Pennard Castle's situation is dramatic and beautiful. It is perched on the edge of the valley of the Pennard Pill, with a sheer drop below to the north and west. From it there is a sweeping view out towards Three Cliffs Bay, and across the valley to Penmaen Burrows. It was a perfect position for a castle, except for one thing which cannot have been foreseen when it was built: it was vulnerable to sand blow. By the end of the 14th century sand encroachment had led to its abandonment.
In the early 12th century Henry de Beaumont, first earl of Warwick, was granted the lordship of Gower, and it was probably he who built the ringwork castle here. It had a bank and ditch around it, and a primitive stone hall. On the opposite side of the valley, at Penmaen, was a very similar castle of the same date. The only traces of this early castle are the footings of the hall at the west end of the courtyard, which was probably added to the ringwork in the early 13th century.
In the late 13th or early 14th century the castle was rebuilt in stone, using local limestone and reddish sandstone, and the present-day ruins are the remains of this castle. It was probably the work of the de Braoses, who held the castle for a while in the 13th century. In 1321 it passed to the de Mowbray family.
The castle is small and rather crudely built, with a curtain wall around a courtyard. It incorporated up-to-date elements such as the twin-towered gatehouse, but they were built in an amateurish way, with little understanding of their real purpose or construction. The circular trace of the curtain wall follows the line of the earlier ringwork bank except on the north side, where the ground falls steeply below. Here the wall is well preserved, standing to battlement height in places, and is particularly impressive from the outside. On the south and west it has almost completely gone. At the west end of the north side it incorporates a small semicircular turret with a single arrowslit facing westwards. The gap to the east of it was probably a garderobe. A square tower, the base of which survives, was added to the outside of the west curtain wall. This appears to have been residential, with splayed windows on the west and south sides.
The only entrance was through the gatehouse on the east side, which consisted of an archway between two half-round towers with square inner sides. The northern side is best preserved; the southern side, except for part of the front wall, is very ruined. The entrance to the passage has a simple portcullis, but the grooves did not reach the ground. Further evidence of lack of understanding of military architecture by the builders are the ineffective arrowslits and two square holes of unknown purpose from the guardrooms to the passage.
A small settlement grew up around the castle, and to its east a solitary section of wall is all that is left of St. Mary's church, abandoned in 1532. Castle, village and church were all overwhelmed by sand.

Pennard Castle

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Oxwich Castle is a Grade I listed castle which occupies a position on a wooded headland overlooking Oxwich Bay on the Gower Peninsula, Wales. Although it may occupy the site of an earlier fortification, it is a castle in name only as it is a grand Tudor fortified manor house built in courtyard style.
The castle
A charter of 1306 granted in Swansea refers to tenants of "the ancient knight's fees" (that is, military tenants) at Oxwich, and this indicates that there may have been some fortifications on the site before the present castle. At this time Oxwich was owned by the de Penres family, who had been in possession since the 1230s. However, with the exception of a ruined tower to the north-east of the castle, which may predate the Tudor building, (and may be the "castrum de Oxenwych" mentioned in a document of 1459) nothing remains of any earlier works.
The existing buildings were largely created in the 16th century. They consist of a Gateway (built 1520–1538) leading to a courtyard, a Hall at the east of the courtyard opposite the Gateway (1559–1580) and a South Range (1520–38). At the corner of the Hall and the South Range is the six-story South-East Tower. To the north-east of the Castle are the remains of a large stone dovecote.
The Gateway is surmounted by a plaque with the coats of arms of the Mansell family and the Penrice and Scurlage families to which Sir Rhys was related. The East Range carried a large Hall, and, with the South-East Tower to which it was connected, provided extensive accommodation. It is possible that the construction of this range may have led to the bankruptcy of its builder, Sir Edward Mansell. The South Range contained a kitchen.
History
Oxwich was originally built by Sir Rice Mansel (d. 1559), who also owned Old Beaupre Castle. The structure was built over the original ruined castle, the residence of the Norman de la Mare family during the 13th and 14th century. His son, Sir Edward Mansel (d. 1595) succeeded to the property and between 1560–80 created a much grander structure, called the Great House, capable of housing a large number of guests and retainers. It was a leading example in Wales of the Elizabethan prodigy house. By 1632 however the Castle was already leased out by the Mansell family. Parts of the building collapsed in the eighteenth century. Following this, parts of the South Range were rebuilt and it continued to be used as a farmhouse into the 20th century. In 1949 the Castle was threatened with demolition but was saved and given to the State. The building is now in the care of Cadw.
The Oxwich Brooch
During maintenance works at the Castle in 1968, a gold brooch was discovered by Cyril Grove, which is a rare fine example of medieval British jewellery. The brooch is in the form of a gold ring with mounts, of the period 1320–1340, two inches in diameter. It is set with three rubies and three cameos; it is believed that the cameos were added at a later date and that the brooch may have originally contained sapphires. It may once have been part of the treasure of Edward II or a heirloom of the Mansel family. The brooch is now on display at the National Museum Cardiff.

