Europe · United Kingdom · Carmarthenshire
Castell Llanymddyfri
The story
History of Castell Llanymddyfri

Llandovery Castle (Welsh: Castell Llanymddyfri) is a late thirteenth-century, Grade II*-listed, castle ruin in the town of Llandovery in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It occupies a knoll overlooking the River Towy and the land surrounding it.
United Kingdom · Carmarthenshire
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Region
- Carmarthenshire
- UNESCO
- —
- Coordinates
- 51.993, -3.797
In depth
The fuller history
A Norman knight, Richard Fitz Pons, received the lordship of Cantref Bychan in 1116 and he probably began construction of a motte-and-bailey castle in 1116. It was repeatedly lost to the Princes of Deheubarth over the next several generations. King Henry II of England spent a great deal of money repairing the castle in 1159–62, but the Welsh captured it regardless. It finally fell to the English under Edward I in 1277. It was briefly recaptured by Welsh forces under Llywelyn ap Gruffudd five years later.
Key dates
- 1116A Norman knight, Richard Fitz Pons, received the lordship of Cantref Bychan in 1116 and he probably began construction of a motte-and-bailey castle in 1116.
- 1299The building passed to the baronial Audley family of Heleigh in 1299 (who later inherited the lordship of Cemaes in north Pembrokeshire) and then into the Touchet family in the fourteenth century.
- 1400King Henry IV of England visited the castle in 1400 and it was besieged during the Owain Glyndŵr rebellion three years later.
- 1532The castle was burnt in a rebellion led by Hywel ap Rhys in 1532 and was never rebuilt.
Historical summary drawn from Wikipedia. Read the full article.
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