Welsh Border Castles.

[A.W.U.K.]

On a recent trip to Wales with the kids I tried to visit a number of castles (in between spending time at the beach and a Napoleonic re-enactment).
The first one we attempted to reach was the ancient ruined Norman Kenfig Castle. Unfortunately we couldn't find the footpath but there is some info about it here:http://www.benybont.co.uk/other/ess-art/sands.htm

Next was Candlestone Castle, essentially a 14th century tower house with later additions.

The large opening up on the first floor may well have been the original, security-concious entrance.

The original tower house appears to have been the shape of a stumpy, reversed "L"

In the old building a part of the stone vault of the undercroft survives, though it might not be entirely safe judging by the gate.

The remains of another staircase:

The following day we went to the re-enactment but went on a castle hunt on the way back to the campsite. Next up was Old Beaupre Castle, also hard to find and requiring a trek across fields.

These cattle were obviously not used to visitors, judging by their behaviour!

The castle is just visible behind the trees.

Quite an imposing building on it's small eminence.

The gatehouse.I'd say the gateway dates from around 1500-1550 and the mullioned windows above from around 1550-1600.

This rather magnificent porch was built in about 1600 and is the most recent part of the castle. The family that dwelt here backed the wrong side in the civil war of 1642-9 and suffered a drastic loss of fortune. The castle declined a little more slowly but just as surely.

The rear of the gatehouse from up on the wall walk.

The building is something of a rabbit warren inside!

Next up was Ogmore castle, on the banks of the river Ogmore.

This castle has a free-standing chapel which is nearly complete, although roofless.

The tall wall on the left is the remaining part of a large Norman (12th century) square keep. To the right are the remains of a gatehouse and a wooden bridge spanning the moat on the site of a former drawbridge.

Gateway and the remains of some inner bailey buildings.

Inside of the keep wall showing joist holes, a fireplace, windows and the corner stair turret. All of this is 12th century work.

Over the other side of the castle, an early doorway has been blocked and replaced with a fireplace at some point.

Next day we spent the morning at the beach then went castle hunting again. Close to the centre of the not particularly interesting town of Bridgend, on top of a steep hill and completely unsignposted, is another castle. Bridgend castle I presume.

There is a rather magnificent and well-preserved Norman doorway into the inner bailey.

Not much remains of the interior buildings.

The tower over there is square and therefore probably Norman. It seems to be the way the local kids get in and out of the castle.

Washing hanging from the castle wall.

A couple of miles away is the larger and better signposted Coity Castle.

There is this nice row of arrow or gun loops
Edited to add:
When I was at the castle I was puzzled by the seiries of vertical breaks in the masonry a few feet above the loops. There is no sign on the inside of blocked loops or windows. I've just realised they are battlements! The wall has been heightened at some point and the original wall walk was just above the loops. the change in the masonry is an indication too, the wall above the battlements being of larger stones. The original wall is probably Norman, as the Norman builders tended to use smaller stones than were usual in later periods.

And from the inside.

The well seems to be dry.

This is the east window of the chapel, which was integrated with the main residential block.

the wall tower adjacent to the residential block is well equipped with toilet facilities. This appears to be the site of a 3-seater.

A fireplace crazily perched on the remains of a stone vault.

Up a level and more toilets.

And another, with a nice view of the pub.

There is still a stone vault above us and it is encrusted with stalactites.

One of the gatehouses, with a broken stone vault above.

Next day and it is off to Brecon.

Brecon Castle, now a hotel with mainly 18th and 19th century buildings. The castle mound and other remains are under the trees to the right.

There is actually another castle in Brecon but it survives as a grass- and tree-covered mound only.

After visiting the regimental museum, it's off again to Tretower.

Tretower court. With it's gatehouse, wall walk and arrow slits it would probably be called a castle if there wasn't an actual castle just behind it!

The gate passage. Tretower court dates from the 14th to the 16th centuries.

This is the oldest wing.

A 15th century window.

In the lord's bedchamber, a nice medieval roof with shaped wind braces.

 

[A.W.U.K.]

The solar end of the Great Hall was well equipped with toilets. For those who don't know, most buildings in the Middle ages centred around a Great Hall, open to the roof. At the "low end", there was a cross-passage beyond which were the service areas, pantry, buttery, kitchen, etc. The high end of the hall was destinguished by a dais on which the Lord and Lady sat. Beyond that was usually the solar, a sort of sitting room or drawing room where the lord could get some privacy and above that the lord's bedchamber.