Oxwich Castle

Oystermouth Castle is a Norman stone castle in Wales, overlooking Swansea Bay on the east side of the Gower Peninsula near the village of the Mumbles.
The first castle was founded by William de Londres of Ogmore Castle soon after 1106 following the capture of Gower by the Normans. In 1116 the Welsh of Deheubarth retook the Gower Peninsula and forced William to flee his castle which was put to the torch. The castle was rebuilt soon afterwards, but was probably destroyed again in 1137 when Gower was once more retaken by the princes of Deheubarth. 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 Castle and Oystermouth.
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.

2000s restoration
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. 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.
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.

Oystermouth Castle

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.
The existing buildings were largely created between 1304 and 1327 by the de la Bere family. They consist of a gateway, a hall and kitchen, a chapel block and an east range, enclosing a courtyard, all now in a semi-ruinous state. The buildings are largely constructed of rubble masonry with window and door features of sandstone.
The gateway, at the west of the castle, is framed to its north by the solar block, which contained the lord's private chamber, a latrine and a cellar space. To the south of the gateway is the so-called Cistern Turret, which is believed to have contained a cistern for rainwater storage; behind this is the South-West Tower, which was originally a separate building and may be the oldest part of the present structure. The gateway itself also included an additional living chamber in its upper storey. The northern range of the castle, including the hall, kitchen and porch leading from the inner courtyard, is the most substantial of the surviving sections. Features of the hall include a recess for the display of tapestry or panelling. This supports interpretations of the castle as primarily a wealthy residence rather than a military outpost. During excavations at the Chapel Block, fragments of a piscina were discovered. The eastern range is more fragmentary that other parts, and much of it may never have been developed beyond the foundation stage during the ownership of the de la Beres. Although most of the outer fortifications no longer exist, the remaining portions demonstrate that Weobley was well provided with guestrooms and facilities (including garderobes). The building was extended later in the 14th century, including construction of the south porch.
History
Until the 15th century the castle was the home of the de la Beres, originally stewards to William De Braose, Lord of Gower. In 1318 the castle is recorded by a deed signed there by Adam de la Bere.
The castle was attacked and damaged by the forces of Owain Glyndŵr in the early 15th century, but most of the building was left standing. It is possible that John de la Bere (d. 1403) was a casualty of Glyndŵr's incursion. Sir Rhys ap Thomas became the owner towards the end of the 15th century; following the execution for treason of Rhys's grandson Rhys ap Gruffydd in 1531, Weobley eventually reverted to the Crown in the person of King Henry VIII. It was then sold and subsequently leased to tenants until the 20th century, when the last owner, Emily Talbot, gave it to the state in 1911.

