Kidwelly Castle ( cy, Castell Cydweli) is a Norman

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

overlooking the River Gwendraeth and the town of

Kidwelly Kidwelly ( cy, Cydweli) is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, southwest Wales, approximately northwest of the most populous town in the county, Llanelli. In the 2001 census the community of Kidwelly returned a population of 3,289, ...

, Carmarthenshire,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. The origin of this surname traces back to when it was spelled Cygweli which means "swan."

Early history

The castle dates from a decision in the very early years of the 12th century to entrust Roger, bishop of Salisbury, as lord of Kidwelly. The castle and adjoining town were built soon after.

History and description

The present remains of the castle date from the early 12th century. Created as a defence against the Welsh, the castle fell to the Welsh several times in the twelfth century. The Prince of Wales named

Lord Rhys Rhys ap Gruffydd, commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in Welsh ''Yr Arglwydd Rhys'' (c. 1132 – 28 April 1197) was the ruler of the Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales from 1155 to 1197 and native Prince of Wales. It was believed that h ...

, as he was later known, captured Kidwelly Castle in 1159 and was recognised by King

Henry II of England Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin kin ...

as the ruler of the region. Upon his death, it was passed to the Anglo-Normans. The castle was captured and razed by

Llywelyn the Great Llywelyn the Great ( cy, Llywelyn Fawr, ; full name Llywelyn mab Iorwerth; c. 117311 April 1240) was a King of Gwynedd in north Wales and eventually " Prince of the Welsh" (in 1228) and "Prince of Wales" (in 1240). By a combination of war and ...

in 1231. Later in its history, it was unsuccessfully besieged by forces of

Owain Glyndŵr Owain ap Gruffydd (), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr or Glyn Dŵr (, anglicised as Owen Glendower), was a Welsh leader, soldier and military commander who led a 15 year long Welsh War of Independence with the aim of ending English rule in Wa ...

in August 1403 with assistance from soldiers from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

who captured Kidwelly town. The castle was relieved by a Norman army in September 1403. 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 A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the mo ...

next to the river. The river prevents this from being a truly

concentric In geometry, two or more objects are said to be concentric, coaxal, or coaxial when they share the same center or axis. Circles, regular polygons and regular polyhedra, and spheres may be concentric to one another (sharing the same center p ...

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 (, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage ...

. The surrounding countryside is reputedly haunted by the headless ghost of

Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd () (''Gwenllian, daughter of Gruffydd''; 1100 – 1136) was Princess consort of Deheubarth in Wales, and married to Gruffydd ap Rhys, Prince of Deheubarth. Gwenllian was the daughter of Gruffudd ap Cynan (1055–113 ...

, wife of the Welsh prince

Gruffydd ap Rhys Gruffydd ap Rhys (c. 1090 – 1137) was Prince of Deheubarth, in Wales. His sister was the Princess Nest ferch Rhys. He was the father of Rhys ap Gruffydd, known as 'The Lord Rhys', who was one of the most successful rulers of Deheubarth du ...

, who was beheaded in 1136.

In film

Kidwelly was used as a location for the 1975 film ''

Monty Python and the Holy Grail ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' is a 1975 British comedy film satirizing the Arthurian legend, written and performed by the Monty Python comedy group ( Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Pa ...

'', appearing in the very first scene after the titles.

Gallery

File:Kidwelly Castle plan.jpg, Plan of Kidwelly Castle File:Kidwelly Castle.jpeg, Kidwelly Castle, c. 1810 File:Part Of Kidwelly Castle.jpeg, Drawing of Kidwelly Castle File:Image from page 273 of "Annals and antiquities of the counties and county families of Wales" (1872).jpg, The castle in 1872 File:Kidwelly Castle, Carmarthen, Wales-LCCN2001703455.jpg, The castle in the 1890s, with the ruins partly overgrown

References

Sources

External links

Cadw page
{{Castles in Carmarthenshire Castles in Carmarthenshire Cadw Castle ruins in Wales Hill castles Grade I listed buildings in Carmarthenshire Grade I listed castles in Wales

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...