| Carndochan Castle | |
|---|---|
| Llanuwchllyn, Gwynedd, Wales | |
 | |
  Carndochan Castle | |
| Coordinates | 52°51′40″N3°42′50″W / 52.86105°N 3.71391°W |
| Type | Castle |
| Site information | |
| Condition | Ruins |
| Site history | |
| Built by | Llywelyn ap Iorwerth? |
| Official name | Castell Carn Dochan |
| Reference no. | ME049 |
Carndochan Castle (Welsh : Castell Carndochan) is a ruined stone castle near Llanuwchllyn, Gwynedd, north Wales. It was probably built in the early thirteenth century and is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
The castle stands on a ridge overlooking the Lliw Valley; its early history is unrecorded, but it is thought to have been built by Prince Llywelyn ap Iorwerth between 1215 and 1230 or Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. [1] Little is known of the site's history although King Edward I of England visited in 1283–84. [2]
Built in typical Welsh style, it consisted of a D-shaped tower on its western end with smaller round or semi-round towers surrounding a small ward and square central tower. [3] The apsidal tower survives up to a height of 8 feet (2.4 m) and used a different source of lime for its coursed mortar, which may indicate that it was built at a different time than the rest of the structure.
Two of the other towers are dry stone-built and resemble to those at Cam Fadryn and Pen y Castell. A preliminary 2015 excavation in the southern part of the castle revealed the entrance, a small half-round tower and a length of curtain wall. The excavation recovered two pieces of charcoal that radiocarbon dating yielded dates of 1170–1258 for one and 1220–1271 for the other. [2]
It is not known when or why Carndochan was abandoned, although unsubstantiated excavations by nineteenth-century archaeologists apparently discovered substantial amounts of ash under the ruins, suggesting the castle was either sacked or demolished (often termed slighting). [4] Today, the site is protected as a scheduled monument. [2]
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