Kenfig Castle

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The ruins of Kenfig Castle

Kenfig Castle (Welsh Castell Cynffig ) is a ruined castle in Wales. The protected as a Scheduled Monument ruins located 10 km west of Bridgend in the Kenfig Burrows on the south bank of the River Kenfig.

History

Around 1140 built Robert, Earl of Gloucester and Lord of Glamorgan a moth at Kenfig River. Due to the steep hills north of the river, the Romans already had invested their main road to the West Wales at this point close to the coast, and through a port at the mouth of the river, the facility was soon south of the castle a settlement with a harbor. Between 1151 and 1154 the church of St James was built and Kenfig was a major commercial and administrative center in the south of the rule of Glamorgan, which is why it was at least nine times attacked in the 12th and 13th centuries by rebellious Welsh. The first attack took place on January 13, 1167 by Morgan ap Caradog, the Welsh Lord of Afan, in which the settlement was pillaged. Another attack took place after the death of Lord William FitzRobert 1183 or 1184, in which the castle and the fastening of the settlement raised to the Borough has been damaged. In order to gain a stone tower was erected in 1185 in the castle, which partially blocks was used from ancient buildings of the Roman period. Two other attacks took around 1228 and 1243 the Welsh Lord of Miskin, Hywel ap Maredudd. Morgan Gam, the Lord of Afan, 1232 could conquer the city and up to the keep of the castle. 1257 Llywelyn ap Gruffydd attacked Kenfig. During the Welsh uprising of 1294 Morgan ap Maredudd in 1295 conquered the city and destroyed part of the castle. In 1316 the castle was destroyed during the rebellion of Llywelyn Bren, and during the uprising of the barons in 1321 against Hugh le Despenser was another attack on the castle. But not these multiple attacks and destructions brought the end of the castle and the settlement, but as with Pennard Castle on the Gower Peninsula, the increasing silting in 1400 to abandon the castle. Instead of the boroughs of Kenfig 2.4 km east arose the settlement Pyle.

1924 led the Aberafon and Margam Historical Society by first excavations of the castle.

Plant

The ruins of the heavily damaged plant consists of the remains of the free-standing, square Keeps well as the foundation remains of other buildings southwest of the tower. The small castle core had a diameter of about 37 m and was surrounded by a wall and a deep ditch, which was flooded by the River Kenfig. The living room was in the south of the main castle located bailey. The spacious outer bailey was secured by a bank and ditch and went later on in the settlement. The ruins today lie between the sand dunes of the 66 -hectare nature reserve Kenfig National Nature Reserve, but are freely accessible.

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