Oxwich Castle

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Oxwich Castle from the northwest

Oxwich Castle ( Welsh Castell Oxwich ) is the ruin of a mansion from the Tudor period on the Gower Peninsula in Wales . The ruin, classified as a Grade I cultural monument and protected as a Scheduled Monument , is located about 500 m south of the village of Oxwich on a wooded ridge above Oxwich Bay .

history

Presumably a stone castle already existed in the 13th century on the site of today's manor house, which is mentioned as a fiefdom in a 1306 deed by William de Braose . In 1459 Oxwich Castle was mentioned as being owned by Philip Mansel . The Mansel family was already resident on the Gower peninsula under Edward I and belonged to the gentry . Philip Mansel, who married Mary, daughter of the powerful Gruffudd ap Nicolas , was accused of high treason during the Wars of the Roses in 1464 and lost his lands. His son Jenkin Mansel supported Henry Tudor in 1485 and got the family's lands back after the Battle of Bosworth . His son Rhys Mansel came to influence and wealth under Henry VIII , so that from around 1520 he began building a new mansion, presumably instead of the older house. Construction was completed around 1538 and the family seat was moved from Penrice Castle to the new mansion. His son Edward Mansel had the house expanded from around 1558 to 1580 with a mighty, magnificent east wing, which he presumably took over financially. As early as the 17th century, the family moved their headquarters to Margam Abbey , and in 1632 Oxwich Castle was leased as an estate. The south wing was used by the tenants as a residence, while the east wing fell into disrepair over time and collapsed towards the end of the 18th century. In 1949 the dilapidated house was handed over to the state. After an extensive restoration, the house is now owned by Cadw and can be viewed from the end of March to the end of October.

The gate and the south wing, behind it the ruins of the east wing

investment

The manor house was built in the 16th century as a compact, rectangular complex around a courtyard and had an impressive gate with battlements and parapets and flanking tower, but the fortifications were only used for decoration and were not intended for defense. The splendid entrance gate, adorned with coats of arms, leads into the rectangular inner courtyard, which is enclosed by the two wings of the building, which meet at right angles, and a low wall on the west side. The two wings are each an independent mansion with a kitchen, utility rooms and living quarters, with the south wing being much higher and larger than the older east wing.

South wing

To the right of the gateway is the white plastered two-storey south wing. The building used to have a kitchen on the ground floor and three other utility rooms. On the upper floor there was a hall and the private room of the owner family. During its use as a farmhouse, the building was rebuilt several times from the 17th century and expanded with a small annex at the rear. Presumably, the entrance door was also moved to the current location, using stones from the dilapidated east wing. When the east wing collapsed, the south wing was also damaged, but rebuilt. After the state took over the building, some of the renovations were reversed. Today the building houses exhibits on the history of the manor and the history of Wales.

The ruins of the east wing, in the foreground the pigeon house, in the background the ruins of the southeast tower

East wing

Opposite the gate entrance is the ruin of the east wing, which was once much larger than the adjoining south wing. Above the south wing there are wall teeth that suggest that it was originally planned to raise the south wing.

In the multi-storey east wing there was once a two-storey hall above the ground floor, as well as numerous other rooms that were accessed by several staircases. The master's private apartments were on the south side. The top floor contained a continuous long gallery , lit by several large windows , from which one had a wide view of Oxwich Bay. On the outer south side of the building there were once three tower-like extensions, so that it has an E-shaped floor plan. The outer walls of the southeast tower are still preserved from the additions. This extension once contained six floors, the top five of which were provided with chimneys and latrines and which thus probably served to accommodate the entourage. From the south-western tower only much lower wall remains have survived, which, however, probably originate from the late Middle Ages and thus from a previous building. Only the foundations of the middle extension have been preserved; it is unclear whether it ever reached the height of the other two extensions.

Pigeon house and farm buildings

Outside the inner courtyard and north of the east wing are the ruins of a round, tower-like pigeon house . Behind the south wing is a farm with extensive buildings from the 20th century.

literature

  • Diane M. Williams: Gower. A Guide to ancient and historic monuments on the Gower peninsula. Cadw, Cardiff 1998. ISBN 1-85760-073-8
  • Elisabeth Whittle: Glamorgan and Gwent. HMSO, London 1992. ISBN 0-11-701221-1 , pp. 183-185

Web links

Commons : Oxwich Castle  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ British Listed Buildings: Oxwich Castle, Penrice. Retrieved June 26, 2013 .
  2. ↑ Ancient Monuments: Oxwich Castle. Retrieved January 2, 2014 .
  3. ^ Welsh Biography Online: Mansel. Retrieved June 24, 2013 .

Coordinates: 51 ° 33 ′ 20.3 "  N , 4 ° 10 ′ 4.5"  W.