Weobley Castle

One can only wonder how many visitors Loughor Castle really sees in a given year. The location was fine for a medieval castle, as it immediately overlooks a major river link to the sea, but its present situation, alongside the busy A484 roadway, means that, unless you are actively hunting for the site, your attention will most likely be focused on the traffic and the bridge ahead. Consequently, you may even miss the castle. Indeed, Loughor's castle seems to teeter on the fringes of invisibility, for the city is almost swallowed up by the sprawling Swansea, around which visitors must negotiate, with great anxiety (the traffic can be dreadful!), to find this little-known, but interesting site.
Roman soldiers from the Second Augustan Legion established Leucarum (Loughor) in about AD 75, to guard the major communications route that crisscrossed South Wales and included the River Loughor (in Welsh, Llwchwr; Leucara, in Latin). Leucarum sat along a Roman road that stretched from Viroconium (modern Wroxeter) to Moridunum (Carmarthen) and probably linked several forts and fortlets in southern Wales, including Nidum (Neath). The auxiliary fort at Leucarum was essentially rectangular, and, at one corner - possibly now covered by the castle - a tower may have stood. Evidently, Leucarum's timber structures were adorned with "fine painted plaster walls with a leaf-pattern on a striped red and yellow ground" (Heather James, 1982). Today, only the shape of the site and some earthworks mark the existence of the Roman walls that originally encompassed the fort. The Romans abandoned Leucarum in the middle of the 2nd century AD, but reoccupied the site from the late 3rd to the early 4th century before leaving it permanently.
In the early 12th century, the Normans extended their control over southern Wales and the Earl of Warwick, Henry de Beaumont, became the area's overlord. By 1116, an oval ringwork castle existed on top of the earlier fort. Its first commander was Henry de Viliers, Warwick's representative. Initially, Loughor Castle was defended with timber ramparts and contained wooden domestic buildings. In 1151, the Welsh attacked Loughor Castle and burned it. Curiously scorched Norman chess pieces, possibly dating to this event, have been unearthed at the site. The Normans promptly regained their hold on the castle, and soon made repairs to the structure, adding several stone buildings.
In the early 13th century, John de Braose became Loughor Castle's new owner. He added a low stone curtain wall, of which only foundations remain. At the end of the century, when William de Braose had the lordship, the rectangular stone tower that now dominates the site was constructed. Though greatly ruined, the two-storied tower retains enough of its original structure to give a fairly complete picture of how it was used. The fireplaces, fine windows, and garderobe (latrine chute) suggest that the tower was residential, perhaps housing the lord of the castle and his household. The gateway into the castle stood next to this tower and there is some speculation that a second tower also defended the later castle.
Little else of note took place at Loughor Castle. After Edward I's final subjugation of the Welsh at the end of the 13th century, the castle no longer occupied a significant place in the royal arsenal. Today, CADW: Welsh Historic Monuments has guardianship of the castle, which is freely accessible any reasonable time. The site remains of interest to archaeologists, who sporadically continue hunting for evidence of its past. If you are in the area, take the time to explore the ruins. You won't be disappointed.

Loughor Castle

Swansea Castle is now so hemmed in by modern buildings and roads that it is hard to imagine its original surroundings, or indeed its original form. It stands on a clifftop, below which the river Tawe originally flowed, and its position was strategic: it commanded the lowest crossing of the river, the main east-west route in south Wales, and a good harbour. What is visible now is only a small part of the latest castle on the site, which in its heyday in the late 13th century stretched from Welcome Lane in the north to Caer Street in the south, and from the clifftop in the east, almost to Princess Way in the West.
Swansea Castle's history was a turbulent one: it suffered in many Welsh raids, and changed hands many times. It was a Norman castle first mentioned in 1116 as being attacked by the Welsh. It was established by Henry I's friend Henry de Beaumont, first earl of Warwick, as the seat of administration of the marcher lordship of Gower, which Henry bestowed on him in about 1106. This first castle was of motte and bailey type, and nothing of it remains above ground. The west side of its deep ditch has been excavated to the north of the present remains. It was rebuilt in stone on the same site, probably after being razed by the Welsh in 1217. Nothing remains above ground of this stage either, but the west side of the curtain wall has been found, together with a mural tower. To the south-west of this small castle, called the 'Old Castle', a large roughly rectangular outer bailey was walled in stone late in the 13th century.
The 'New Castle', of which the present-day remains were part, lay in its south-east corner, built on the site of an earlier graveyard. This castle dates from the late 13th to early 14th century, by which time Edward I's pacification of Wales had deprived it of any military importance. It continued as an administrative center, but at a reduced level. Its holders, then the de Braoses, preferred to live at Oystermouth Castle, and inevitably decline set in. Stripped of their usefulness, the various gates and towers of the bailey were sold off in the early 14th century.
The visible remains consist of the north and south blocks, probably the work of William de Braose III, connected by a short stretch of much-altered curtain wall. The curtain wall originally continued up Castle Bailey Street on the west, and west from the north block to enclose a roughly rectangular area, with an entrance on the west side. The well-preserved south block, which occupied most of the south side of the castle, is the most spectacular part, with its picturesque arcaded parapet on top of the outside walls. This was almost certainly the work of Henry de Gower, bishop of St. Davids (1328-47), and recalls similar features in his palaces at Lamphey and St. Davids itself. Swansea may thus have served as an episcopal palace for some time. This view has, however, recently been challenged. Some authorities now believe it is the work of the de Mowbray lord of Gower, using the bishop's masons, employed at that time elsewhere in Swansea. Two large windows on the south side are the windows of the first floor hall, and below them are the narrow windows of three barrel-vaulted chambers. In the angled wing to the east was a sub-basement with great battered walls, from which there was access to the river. On the first floor was a solar, or private chamber, reached by steps on the west side. At the west end of the block is a spectacular circular garderobe tower standing to its full height, and in the south-east angle is a small turret with an arrowslit.
The small rectangular tower to the north has been much altered in post-medieval times, but retains a few original features, such as cross arrowslits. On the ground floor are three vaulted chambers, with four rooms above them inserted in the late 18th century when the block was turned into a debtor's prison. It had probably been used as a prison for a long time before, and still has grim air. Other usable parts of the castle had very heterogeneous uses at the beginning of the 19th century - as a town hall, poor-house, a new market house, store cellars, a blacksmith's and other shops, a Roman Catholic chapel (in the hall) and a dovecote.

