Wales · Ruin
Candleston Castle
Castell Candleston
Candleston Castle is a 14th‑century fortified manor house in the Merthyr Mawr sand-dune complex near Porthcawl, Glamorgan, Wales. The site is a long, narrow medieval manor with a pronounced rectangular tower and surrounding curtain walls; it has been a ruin since the 19th century and stands close to the River Ogmore and nearby Ogmore Castle.
Its prime
1500
Today
Ruin
As it stood in 1500
What Candleston Castle looked like in its prime.
A long, narrow rectangular fortified manor of pale grey‑brown sandstone rubble set on a low promontory at the edge of sand dunes; a prominent near‑square corner tower rises above low curtain walls, with small narrow arched windows and a corbelled parapet at the roofline. The ranges form a D‑shaped enclosure opening onto a courtyard; rooflines are low and steep where present, and masonry shows regular coursing of medieval stone.
Its story
The story of Candleston Castle.
Candleston Castle is a 14th-century fortified manor house on the edge of the Merthyr Mawr sand dunes in Glamorgan, believed to take its name from the Norman family of Cantilupe, thought to be its first feudal tenants. It may have been built by Robert de Canteilupe III, recorded holding a ploughland at Candleston in the Despenser Survey of 1320. Its elevated position was just sufficient to save it from the sand that surrounded the promontory.
The manor passed through Joan Cantilupe Horton into the Horton family, Nicholas Horton briefly resided here and paid a small quit rent in 1411, and later to Mathew Herbert. It came in time to the Grevilles, Barons Brooke and Earls of Warwick, who visited only occasionally, made only minor modifications, and sold it to the Franklen family in the 18th century.
Richard Franklen sold Candleston in 1830, when it was said to include a drawing room, dining room, breakfast rooms, four bedrooms and a coach house. It has been a ruin since the 19th century, its long narrow range and tower standing close to the River Ogmore, with Ogmore Castle just across the water.
Step inside
6 places to explore in 1500.
The record describes 6 distinct spots at Candleston Castle, including 1 interior: great hall (hall range interior). Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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Recreate Candleston Castle with AI to explore it.
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Clans who held Candleston Castle.
The families that held Candleston Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
Cantilupe
The Norman Cantilupes, Candleston's first feudal tenants, gave the castle its name; Robert de Canteilupe III held land here in 1320.
Horton
Held by the Hortons from Joan Cantilupe Horton; Nicholas Horton paid quit rent for Candleston in 1411.
Greville
Held by the Grevilles, Barons Brooke and Earls of Warwick, until sold in the 18th century.
Franklen
Held by the Franklen family from the 18th century until Richard Franklen sold it in 1830.
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