Dinefwr Castle
Encyclopedia
Dinefwr Castle is a Welsh castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
overlooking the River Tywi
River Tywi
With a total length of the River Towy is the longest river flowing entirely within Wales, and is noted for its sea trout and salmon fishing.The river rises within of the Teifi on the lower slopes of Crug Gynan in the Cambrian Mountains and, flowing through the Towy Forest, forms the border...
near the town of Llandeilo
Llandeilo
Llandeilo is a town in Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated at the crossing of the River Towy by the A483 on a 19th century stone bridge. Its population is 1,731.The town is served by Llandeilo railway station on the Heart of Wales Line.- Early history :...
, Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. It lies on a ridge on the northern bank of the Tywi, with a steep drop of several hundred feet to the river. Dinefwr was the chief seat of the Principality of Deheubarth. The castle is in the care of Cadw
Cadw
-Conservation and Protection:Many of Wales's great castles and other monuments, such as bishop's palaces, historic houses, and ruined abbeys, are now in Cadw's care. Cadw does not own them but is responsible for their upkeep and for making them accessible to the public...
but lies within Dinefwr Park, which is owned by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
. Visitors who wish to see the castle and are driving there, may pay admission for the car park, if not National Trust members. A separate fee is payable if you wish to visit Newton House. Alternatively, access is free to walkers from Llandeilo town nearby, and there is a small free car park near the castle, but it can only be reached by a rough track through the deer park.
Description
The present castleCastle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
is entered via a massive door protected by a restored length of battlement
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
. The short path from the car park reveals impressive views of the Towy valley. The door admits the visitor to the main space enclosed by the walls, from which there are several stairs to the main battlements and towers. A narrow spiral staircase
Spiral staircase
Spiral staircase may refer to:* A type of stairway characterized by its spiral shape* The Spiral Staircase , a 1946 American psychological thriller film* The Spiral Staircase , a 1975 British film, a remake of the 1946 film...
leads to a high tower, which gives extensive views of the deer park to the north and the Tywi valley to the south and west. The castle keep
Keep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...
is entered via the cellar
Basement
__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...
at its base, but access to the circular walkway at the top can only be made via the battlement walk. Details such as the well and several garderobe
Garderobe
The term garderobe describes a place where clothes and other items are stored, and also a medieval toilet. In European public places, a garderobe denotes the cloakroom, wardrobe, alcove or an armoire. In Danish, Dutch, German and Spanish garderobe can mean a cloakroom. In Latvian it means checkroom...
s are visible in the structure. There is a path around the base of the main structure to the north.
History
Traditionally, a castle was first constructed on this site by Rhodri the GreatRhodri the Great
Rhodri the Great was King of Gwynedd from 844 until his death. He was the first Welsh ruler to be called 'Great', and the first to rule most of present-day Wales...
, but there are no remains from this period. Dinefwr later became the chief seat of Rhodri's grandson Hywel Dda
Hywel Dda
Hywel Dda , was the well-thought-of king of Deheubarth in south-west Wales, who eventually came to rule Wales from Prestatyn to Pembroke. As a descendant of Rhodri Mawr, through his father Cadell, Hywel was a member of the Dinefwr branch of the dynasty and is also named Hywel ap Cadell...
, first ruler of Deheubarth and later king of most of Wales. Rhys ap Gruffydd
Rhys ap Gruffydd
Rhys ap Gruffydd or ap Gruffudd was the ruler of the kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales. He is commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in Welsh Yr Arglwydd Rhys, but this title may not have been used in his lifetime...
, ruler of Deheubarth from 1155 to 1197 is thought to have rebuilt the castle. Giraldus Cambrensis
Giraldus Cambrensis
Gerald of Wales , also known as Gerallt Gymro in Welsh or Giraldus Cambrensis in Latin, archdeacon of Brecon, was a medieval clergyman and chronicler of his times...
tells a story about a plan by King Henry II of England
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
to assault the castle during a campaign against Rhys. One of Henry's most trusted followers was sent on a reconnaissance mission, guided by a local Welsh cleric. The cleric was asked to lead him to the castle by the easiest route, but instead took the most difficult route he could find, ending the performance by stopping to eat grass with the explanation that this was the diet of the local people in times of hardship. The planned attack was duly abandoned.
Rhys ap Gruffydd also built the spectacular castle at Carreg Cennen
Carreg Cennen
Castell Carreg Cennen is a castle near the River Cennen , in the village of Trapp, four miles south of Llandeilo in Carmarthenshire, Wales. The castle's location has been described as spectacular, due to its position above a limestone precipice.- Description :Carreg Cennen Castle consists of a...