The screen separating the cross-passage from the hall.

The kitchen.

The high end of the hall.

Tretower Castle. The castle was occupied during the 12th and 13th centuries, before it was superseded by the more comfortable court. To the right is the outer bailey, which is now a farmyard. To the left is an approximately circular high wall known as a shell keep. This was built during the 12th century and would have contained a collection of buildings including a great hall. In the early 13th century most of the buildings within the shell keep were demolished to make way for the great round tower. you can see there today.

These blocked windows in the shell keep belonged to 12th century buildings within which were demolished before they were a hundred years old.

Inside the great tower. A medieval tower is essentially a hall-house tipped up on end. The ground floor was the service end, above which was a tall chamber representing the hall. Above that again were the private chambers of the lord. The two fireplaces visible here belonged to "hall" and "solar"

Victorian grafitti

A spiral staircase within the thickness of the wall of the great tower.

This looks like the original entrance door to the tower. There would have been a wooden staircase contained within a timber forebuilding, the traces of which are visible.

Next, Crickhowell Castle.

Not too much left of the stonework but it has a decent sized mound or motte.

The remains of another tower.

This is the top of the motte which would have carried a stone shell keep.

Now Abergavenny Castle:

This is the solar block, the chamber in the centre with 3 windows facing different directions is the actual solar. The hall ran away to the left.

The gatehouse.

The great hall, looking towards the high end.

The solar from the inside.

This modern building is on the mound where the keep would once have stood.

Raglan castle.

This was closed when we got there! Raglan is pretty much of one build, in the 14th century when castles were going out of fashion. The dramatic towers and battlements are more a statement of wealth than a defence against increasingly efficient artillery.

there are other castles in the area, notably Caerphilly and White Castle but they'll have to wait for another holiday!
Hope you liked these

 

[Karda]

Very cool A.W.U.K.!
I've always wanted to visit England and Wales to look up long lost relatives.
Probably would've ended up castle hunting instead.....
Thank you for the great tour!

 

[knarfeng]

Thanks for that! Great pics and good descriptions.

I always enjoy reading the post of your travels.

Your lad's got larger from last year. (they do that.)

 

[silenthunterstudios]

Very cool, was that stone path on the river used as a corpse road/path in the old days?

 

[A.W.U.K.]

The stepping stones? I have no idea of their history but they have some wear on so have been there a while.
I would imagine they are simply to allow travellers on foot to keep their feet dry. There is an old ford right next to them for horses and wheeled traffic. No road any more though.

There are similar and much more famous stepping stones on the River Wharfe in Yorkshire and on the River Dove in Dovedale.

 

[mykulmorris]

Incredible pics!!! Thanks for posting!!! I went to England in 1992, and visited some remarkable castle ruins. Seen the Tower of London, Nottingham castle, Ely cathedral, and numerous others... It was one of the best vacations ever! The labor and archetecture of these old fortresses cannot be justified by pics, you need to see them in person. If I were to winn a big enuf lottery, I'd build a castle. There's just something cool about them...
-M

 

[A.W.U.K.]

Incredible pics!!! Thanks for posting!!! I went to England in 1992, and visited some remarkable castle ruins. Seen the Tower of London, Nottingham castle, Ely cathedral, and numerous others... It was one of the best vacations ever! The labor and archetecture of these old fortresses cannot be justified by pics, you need to see them in person. If I were to winn a big enuf lottery, I'd build a castle. There's just something cool about them...
-M

The biggest lottery win ever would not be nearly enough to build a really big castle like the tower of London! You'd be able to build something pretty cool though.
There are reckoned to be about 700 castles in Wales and 2,000 in England. So there are still some to see if you ever make another visit. There is not much to see at many of the sites though.
The first castles we looked at were those I found on the map within a few miles of the campsite. The rest were those I knew of already which happened to be on our route home. There are several other major castles I knew of already but which would have involved detours. A look at the map shows a number of minor castles too, enough material for several days exploring.

I just looked at this photo again and made a minor archaeological discovery . See the vertical breaks in the stonework a few feet above the arrow loops? They puzzled me at the time but I've just realised they are battlements. The wall has been raised at some time. The newer walling is mostly of larger stones. The smaller stones in the older wall indicate that it is Norman. The lower row of putlog holes show that when the scaffolding for the new work was erected, the scaffolding putlogs were placed in the embrasures of the battlements, between the merlons.
The horizontal component of the loops must be to allow the use of crossbows as guns were yet to be invented.