoration	Cardiff Council	Cardiff Castle was established within the walls of a mighty Roman fort by William I of England in about 1081.^[16]
Castell Coch	Gothic Revival	19th century (Originally 11th century)	Intact	Cadw	Castell Coch, located on a prominent wooded hillside overlooking the Taff Valley and the northern part of Cardiff, is a remarkable blend of solid medieval masonry and High Victorian Gothic fantasy.^[17]
St Fagans Castle	Enclosure castle	13th century	Ruined	National Museum Wales	The remains of the medieval castle at St Fagans include the southern part of a stone curtain wall. The enclosure is currently overlain by an Elizabethan mansion, with part of the surviving curtain serving to define its forecourt.^[18]
Bishop's Palace, Llandaff	Concentric castle	13th century	Ruined	Cardiff Council	Bishop's Palace is also known as Llandaff Castle or Bishop's Castle^[19]^[20]

Name	Type	Date	Condition	Ownership / Access	Notes
Carmarthen Castle	Shell Keep	11th century	Ruined	Carmarthenshire Council	Remains of the high medieval castle, including a shell keep, gatehouse and two towers, are obscured by modern buildings, notably County Hall.^[22]
Carreg Cennen Castle	Enclosure castle	13th century	Ruined	Cadw	Spectacularly set on a crag over the upper Cennen valley. A vaulted passage runs from the SE corner to a cave below E outer ward.^[23]
Dinefwr Castle		12th century		Cadw	Dinefwr castle is thought to have been founded in the later twelfth century by Rhys ap Gruffudd, the Lord Rhys, and became known as the traditional capital of Dyfed.^[24]
Dryslwyn Castle		13th century		Cadw	The shattered ruins of a medieval castle crown the ultimate summit of a dramatically isolated and abrupt hill rising from the Tywi floodplain.^[25]
Kidwelly Castle		12th century and earlier		Cadw	Kidwelly Castle is an imposing ruin, situated on a scarp above the upper tidal limit of the Gwendraeth Fach Estuary, and considered one of the finest castles in Wales.^[26]
Laugharne Castle		13th century		Cadw	The castle of Laugharne was built by the Anglo-Normans in the early twelfth century and is probably mentioned in 1116, but the existing ruins are thirteenth century and later.^[27]
Llandovery Castle		11th century			Llandovery Castle is a motte and bailey castle first mentioned in 1113. Extensive remains of masonry walls and towers occupy the motte, and a shell keep enclosure is represented by half-buried footings.^[28]
Llansteffan Castle		12th century		Cadw	Prominently situated on a rocky promontory, overlooking the mouth of the Tywi. Substantial and impressive remains of a rubble masonry castle dating from the C12 to C15.^[29]
Castell Moel		16th century			Shattered ruins of a possibly 16th but probably 17th century house ruins; an early wing was incorporated into large cruciform renaissance house.^[30]
Newcastle Emlyn Castle		13th & 15th century			Shattered ruins remain of Newcastle Emlyn Castle. Excavation through the 1980s have revealed some details, but the castle is best known from a collection of medieval accounts and surveys.^[31]

Name	Image	Type	Date	Condition	Ownership / Access	Notes
Aberystwyth Castle		Concentric castle	13th century	Ruined	Aberystwyth Town Council	Work on Aberystwyth Castle commenced in 1277 under Edward I and was completed in 1289. The castle remains have been much restored and now form part of a public park.^[32]
Cardigan Castle			13th century		Ceredigion County Council	Situated on promontory overlooking Cardigan Bridge. Portions of the curtain wall survive in the tall embankment overlooking the bridge. There are remains of three semi-circular towers, the largest & most elaborate incorporated into the early C19 Castle Green House^[33]

List of castles in Wales

Bridgend

Caerphilly

Cardiff

Carmarthenshire

Ceredigion

Conwy

Denbighshire

Flintshire

Gwynedd

Isle of Anglesey

Merthyr Tydfil

Monmouthshire

Neath Port Talbot

Newport

Pembrokeshire

Powys

Rhondda Cynon Taf

Swansea

Vale of Glamorgan

Wrexham

See also

References

External links

Wikiwand - on