, about four miles away to the south. It is not visible from Dynefwr, but Dryslwyn Castle
Dryslwyn Castle
Dryslwyn Castle is a native Welsh castle, sited on a hill roughly halfway between Llandeilo and Carmarthen in Wales. It is notable inasmuch as it is the only native Welsh castle with three wards.- Excavation :...
can just be seen on a hill blocking the Tywi valley to the south-west. Rhys also founded two religious houses during this period. Talley Abbey
Talley Abbey
Talley Abbey is a former monastery of the Premonstratensians in the village of Talley in Carmarthenshire, Wales, six miles north of the market town of Llandeilo. It lies in the River Cothi valley. Access to the site of the abbey is free.The Order was founded in 1120...
was the first Premonstratensian
Premonstratensian
The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines, or in Britain and Ireland as the White Canons , are a Catholic religious order of canons regular founded at Prémontré near Laon in 1120 by Saint Norbert, who later became Archbishop of Magdeburg...
abbey in Wales, while Llanllyr was a Cistercian nunnery, only the second nunnery to be founded in Wales and the first to prosper.
On Rhys ap Gruffydd's death the castle passed to his son Rhys Gryg
Rhys Gryg
Rhys Gryg , real name Rhys ap Rhys, also known as Rhys Fychan was a Welsh Prince who ruled part of the Kingdom of Deheubarth.- Lineage :...
, and the earliest parts of the present castle are thought to derive from this period. Llywelyn the Great
Llywelyn the Great
Llywelyn the Great , full name Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, was a Prince of Gwynedd in north Wales and eventually de facto ruler over most of Wales...
of Gwynedd
Kingdom of Gwynedd
Gwynedd was one petty kingdom of several Welsh successor states which emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages, and later evolved into a principality during the High Middle Ages. It was based on the former Brythonic tribal lands of the Ordovices, Gangani, and the...
was now extending his influence to this area, and Rhys, finding himself unable to resist, dismantled the castle. Llywelyn however had it restored and held it until his death in 1240. In 1255 Llywelyn the Last
Llywelyn the Last
Llywelyn ap Gruffydd or Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf , sometimes rendered as Llywelyn II, was the last prince of an independent Wales before its conquest by Edward I of England....
gave Dinefwr to Rhys Fychan, then later gave it to Maredudd ap Rhys
Maredudd ap Rhys
Maredudd ap Rhys was a Welsh language poet and priest from Powys.Maredudd composed poems on themes of love, religion and nature.He is thought to have been the bardic tutor to Dafydd ab Edmwnd.-References:...
before later returning it to Rhys Fychan. Maredydd now allied himself to King Edward I of England
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
, and helped Edward capture Dinefwr in 1277. Maredudd had apparently been promised Dinefwr in return for his help, but Edward did not keep his promise and had Maredudd executed in 1291.
Llywelyn Bren
Llywelyn Bren , or Llywelyn ap Gruffudd ap Rhys or Llywelyn of the Woods , was a nobleman who led a revolt in Wales during the reign of King Edward II of England in 1316. The revolt would be the last serious challenge to English rule in Wales until the attempts of Owain Lawgoch to invade Wales with...
in 1316. In 1317 it was given to Hugh Despenser, the king's favourite
Favourite
A favourite , or favorite , was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In medieval and Early Modern Europe, among other times and places, the term is used of individuals delegated significant political power by a ruler...
. It was unsuccessfully besieged by the forces of Owain Glyndŵr
Owain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower , was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales...
in 1403. Towards the end of the 15th century the castle was held by Sir Rhys ap Thomas
Rhys ap Thomas
Rhys ap Thomas was a Welsh soldier and landholder who rose to prominence during the Wars of the Roses, and was instrumental in the victory of Henry Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth Field. He remained a faithful supporter of Henry and was rewarded with lands and offices in South Wales...
, who carried out extensive rebuilding. In 1531 his grandson was executed for treason and the castle was confiscated by the crown, though the family were later able to recover it. Around 1600 Newton House was built nearby and the castle keep modified as a summer house. The remains of the large windows can be seen at the top of the keep, but it burned down in the 18th century.
See also
- CadwCadw-Conservation and Protection:Many of Wales's great castles and other monuments, such as bishop's palaces, historic houses, and ruined abbeys, are now in Cadw's care. Cadw does not own them but is responsible for their upkeep and for making them accessible to the public...
- CarmarthenshireCarmarthenshireCarmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...
- Carreg Cennen Castle
- Dryslwyn CastleDryslwyn CastleDryslwyn Castle is a native Welsh castle, sited on a hill roughly halfway between Llandeilo and Carmarthen in Wales. It is notable inasmuch as it is the only native Welsh castle with three wards.- Excavation :...
- List of castles in Wales
- LlandeiloLlandeiloLlandeilo is a town in Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated at the crossing of the River Towy by the A483 on a 19th century stone bridge. Its population is 1,731.The town is served by Llandeilo railway station on the Heart of Wales Line.- Early history :...