St Clears Castle

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St Clears Castle is a castle in Carmarthenshire , Wales . The ruins, protected as a Scheduled Monument , are on the outskirts of the city of St Clears .

history

The castle was believed to have been founded in the late 11th century during the Norman Conquest of Wales , as a priory was established in St Clears around 1100 . Presumably the castle is identical to a castle called Ystrad Cyngen , which was conquered in 1153 by Rhys ap Gruffydd , the Welsh prince of Deheubarth . In 1189 the castle was conquered again by Rhys ap Gruffydd, who gave it to his son Hywel Sais. As early as 1195, the castle was recaptured by the Anglo-Norman baron William de Braose . During his campaign in South Wales in 1215 Llywelyn ap Iorwerth , the prince of Gwynedd , captured the castle. During the Anglo-Welsh War , William Marshal recaptured it for the English in 1223. After that it remained in English hands until the 14th century, when it slowly fell into disrepair. In 1405 she and Carmarthen Castle were besieged and conquered by the Welsh rebel Owain Glyndŵr , but the following year the rebels at St Clears suffered a defeat by the English, which forced them to give up the castle again. After that the castle was abandoned and completely fell into disrepair.

investment

The castle was built as a Motte and Bailey at the confluence of the Taf and Cynin Rivers, which were probably navigable by boat up to this point in the Middle Ages. The motte is to the north of the former castle, the large rectangular outer bailey is to the south of it.

Only the mighty artificial castle hill in the north of the complex, the moat and the area of ​​the square outer bailey south of the Motte have been preserved of the castle. The mighty oval castle hill measures 38 by 48 m and is 12 m high, the area on the summit measures 10 by 15 m. The original wooden fortifications on the Motte were presumably replaced by stone buildings in the Middle Ages, but no remains of them have survived. The castle hill and the outer bailey were enclosed by a 70 m by 45 m fortification consisting of a moat, rampart and palisade. Access to the outer bailey was through a stone gatehouse. Within the outer bailey there were probably also an Anglo-Norman settlement in addition to the castle's farm buildings.

The freely accessible castle site is about 200 m south of the parish church in the middle of St Clears and is now surrounded by residential buildings.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ St Clears Mound and Bailey Castle. Retrieved September 16, 2013 .
  2. ^ St Clears Tourist Information. Retrieved September 13, 2013 .

Coordinates: 51 ° 48 ′ 37.1 ″  N , 4 ° 29 ′ 37.6 ″  W.