| Oystermouth Castle | |
|---|---|
| Oystermouth, Swansea, Wales | |
 Oystermouth Castle | |
| Type | Castle |
| Site information | |
| Owner | City and County of Swansea council |
| Open to the public | Yes |
| Condition | Ruin |
| Site history | |
| Built | 12th century |
| In use | 1106 to about 1650 |
| Materials | Stone |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
Oystermouth Castle (Welsh : Castell Ystum Llwynarth) is a Norman stone castle in Wales, overlooking Swansea Bay on the east side of the Gower Peninsula near the village of Mumbles.
A number of Antiquarians state that the Norman castle was built on the site of a former native fortification. Nineteenth century works by Samuel Lewis and Nicholas Carlisle both name this fortification as the "Caer Tawy" of Medieval Welsh literature. The name indicates that a Welsh fort (a Caer) was built here to guard the river Tawe long before Oystermouth or Swansea Castle were built by the Normans. [1] [2]
The first Norman castle was founded by Michael Jones of Ogmore Castle soon after 1106 following the capture of Gower by the Normans.[ citation needed ] In 1116 the Welsh of Deheubarth retook the Gower Peninsula and forced Michael to flee his castle which was put to the torch.[ citation needed ] The castle was rebuilt soon afterwards, but was probably destroyed again in 1137 when Gower was once more retaken by the Princes of Deheubarth. [3] The Londres or London family finally died out in 1215 when Gower was again taken by the Welsh under the leadership of Llywelyn the Great. In 1220 the Welsh were expelled from the peninsula and the government of Henry III of England returned the barony of Gower to John de Braose who rebuilt both Swansea and Oystermouth castles.
In the 13th century the Braose family were Lords of Gower and held the castle as part of their extensive land holdings and titles, including other castles on Gower and in the Welsh Marches. The de Braose dynasty could afford to rebuild Oystermouth castle in stone. A high curtain wall was built, internal buildings added, a chapel, basements, three storey residential buildings with fireplaces and garderobes on each floor. The castle had every residential feature necessary for living in some comfort and was also refortified cleverly. Towards the end of the century Oystermouth rather than Swansea Castle became their principal residence. Edward I paid a brief visit here in December 1284.
By 1331 the Lords of Gower were living elsewhere and the castle declined in importance in the 14th century.
The daughter of the last de Breos Lord, Aline de Breos, who improved the chapel making it one of the finest in any castle in south Wales, later married John de Mowbray, and the Lordship of Gower including the castle at Oystermouth passed to the de Mowbrays through this marriage, and then to the Herbert family, and finally the Somersets, who became successive Marquis of Worcester and finally Dukes of Beaufort.
After the Middle Ages, the castle gradually fell into ruin. A survey of Gower made in 1650 describes Oystermouth Castle as [a]n old decayed castle of no use, but of a very pleasant situation. It was portrayed in art in the 18th century as a picturesque ruin, and was restored by George Grant Francis in the 1840s while the castle was owned by the then Duke of Beaufort.
In 1927 the Duke of Beaufort gave the castle to Swansea Corporation; today, the castle is maintained under the responsibility of the City and County of Swansea council.
In 2009 the National Assembly for Wales announced it was investing £19 million in the country's heritage sites in an attempt to boost tourism. [4] As part of the programme Oystermouth Castle closed in 2010 while it underwent a £1 m refurbishment; it reopened to the public in July the following year. [5]
Following the first phase of conservation works Oystermouth Castle reopened to the public in mid July 2011. The scheme includes new visitor facilities, an educational space, improvements to access and a 30-foot high glass viewing platform and bridge that leads to Alina's Chapel.
On either side of the entrance gate the walls curve inward, showing that at one time there were supposed to be two round towers built into the gatehouse. It is unknown whether these were ever built.
The chapel (on the second floor of the chapel block) has 14th century traceried windows. According to local tradition the chapel was built under the direction of Aline de Mowbray.
Remnants of an ornate medieval painting dating back to the 14th century have recently been found in the chapel. The surviving painting is thought to be over 700 years old and was spotted during conservation work in the historic attraction's chapel area. Exposure to the elements has taken its toll on the painting over time but expert Cadw analysis suggests it's a double-arched canopy that contains the figures of angels. Some of the clear elements of the painting that remain include a wing with multiple feathers and circular shapes that form a head with yellow hair surrounded by a nimbus. It's thought the painting is both highly important and testimony to the original design of the chapel attributed to Alina de Breos in the early 14th century that once formed part of a larger work of art.
During World War II, the Royal Navy operated the naval trawler, HMT Oystermouth Castle. [6]
Swansea is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea.
Gower or the Gower Peninsula is in South West Wales and is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan, Wales. It projects towards the Bristol Channel. In 1956, the majority of Gower became the first area in the United Kingdom to be designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Swansea Castle is located in the city centre of Swansea, Wales, UK. It was founded by Henry de Beaumont in 1107 as the caput of the lordship of Gower. The castle is now ruined and only two blocks remain, though the site has been improved in the 2010s for use as a public space.
