Lydstep Palace is a ruinous medieval hall house in the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depi ...

of Lydstep, Pembrokeshire,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. Believed to have been built in the late 14th century or 15th century, the building was constructed from limestone and built in two levels, the upper floor containing a hall and the lower floor consisting of several barrel vaulted rooms, likely cellars. The two floors were not connected internally, only by external stone stairs. Speculation as to the purpose of the house varies, some sources attribute the building as a court of the Manor of

Manorbier Manorbier (; cy, Maenorbŷr ) is a village, community and parish on the south coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales. The name means the ' Manor of Pŷr'. The community includes Jeffreyston and Lydstep. An electoral ward with the same name exists ...

and

Penally Penally ( cy, Penalun) coastal village, parish and community southwest of Tenby in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The village is known for its Celtic Cross, Penally Abbey (a Gothic style country house), the neighbouring St. Deiniol's Well, WWI Practic ...

, but it has also been referred to as a hunting lodge of the Bishop Gower of St. Davids. The house was traditionally known as the Place of Arms, and it is speculated that this became mutated to the Palace of Arms, leading to its current name of the Palace. The building is also referred to as The Old Palace. The building was listed on May 14, 1970, given Grade I status, reserved for buildings of exceptional interest. The building is currently owned by Pembrokeshire County Council, who placed it up for sale in July 2013.

References

{{Reflist, colwidth=33em Buildings and structures in Pembrokeshire Grade I listed houses Grade I listed buildings in Pembrokeshire