Europe · United Kingdom · Swansea
Oxwich Castle
The story
History of Oxwich Castle
Oxwich Castle () is a Grade I listed castle which occupies a position on a wooded headland overlooking Oxwich Bay on the Gower Peninsula, Wales.
United Kingdom · Swansea
- Built
- 16th century
- Era
- Renaissance
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Region
- Swansea
- UNESCO
- —
- Coordinates
- 51.555, -4.169
In depth
The fuller history
Oxwich was originally built by Sir Rice Mansel (d. 1559), who also owned Old Beaupre Castle. The structure was built over the original ruined castle, the residence of the Norman de la Mare family during the 13th and 14th century. His son, Sir Edward Mansel (d. 1595) succeeded to the property and between 1560 and 1580 created a much grander structure, called the Great House, capable of housing a large number of guests and retainers. It was a leading example in Wales of the Elizabethan prodigy house. By 1632 however the Castle was already leased out by the Mansell family.
Since 2024, Cadw have used the Welsh name in English, as part of an effort to standardise the names in both languages.
Key dates
- 1306A charter of 1306 granted in Swansea refers to tenants of "the ancient knight's fees" (that is, military tenants) at Oxwich, and this indicates that there may have been some fortifications on the site before the present…
Historical summary drawn from Wikipedia. Read the full article.
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