Oystermouth is a village in the district of Mumbles, Swansea, Wales. It is part of the Mumbles community.
The history of Swansea covers a period of continuous occupation stretching back a thousand years, while there is archaeological evidence of prehistoric human occupation of the surrounding area for thousands of years before that.
Bramber is a former manor, village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It has a ruined mediaeval castle which was the caput of a large feudal barony. Bramber is located on the northern edge of the South Downs and on the west side of the River Adur. Nearby are the communities of Steyning to the west and Upper Beeding to the east, and the other side of the river. The closest historical connection, however, is with the village of Botolphs to the south.
The City and County of Swansea Council, or simply Swansea Council, is the local authority for the city and county of Swansea, one of the principal areas of Wales. The principal area also includes rural areas to the north of the built-up area of Swansea and the Gower Peninsula to the west. The council consists of 75 councillors representing 32 electoral wards.
Parkmill is a village in the Gower Peninsula, South Wales, midway between the villages of Penmaen and Ilston, about eight miles (13 km) west of Swansea, and about one mile (1.5 km) from the north coast of the Bristol Channel. The village lies to the north of the A4118, the main South Gower road between Swansea and Port Eynon, in a wooded area, at the bottom of a valley.
Weobley Castle is a 14th-century fortified manor house on the Gower Peninsula, Wales, in the care of Cadw. The castle overlooks Llanrhidian saltmarshes and the Loughor estuary.
Loughor Castle is a ruined, medieval fortification located in the town of Loughor, Wales. The castle was built around 1106 by the Anglo-Norman lord Henry de Beaumont, during the Norman invasion of Wales. The site overlooked the River Loughor and controlled a strategic road and ford running across the Gower Peninsula. The castle was designed as an oval ringwork, probably topped by wicker fence defences, and reused the remains of the former Roman fort of Leucarum.
John (I) de Mowbray, 2nd Baron Mowbray was the son of Roger de Mowbray, 1st Baron Mowbray. Lord of the manors of Tanfield and Well, Yorkshire.
The Royal House of Dinefwr was a cadet branch of the Royal House of Gwynedd, founded by King Cadell ap Rhodri, son of Rhodri the Great. Their ancestor, Cunedda Wledig, born in late Roman Britain, was a Sub-Roman warlord who founded the Kingdom of Gwynedd during the 5th century, following the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain. As Celtic Britons, the House of Dinefwr was ruling before the Norman conquest, having to fight with their neighbors such as the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, before struggling with the Normans afterwards. Many members of this family were influential in Welsh history, such as Hywel Dda, who codified Welsh law under his rule, and achieved the important title of King of the Britons, or Lord Rhys, Prince of Wales, who rebelled against Richard the Lionheart, and became one of the most powerful Welsh leaders of the Middle Ages.
Gower was an ancient marcher lordship of Deheubarth in South Wales.
Seisyll ap Dyfnwal was a 12th-century Welsh Lord of Gwent Uwchcoed.
The Mumbles is a district of Swansea, Wales, located on the south-east corner of the unitary authority area. It is also a local government community using the same name. At the 2001 census the population was 16,774, reduced slightly to 16,600 at the 2011 Census. The district is named after the headland of Mumbles, located on its south-east corner.
Parc le Breos was a great medieval deer park in the south of the Gower Peninsula, about eight miles (13 km) west of Swansea, Wales, and about 1+1⁄4 miles (2.0 km) north of the Bristol Channel. The park was an enclosed, oval area of 6.7 miles (10.8 km) in circumference, covering about 2,000 acres (810 ha) and measuring 2+1⁄2 miles (east–west) by just over 1+3⁄4 miles. Parc le Breos was established in the 1220s CE by John de Braose, Marcher Lord of Gower and husband to Margaret Ferch Llywelyn, Llywelyn Fawr's daughter. Other than for deer husbandry, the park received an income from agistment, pannage, and from sales of wild honey, ferns and dead wood. There is evidence of rabbit warrens in the park. Whether the warrens were free or domestic is unknown.
William de Braose was the second Baron Braose, as well as Lord of Gower and Lord of Bramber. He was held as a hostage after being captured in 1264 during the Second Barons' War and records of some of his childhood expenses survive from his time as a hostage. He first entered royal service in 1286 and, in 1291, he succeeded his father as baron. He continued in royal military service, serving in Scotland as well as in Wales. Protracted disputes over his lands embroiled him throughout his life and at the end of his life helped spark a revolt against King Edward II of England's favourites, the Despensers. He married twice, and his heirs were his daughter Aline and his grandson John de Bohun.
All Saints' Church, Oystermouth, is an Anglican church in the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon, South Wales. It is located in Mumbles and is a Grade II listed building The church stands on a hillside, not far from Oystermouth Castle.
Maurice de Londres was an Anglo-Norman noble. He was a son of William de Londres, who was one of the Twelve Knights of Glamorgan, and his wife Matilda.
Citations
Bibliography
Castles in the City and County of Swansea | |
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