St Quintins Castle (also known as St Quentins Castle and Llanblethian Castle, ) is a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

located in the village of Llanblethian, Cowbridge,

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

. It is a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

and a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

and is under the care of

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 ...

.St Quentins Castle, Llanblethian
Gatehouse Gazetteer, 5 April 2016. The site was first occupied with a defensive structure in about 1102 and the gatehouse and further building work took place around 1312. It was later used as a prison and was reported as being in a ruinous state by 1741.

Initial fortifications

Around 1102 Robert Fitzhamon, the first Norman Lord of

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

bequeathed the lands of Llanblethian as a lordship to Herbert de St Quentin who is thought to have built the first fortification at the site of the castle. This initial construct was believed to have been a simple

ringwork A ringwork is a form of fortified defensive structure, usually circular or oval in shape. Ringworks are essentially motte-and-bailey castles without the motte. Defences were usually earthworks in the form of a ditch and bank surrounding the site ...

defence with timber walls, a bank and ditch. A rectangular stone

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 residen ...

was built in the late 12th century, whose remains can now be found within the later

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 most ...

. This keep may have replaced a similar wooden structure.

14th-century reinforcements

The lordship remained with the St Quentin family until 1233 when the land was seized by Richard Siward, but he then lost it to Earl Richard de Clare in 1245. Richard de Clare seized large areas of this part of Glamorganshire, from Cowbridge to Llantrisant, but it was his grandson, Earl Gilbert de Clare, who began to build the stone structure of St Quintins Castle which stands today. This was thought to have been roughly after 1307, but Gilbert de Clare was killed in the

Battle of Bannockburn The Battle of Bannockburn ( or ) was fought on 23–24 June 1314, between the army of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, and the army of King Edward II of England, during the First War of Scottish Independence. It was a decisive victory for Ro ...

in 1314 before the castle was completed. Modern historians believe that the lack of inner courtyard buildings and the weakness of the curtain wall points to the hypothesis that the castle was never fully completed.

Defensive layout

The castle itself is a rectangular stone walled enclosure, roughly 64 metres East to West. The walls are roughly 120 centimetres in thickness. It is set on a spur above steep slopes on all sides apart from the East side. The weak East side of the fortification is protected by a twin-tower gatehouse and a further two towers East entrance facade. The best defensive side is the southern side which falls away sharply to the River Thaw. It was reported as being ruinous by 1741.

The castle today

The base of a semi-octagonal tower can be seen at the southeast corner of the castle and parts of a tower at the southwest corner. The ivy-clad gatehouse is between these and is a substantial structure where you can see the slits for the two

portcullis A portcullis () is a heavy, vertically closing gate typically found in medieval fortifications. It consists of a latticed Grille (architecture), grille made of wood and/or metal, which slides down grooves inset within each jamb of the gateway. ...

es and the fittings for the sets of strong doors. The remains of the keep are largely rubble and little remains of the bailey walls on the east, north and south sides. It is a

and a

References

External links