Pennard Castle

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View from the south

Pennard Castle (Welsh Castell Pennard ) is a ruined castle on the Gower Peninsula in Wales. The classified as a cultural monument is a fine Grade II * and protected as a Scheduled Monument ruin located west of the village of Pennard on a sandy ridge. To the north and west the land drops down to the valley of the Pennard Pill, from the castle you can see the Three Cliffs Bay and the westerly Penmaen Burrows overlook.

History

Probably built Henry de Beaumont or one of his henchmen after the Norman conquest of the Gower Peninsula in the early 12th century, a simple, consisting of a ring ditch and fortifications. Further west, on the other side of the valley of the Pennard Pill, there was another, called ring Penmaen Wall fortifications from the 12th century. At the beginning of the 13th century Pennard Castle was extended and rebuilt at the end of the 13th or early 14th century stone. Was used for the construction of local limestone and reddish sandstone.

How Oystermouth Castle was William de Braose 1203 the castle, which remained in possession of his descendants until 1326 and then fell by success to John Mowbray. East of the castle cost a small village with a stone church, but because of its location silted the strategic and increasingly castle was abandoned in the late 14th century. Because of the increasing silting also the village in 1532 was finally abandoned.

The ruin is freely accessible.

Plant

The small castle consisted of a round, the course of the original ring wall following circular wall. Inside the mound, there was only one, probably from the 12th century stone hall. Was located on the east side by a protected twin towers gatehouse, in the west there was a rectangular residential tower. The castle was built from local limestone and reddish sandstone was built relatively primitive. Although possessed the gate towers Machicolation and loopholes, but these were created so amateurish that they had to defend limited can serve.

From the castle wall parts of the curtain wall on the north side and the remains of the gatehouse and the two towers are next to get the foundations in particular yet. 400 m east of the castle are the ruins of the church of St Mary, the only visible remains of the abandoned village.