Llantrisant Castle

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The monument consists of the remains of a castle dating to the medieval period. It was built in about 1250 by Richard de Clare, Lord of Glamorgan, to hold this hill district of Meisgyn which he had just wrested from its Welsh overlords. The castle's strategic and commanding position, guarding an important route from the upland to the lowland zone, is very apparent. The castle stands on a flat-topped blunt spur on the edge of a steep drop to the south. Parts of the spur's stone revetment are still visible, and ditches separate it from the rest of the ridge top on the east and west sides. The north side of a circular tower, once called the raven (or Gigvran in Welsh), is the main upstanding stonework of the castle. Details on a doorway halfway up it point to a mid 13th century date, and also give an idea of the height of the curtain wall, and the wall-walk of which was originally reached from this doorway. The curtain wall would have skirted the spur, but very little of it survives. On the south-west flank there is the base of a half round projecting tower.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of medieval defensive practices. The monument is well-preserved and an important relic of the medieval landscape. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of both structural evidence and intact associated deposits.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.