Swansea Castle

Neath Castle is a Norman castle located in the town centre of Neath, Wales. Its construction was begun by Robert, Earl of Gloucester, the nominal Lord of Glamorgan, at a date estimated between 1114 and 1130. It is also referred to as "Granville's Castle", after Richard I de Grenville (or Granville or Glanville; died post 1142), Lord of Neath, who has also been credited with its construction. The town of Neath takes its Welsh name, "Castell-nedd", from the castle.
History
The first castle in Neath was located west of the river near the Roman fort of Nidum, and was a timber fortification in a motte and bailey structure. When Richard de Grenville founded Neath Abbey close by, he abandoned this original castle, and it may have been used by the monks as a source of building material.
A second castle on the opposite bank of the river, in what is now the centre of the town, is first documented in 1183; shortly afterwards, William de Cogan, son of Miles de Cogan, was appointed constable. This second castle was built by Gilbert de Clare, 5th Earl of Gloucester. During the 13th century, being a Norman stronghold, it was subject to attack by the Welsh, notably by Llywelyn the Great, who captured it in 1231 with help from a local Welsh lord, Morgan Gam. Following this, it was substantially rebuilt by Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester, Gilbert's son.
It was taken again, and this time destroyed, by Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford, in 1321, during the rebellion against King Edward II of England. Its owner, Hugh Despenser the Younger (who had gained the lordship through his marriage to the heiress Eleanor de Clare), rebuilt it, possibly with the addition of a gatehouse. In 1376, one Roger Kyngot was the constable, and the castle was rebuilt in stone in 1377; that is probably when the great gatehouse was built, which is the main surviving feature. The castle was in use until the 17th century, and has been a recreational area for the town since the 18th century. The post of "Constable of Neath Castle", a medieval legacy, was held by Sir Humphrey Mackworth from 1703. The title was eventually absorbed into that of Mayor of Neath. What remains of the castle is designated a Grade II* listed building.

Neath Castle

Kidwelly Castle is a Norman castle overlooking the River Gwendraeth and the town of Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire, Wales.
History and description
The present remains of the castle include work from about 1114 to about 1476. Created as a defence against the Welsh, the castle fell to the Welsh several times in the twelfth century. Later in its history, it was unsuccessfully besieged by forces of Owain Glyndŵr in 1403 with assistance from soldiers from France and Brittany who captured Kidwelly town. The castle was relieved by a Norman army after just three weeks. The gatehouse was extensively damaged and it was rebuilt on the instructions of King Henry V. It largely escaped involvement in the English Civil War.
The plan of the castle consists of a square inner bailey defended by four round towers, which overlook a semi-circular outer curtain wall on the landward side, with the massive gatehouse next to the river. The river prevents this from being a truly concentric plan, however a jutting tower protects the riverside walls, and the final plan is very strong.
The castle is relatively well-preserved, and is managed by Cadw.
The surrounding countryside is reputedly haunted by the headless ghost of Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd, wife of the Welsh prince Gruffydd ap Rhys, who was beheaded in 1136.
In film
Kidwelly was used as a location for the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, appearing in the very first scene after the titles. After the first view of King Arthur and Patsy, a very misty establishing shot shows Kidwelly as their destination. However, the following close up filming was done at Doune Castle in Scotland.