Glamorgan Castles Guide

Bits of a gate and wall are all that remain of this 13th century fortified manor, seat of the de Barry family. The site originally boasted earthwork defences, later augmented by the addition of stone buildings, a great hall, and a gatehouse defended by a drawbridge and portcullis.
Park Road, Barry, Glamorgan, Wales, CF62 6NW

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Caerau Castle is a Norman ringwork castle within an older Iron Age hillfort (as at Caer Penrhos). Unlike many Norman fortifications there is no motte at Caerau, only a bank and outer ditch. The bank would have had a wooden palisade atop to provide extra protection.

Church Road, Caerau, Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales

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Caerphilly, covering 30 acres (12.2ha), is one of the greatest surviving castles in the medieval Western world. It was a highpoint in medieval defensive architecture with its massive gatehouses and water features, and is the first true example of a concentric castle in Britain. Caerphilly was built by the powerful Earl Gilbert de Clare, beginning in 1268. So successful was de Clare's design that it was used as a model for Edward I's castles in North Wales.

Caerphilly, Glamorgan, Wales, CF83 1JD

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Heritage Highlight: The first true concentric castle in Britain, a medieval architectural gem
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More fortified manor than castle, Candleston was built in the late 14th century on the site of an earlier wooden fortification. A ruined wall surrounds a small courtyard, about which are ranged a hall block and tower, with the later additions of a south wing.
Merthyr Mawr, Bridgend, Glamorgan, Wales

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Built by the wealthy third Marquess of Bute on medieval foundations within a Norman wall. The Marquess enlisted William Burges as his architect and built the castle with every conceivable decoration possible in its interior. The castle is located in the city centre within the site used by both the Romans and the Normans for defensive purposes.

Castle Street, Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales, CF10 3RB

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Castell Coch is a Victorian fantasy castle built by William Burges for the Marquess of Bute. The result is outstanding 19th century architecture and design with rich decorations that are a feast for the eye. There is more to Castle Coch that a Victorian vision of Gothic romance, however, for Bute's fantasy is built on the foundations of a legitimate medieval fortress.
Tongwynlais, Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales, CF15 7JS

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Also called Castell Meredydd, fragments of a keep and curtain footings are all that are left of the only native Welsh castle in Gwent. It was built in the late 12th or early 13th century on a clifftop site.

Machen, Glamorgan, Wales

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Payn de Turberville erected a rudimentary ringwork castle and wooden palisade here in the very early 12th century, possibly on the remains of an earlier Welsh fortress. His ancestor Sir Gilbert de Turberville replaced the earlier castle with a stone structure in the 1180s, including a curtain wall surrounding a stone keep.
Coity, Bridgend, Glamorgan, Wales

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There are remains of earthwork fortifications at Dinas Powys dating as far back as the Iron Age. A bank and ditch were erected in the post-Roman period, and a more extensive bank was shored up with stone in the 11th century to create a defensible position for a timber and earth fortress. Still more earthworks were added in the 12th or 13th century.
Dinas Powys, Glamorgan, Wales

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Rubble footings in sand are all that remain of a 12th century castle with a curtain, hall, and keep. The first castle at Kenfig was built around 1140 as a wooden structure on top of a high mound, surrounded by a moat. The town of Kenfig stood beside the castle, and was itself defended by an outer moat and bailey.

Mawdlam, Gower, Glamorgan, Wales

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