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Tenby Castle (Welsh : Castell Dinbych-y-pysgod) was a fortification standing on a headland separated by an isthmus from the town of Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales. The remaining stone structure dates from the 13th century but there are mentions of the castle from as early as 1153. [1] It is a Grade II* listed building. [2]
The castle, which was sited on a rocky promontory, was founded by the Normans during their invasion of West Wales in the 12th century. A stone tower was built on the headland's highest point which was protected by a curtain wall. The walls had a gateway and several small towers on the landward side. A lesser sea wall surrounded the remainder of the site and the beach area to the west.
In 1153, the castle was captured and destroyed by Maredudd ap Gruffydd and Rhys ap Gruffydd (sons of Gruffydd ap Rhys), the future ruler of the south-western petty kingdom of Deheubarth in mid Wales. [3] The castle was besieged again by the Welsh in 1187. Almost a century later, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (prince of Gwynedd, and son of Gruffudd ap Llywelyn) sacked the town during his campaigns to retake South Wales in 1260 but the castle was not taken by the Welsh. [4]
By the late 13th century, Tenby castle and the town had become part of the Marcher Lordship of Pembroke, which by then was ruled by William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke. [4] The French knight, who was married to the Joan de Munchensi, the granddaughter and heir of the previous Earl of Pembroke, had provided military service to Henry III in the Second Barons' War. He instigated the building of stone walls around the town. By the start of the 14th century, the Tenby town walls were mostly completed so diminishing the defensive importance of Tenby Castle. In 1328, they were further strengthened when a D-shaped barbican was built to defend the town's main gate and additional D-shaped towers were later added to the northern and southern walls. By the 1400s, the line of Earls had died out, and Tenby castle was abandoned and in disrepair.
In 1457, King Henry VI gave the Marcher Lordship (and associated Earldom) to Jasper Tudor, his half-brother, who agreed to refurbish and improve Tenby's defences by dividing the cost between himself and the town's merchants. Improvements included widening the dry ditch along the outside of the town walls to 30 feet (9.1 m). Raising the wall's height to include a second tier of higher arrow slits behind a new parapet walk and adding additional turret towers to the ends of the walls where they abutted the cliff edges.
In the mid 16th century, another large D-shaped tower (named the "Five Arches") was built in the Elizabethan period following fears about a second Spanish Armada.
In 1648 during the Second English Civil War, a unit of Royalists under the command of Rice Powell held a refortified Tenby for 10 weeks until they were starved into surrendering by besieging Parliamentarians.
A few features of the medieval castle remain. A path from Tenby harbour to the top of Castle Hill passes through the main square gateway. On the summit of the promontory is a small tower. A circular walk which was laid out in the 19th century follows the line of the original curtain walls. Tenby Museum & Art Gallery is built on the remains of the castle's domestic building, probably the great hall.
Although the north gate has been demolished to widen the road, Tenby town walls on the north side are largely complete. The eastern walls and towers remain intact.
Rhys ap Gruffydd or ap Gruffudd was the ruler of the kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales from 1155 to 1197. Today, he is commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in Welsh Yr Arglwydd Rhys, although this title may have not been used in his lifetime. He usually used the title "Proprietary Prince of Deheubarth" or "Prince of South Wales", but two documents have been discovered in which he uses the title "Prince of Wales" or "Prince of the Welsh". Rhys was one of the most successful and powerful Welsh princes, and, after the death of Owain Gwynedd of Gwynedd in 1170, the dominant power in Wales.
Criccieth Castle is a ruined thirteenth-century castle in Criccieth, Gwynedd, Wales. It is located on a rocky headland overlooking Tremadog Bay and consists of an inner ward almost surrounded by an outer ward. The twin-towered inner gatehouse is the most prominent remaining feature and survives to almost its full height, as does the inner curtain wall. The outer curtain wall, the inner ward buildings, and the castle's other three towers are significantly more ruinous, and in places survive only as foundations.
The Kingdom of Powys was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. It very roughly covered the northern two-thirds of the modern county of Powys and part of today's English West Midlands. More precisely, and based on the Romano-British tribal lands of the Ordovices in the west and the Cornovii in the east, its boundaries originally extended from the Cambrian Mountains in the west to include the modern West Midlands region of England in the east. The fertile river valleys of the Severn and Tern are found here, and this region is referred to in later Welsh literature as "the Paradise of Powys".
Tenby is a seaside town and community in the county of Pembrokeshire, Wales. It lies within Carmarthen Bay.
Aberystwyth Castle is a Grade I listed Edwardian fortress located in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Mid Wales. It was built in response to the First Welsh War in the late 13th century, replacing an earlier fortress located a mile to the south. During a national uprising by Owain Glyndŵr, the Welsh captured the castle in 1404, but it was recaptured by the English four years later. From 1637 it housed a Royal mint of Charles I, which produced silver shillings. The castle was slighted by Oliver Cromwell in 1649.
Cardigan Castle is a castle overlooking the River Teifi in Cardigan, Ceredigion, Wales. It is a Grade I listed building. The castle dates from the late 11th-century, though was rebuilt in 1244. Castle Green House was built inside the castle walls in the early 1800s. After falling into disrepair the castle was restored in the early 2000s and opened to the public in 2015. It is owned by Ceredigion County Council and now includes a heritage centre and open-air concert facilities. The castle's gardens are listed on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
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Haverfordwest Castle is a castle located in the town centre at Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, south Wales, located in a naturally defensive position at the end of a strong, isolated ridge. The castle was established during Norman times in 1120 but much of the architecture remaining today is dated to 1290. For centuries the castle was an English stronghold. There are several other notable castles in area; Wiston Castle lies 6 miles (9.7 km) to the northeast and Pembroke Castle lies 12 miles (19 km) to the south.
Emlyn was one of the seven cantrefi of Dyfed, an ancient district of Wales, which became part of Deheubarth in around 950. It consisted of the northern part of Dyfed bordering on the River Teifi. Its southern boundary followed the ridge of the line of hills separating the Teifi valley from the valleys of the Tâf and Tywi.
This article is about the particular significance of the century 1201–1300 to Wales and its people.
This article is about the particular significance of the century 1101–1200 to Wales and its people.
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This article is about the particular significance of the century 1001–1100 to Wales and its people.
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