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Llandovery Castle today

Wales · Ruin

Llandovery Castle

Castell Llanymddyfri

Llandovery Castle is a late thirteenth-century stone castle ruin on a knoll overlooking the River Towy in Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, Wales. Surviving fabric includes a large D-shaped keep on the west, a north gatehouse flanked by two towers with an attached well-tower, and fragments of the surrounding curtain wall. The castle was burnt in 1532 and remains a ruin today.

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Photograph via Wikimedia Commons

Its prime

1299

Today

Ruin

As it stood in 1299

What Llandovery Castle looked like in its prime.

Sits atop a grassy, steep-sided knoll with a substantial D-shaped keep dominating the western side; to the north a gatehouse with two flanking towers and an attached well-tower project from a continuous stone curtain wall. The masonry is coursed grey stone with irregular, ruined tops in the present view but reconstructed in prime as full-height walls. The castle overlooks the River Towy valley and is approached across the slope of the motte.

Its story

The story of Llandovery Castle.

The Normans built a castle on this knoll overlooking the River Towy in the early twelfth century, and it was later rebuilt in stone, work likely carried out by John Giffard, 1st Baron Giffard, to whom the castle was granted.

In 1299 the building passed to the baronial Audley family of Heleigh, who later inherited the lordship of Cemaes in north Pembrokeshire, and in the fourteenth century it passed into the Touchet family. The castle was burnt in 1532 and never repaired.

The ruin that survives is late thirteenth-century in character: a large D-shaped keep on the western side, a north gatehouse with two towers and an attached well-tower, and remnants of the curtain wall around the filled-in ditch. It is Grade II* listed.

Step inside

9 places to explore in 1299.

The record describes 9 distinct spots at Llandovery Castle, including 2 interiors: gatehouse passage (north), well-tower (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.

Approach from town/roadBase of the motte/knollD-shaped keep (exterior)Summit of the D-shaped keepGatehouse passage (north)Well-tower (interior)Inner bailey / courtyardCurtain wall walkView toward the River Towy

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The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1299, a photoreal reconstruction that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.

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Whose castle

Clans who held Llandovery Castle.

The families that held Llandovery Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.

  • Giffard

    Granted to John Giffard, 1st Baron Giffard, who likely rebuilt the castle in stone; it passed onward in 1299.

  • Audley

    Held by the baronial Audley family of Heleigh from 1299.

  • Touchet

    Passed into the Touchet family in the fourteenth century.

Questions about Llandovery Castle

What is the history of Llandovery Castle?

Llandovery Castle began as a Norman castle on the knoll in the early twelfth century, overlooking the River Towy. It was rebuilt in stone, probably under John Giffard, 1st Baron Giffard, and passed to the Audley family in 1299 before entering the Touchet family in the fourteenth century. It was burnt in 1532 and never repaired.

What is inside Llandovery Castle?

Inside Llandovery Castle, the documented spaces include the north gatehouse passage and the interior of the attached well-tower. These survive within a ruin whose main remaining structures are the D-shaped keep, the gatehouse and fragments of the curtain wall.

Where is Llandovery Castle?

Llandovery Castle is in Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, overlooking the River Towy. The castle occupies a knoll in the town, with views across the surrounding valley.

When was Llandovery Castle built?

Llandovery Castle was built in phases, beginning in the early twelfth century and later being rebuilt in stone. The surviving ruin is late thirteenth-century in character, while 1299 is identified as its prime year.

Was Llandovery Castle ever attacked or besieged?

Llandovery Castle was attacked several times. Welsh forces captured it after Henry II spent money repairing it in 1159–62; it fell to Edward I’s forces in 1277, was briefly recaptured by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd five years later, and was later besieged during the Owain Glyndŵr rebellion.

Which family or clan held Llandovery Castle?

Llandovery Castle was held by the Giffard, Audley and Touchet families. John Giffard, 1st Baron Giffard, was granted the castle; the baronial Audley family of Heleigh held it from 1299, and it passed to the Touchet family in the fourteenth century.

What did Llandovery Castle look like in its prime?

In its prime, Llandovery Castle had a large D-shaped keep dominating the western side. A northern gatehouse with two flanking towers and an attached well-tower projected from the stone curtain wall, which enclosed the site around a filled-in ditch. The masonry was coursed grey stone.

Is Llandovery Castle still standing or is it a ruin?

Llandovery Castle is a ruin today. Its surviving fabric includes the large D-shaped keep, the north gatehouse with two towers and an attached well-tower, and fragments of the surrounding curtain wall. It was burnt in 1532 and never repaired.

Who built Llandovery Castle?

Llandovery Castle was probably begun by Richard Fitz Pons, who received the lordship of Cantref Bychan in 1116. It was later granted to John Giffard, 1st Baron Giffard, who likely rebuilt the castle in stone.

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