St Quentin's Castle, Cowbridge (South Wales)
Mainly early fourteenth-century remains of a large courtyard castle.
Introduction
Mainly early fourteenth-century remains of a large courtyard castle, including a massive twin-towered gatehouse. Probably built by Gilbert de Clare (the Last, d. 1314).
History to the present day
The first fortifications at this site were thought to have been built by Herbert de St Quentin. The land was bequeathed to him in 1102 by Robert Fitzhamon, the first Norman Lord of Glamorgan. The initial structure was most probably a simple ringwork defence comprising timber walls, a bank and ditch. A rectangular stone keep was then built in the late 12th century, and its remains can still be seen within the later gatehouse.
The land was seized from the St Quentin family in 1233 by Richard Siward, who subsequently lost it to Earl Richard de Clare in 1245. His grandson, Earl Gilbert de Clare began the stone structure of St Quintins Castle which remains today in around 1307 although his death in the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 meant he did not live to see the castle’s completion. The lack of inner courtyard buildings and the weak curtain wall strongly suggests that in fact the castle was never fully completed.
Arrival information and how to find us
Address: St Quentin's Castle, South Wales, , United Kingdom
Opening Times:
Open site all year round.
Open sites are unstaffed and open to the public with no admission charge at all reasonable times, usually between 10.00 and 16.00 daily.
Photographs courtesy CADW photographic library.
