Wales · Partial ruin
Penllyn Castle
Penllyn Castle is a country house complex in Cowbridge, South Wales, incorporating surviving medieval Norman masonry and a predominantly Victorian manor rebuilt in the mid-19th century. The site combines two surviving main medieval walls on a low cliff above the River Thaw with a stuccoed Victorian house, an entrance lodge and an adjacent stable block. The estate is privately owned and not open to the public.
Its prime
1860
Today
Partial ruin
As it stood in 1860
What Penllyn Castle looked like in its prime.
An oblong Norman keep and two surviving main medieval walls sit on the edge of a low cliff overlooking the River Thaw valley; the lower courses of the medieval masonry show six courses of herringbone stonework. By the mid-19th century the medieval corner was incorporated into a Tudorbethan/Victorian manor with stucco-plaster facades and projecting roofline, accompanied by a separate mid-19th-century entrance lodge and a stone stable block close to the house.
Its story
The story of Penllyn Castle.
Penllyn Castle was built in 1135 by Robert Fitzhamon, the sheriff Earl of Gloucester, on a height commanding both the Thaw and Ewenny valleys, with an oblong tower like contemporary Ogmore Castle. Reportedly attacked by Owain Glyndŵr, its two surviving main walls stand on a low cliff above the River Thaw and include six courses of "herringbone" masonry near the base — early Norman work that supports the theory it was among the first Norman structures of Fitzhamon's occupation of Glamorgan.
In Tudor times the Turbeville family built a manor house in the grounds, the old keep forming one corner. Miss Gwinnett built a new manor house between 1780 and 1790, and in 1846 John Homfray — son of the bankrupt ironmaster Jeremiah Homfray — bought the castle and rebuilt the estate through to 1860 in a "Tudorbethan" style, demolishing most of Miss Gwinnett's house for a stuccoed Victorian one and adding an entrance lodge that is today Grade I listed.
The castle was sold to the Cory family in 1961 to pay death duties. In 2005 the semi-derelict stable block and manor house were the main shooting location for "Tooth and Claw", a Doctor Who episode in which the castle stood in for a Victorian Scottish one hosting Queen Victoria. In October 2018 it was sold to Terence and Judith Edgell, who intend to restore it as their family home.
Step inside
8 places to explore in 1860.
The record describes 8 distinct spots at Penllyn Castle — including the full exterior approach. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
Create History
Recreate Penllyn Castle with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1860 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate this castle →Whose castle
Clans who held Penllyn Castle.
The families that held Penllyn Castle for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Turbeville
Built a Tudor manor house in the castle grounds, the old keep forming one corner.
Homfray
Bought by John Homfray in 1846 and rebuilt 1846–60; held until sold to the Cory family in 1961.
Cory
Held by the Cory family from 1961; the castle was sold again in October 2018.
Nearby
