British Castles

by Charles Henry Ashdown

A still earlier example, though not perhaps embodying all the conditions of the type, is to be found in the neighbouring county of Carmarthen. Kidwelly Castle occupies a commanding position upon Carmarthen Bay near the estuary of the river Gwendraeth. The stream here is of considerable width and the eastern side of the castle is built upon the edge of the steep slope leading down to it; consequently no fear of an assault was to be apprehended from that quarter, and a curtain wall of no great height was deemed sufficient for the defence. This wall formed the string of a bow as it were, and the semicircular portion defending the land side had to rely upon other obstacles, such as a deep moat and a curtain set with towers. The entrance gateway is at the southern termination of the wall and consists of two towers with a building between containing the passage; it affords rooms for soldiers on duty with two stories above, all the masonry being of the most solid description. This entrance gave upon the outer ward. The inner ward consisted of a square enclosure abutting upon the centre of the river line: it is protected by high curtains strengthened by the usual towers. It will be perceived that the deviation from the concentric consists in the coincidence of the east wall of the inner bailey with a portion of that of the outer. Its foundation dates from 1250, when Payn de Chaworth reared it.

KIDWELLY CASTLE, CARMARTHENSHIRE.

Not far from Llandeilo, a village near Carmarthen, stand the remains of a Concentric Castle around which local tradition has woven a web of romance, asserting that all history is lost in remote antiquity and leading the imagination to run riot in conjuring up the identity of its former inmates. Upon the south side the walls stand upon a precipice with a sheer drop of probably 500 feet, while a climb of over 200 feet is necessary to reach the northern face. It is called Carreg Cennen and occupies the summit of a height springing up from a ring of encircling hills. It stands upon an acre of ground and is of the rectangular shape; within the outer curtain stands a small inner bailey with one side coincident with that of the outer curtain overlooking the precipice, and as such is comparable to Kidwelly. There is one round tower, but the others are angular like those of Carnarvon. It was built by Rhys of Wales in the thirteenth century.

It must not be imagined that the castle-building energies of Edward I. were entirely expended upon the grand examples of his work found in North Wales, on the contrary there are many buildings to be discovered where his handiwork, or that of contemporary barons, is a prominent feature. A tendency appears to have manifested itself at that period to alter existing castles of a previous type so that they conformed in some way to the concentric ideal, and Pevensey, Chepstow, and Corfe are cases in point. In addition to Caerphilly in Glamorganshire there are many other structures in South Wales showing a very high ideal of castellation, indeed that portion of the Principality has been termed the "Land of Castles," and the appellation is by no means undeserved. There is hardly a prominent position upon the coast, or a suitable site inland, but what has been seized upon at some period to erect a position of defence.

Pembroke Castle, with the town walls supporting it, is perhaps the most important pile to be found in this district; it embodies additions of varying dates in its massive walls and towers. The great gatehouse and circular Norman Keep are undoubtedly its chief attractions at the present day when, although shattered by powder after Cromwell's capture by means of starvation, and much subsequent spoliation, it presents one of the most imposing aspects to be found in the kingdom.

Carew Castle is deservedly celebrated for picturesqueness and affords an illustration of the use of the angle-spur at the foot of drum towers as a preventive against mining.

Cilgerran Castle occupies a position which is probably unparalleled in South Wales. It approaches very closely to the Edwardian type, but the area chosen has not entirely dominated the plan; it once possessed an inner and outer bailey with a great portcullised gatehouse and massive cylindrical towers, two of which still stand. Pembrokeshire is essentially the centre of the castle-land of Wales, for besides those mentioned there are Manorbier, Lamphey, Narberth, Haverfordwest, Llawhaddon, Roche and many others, most of them exhibiting traces of Edwardian influence based upon Norman work.

In the upper valley of the Wye the efficiency of castles was of great importance, inasmuch as they guarded one of the great lines of incursion from the heart of Wales into the Marches; here Edwardian additions may be seen at Builth where a donjon was placed upon a motte which had already been encircled by a Shell Keep, while a circular rampart surrounding the whole bailey made a very presentable representation of the concentric ideal. At Bronllys, farther to the south, a cylindrical tower was the chief addition, while at Tretower, still farther south near Crickhowell, a Shell Keep appears to have been inserted within the remains of a previous Rectangular Keep defending the motte.