Castles · South Wales
Tretower Castle
Tretower Castle — castle in the village of Tretower, Powys, Wales.
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Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 1.5 h–3 h
- Family-friendly
- Limited wheelchair access
About
Tretower Castle is a castle in the United Kingdom — fortified architecture from the medieval, Tudor, or Victorian-revival period. Records date its origin to 1200. Heritage designation: scheduled monument. Wikidata describes it as: "castle in the village of Tretower, Powys, Wales". Coordinates: 51.8839°, -3.1856°.
Photo gallery
Heritage listing
Tretower Castle (Welsh: Castell Tretŵr) is a Grade I-listed ruined castle in the village of Tretower in the county of Powys, Wales. It was built around the beginning of the twelfth century as a motte and bailey castle and this was probably replaced mid-century by a stone shell keep. The castle was enlarged in the early thirteenth century, but later fell into ruin.
From Cadw under OGL v3.
From the Wikipedia article
Tretower Castle (Welsh: Castell Tretŵr) is a Grade I-listed ruined castle in the village of Tretower in the county of Powys, Wales. It was built around the beginning of the twelfth century as a motte and bailey castle and this was probably replaced mid-century by a stone shell keep. The castle was enlarged in the early thirteenth century, but later fell into ruin.
Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.
Background
History
]] Tretower () was founded as a motte and bailey castle by Sir Miles Picard (Piegard), a follower of Bernard de Neufmarché. Probably around 1150, Picard's son, Roger Picard I, replaced the motte with a shell keep. By about 1230 a tall cylindrical keep was added to the inside of the shell keep, possibly by his great-grandson, Roger Picard II, and the space between was roofed over. At this time the earlier bailey was walled in stone and provided with cylindrical corner towers. In the early 14th century residential buildings were constructed away from the original fortifications forming today's Tretower Court. Over time the lords of Tretower favoured the more luxurious Court and the castle…
Description
The castle is roughly triangular in plan, with the motte and keep assemblage occupying the western corner. The 12th century shell-keep is an irregular enclosure with a gate-tower on the line of approach from the bailey. In the centre of the shell stands the tall cylindrical 13th century keep. The keep is of three storeys, with an original entrance at first floor level, above a strong, slanted batter or talus. The top of the talus is marked by a decorative string-course of stone.
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 51.8839, -3.1856
- District
- Powys
- Parish
- Cwmdu and District
- Postcode
- NP8 1RF
- Parliamentary constituency
- Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe
- Established
- 1200
Sources
- wikidata: Q7838881 (CC0)
- wikipedia: Tretower Castle (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- commons: Tretower Castle.jpg (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Frequently asked questions
- Where is Tretower Castle?
- Tretower Castle is in South Wales, United Kingdom (postcode NP8 1RF), in the parish of Cwmdu and District.
- When was Tretower Castle built?
- Built or established in 1200.
- Is Tretower Castle a listed building?
- Tretower Castle is officially recognised as scheduled monument listed.
- Does Tretower Castle charge admission?
- Tretower Castle typically charges admission. Check the official site for current ticket prices and opening hours.
- How do I get to Tretower Castle?
- Drivers can navigate to postcode NP8 1RF. It sits within the Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe parliamentary constituency.