List of castles in Wales
This is a list of castles in Wales, sometimes called the "castle capital of the world" in view of their high density. Wales had about 600 castles, of which over 100 are still standing, either as ruins or as restored buildings. The rest have returned to nature, and today consist of ditches, mounds, and earthworks, often in commanding positions. Many of the sites in Wales are cared for by Cadw, the Welsh government's historic environment service.
The four castles of Beaumaris, Caernarfon, Conwy, and Harlech together make up the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd World Heritage Site, considered to be the "finest examples of late 13th century and early 14th century military architecture in Europe".
Bridgend">Bridgend County Borough">Bridgend
Castles of which only earthworks, fragments, or nothing remains include:- Llangewydd Castle
- Nolton Castle, Oldcastle, Bridgend
- Stormy Castle
| Name | Image | Type | Date | Condition | Ownership / Access | Notes |
| Candleston Castle | Fortified manor house | 14th century | Ruined | Only the tower remains of a C14 fortified manor house built by the de Cantelupes. | ||
| Coity Castle | Keep and bailey | 12th - 14th centuries | Ruined | Cadw | Prominently sited above Heol West Plas, Coity Castle was founded in the early twelfth century and was granted to the Norman family of Turberville. | |
| Kenfig Castle | Keep and bailey | 12th century | Fragmentary remains | The scanty remains of Kenfig Castle, a once great medieval fortress, rise from the dunes beside the Cynfig river. | ||
| Llangynwyd Castle | 12th century | Fragmentary remains | At Llangynwyd the remains of a once splendid medieval fortress are now reduced to scanty ruins and earthworks. | |||
| Newcastle | Enclosure castle | 12th century | Ruined | Cadw | The castle's most outstanding feature is its complete Norman doorway, which greets the visitor approaching the castle from the south. |
Caerphilly">Caerphilly County Borough">Caerphilly
| Name | Image | Type | Date | Condition | Ownership / Access | Notes |
| Caerphilly Castle | Concentric castle | 13th - 14th century | Ruined, with partial restoration | Cadw | Caerphilly is the largest medieval castle in Wales and one of the most impressive in Europe. | |
| Ruperra Castle | Mock castle | 17th century | Ruined | Private | Built c1626 by Sir Thomas Morgan, steward to the Earl of Pembroke, and the latest example of the Elizabethan and Jacobean court taste for castellated mansions. | |
| Morgraig Castle | Enclosure castle | 13th century | Fragmentary remains | Built between 1243 and 1267, the form of the castle is unusual and has no comparisons elsewhere. Debate has centred on whether the castle was built by the Welsh Lords of Senghenydd, or by the Norman Lords of Glamorgan. |
[Cardiff]
| Name | Image | Type | Date | Condition | Ownership / Access | Notes |
| Cardiff Castle | Shell Keep | 11th century | Ruined, with partial restoration | Cardiff Council | Cardiff Castle was established within the walls of a mighty Roman fort by William I of England in about 1081. | |
| Castell Coch | Gothic Revival | 19th century | Intact | Cadw | Castell Coch, located on a prominent wooded hillside overlooking the Taff Valley and the northern part of Cardiff, is a remarkable blend of solid medieval masonry and High Victorian Gothic fantasy. | |
| St Fagans Castle | Enclosure castle | 13th century | Ruined | National Museum Wales | The remains of the medieval castle at St Fagans include the southern part of a stone curtain wall. The enclosure is currently overlain by an Elizabethan mansion, with part of the surviving curtain serving to define its forecourt. |
[Carmarthenshire]
Castles of which only earthworks or nothing remains include:| Name | Image | Type | Date | Condition | Ownership / Access | Notes |
| Carmarthen Castle | Shell Keep | 11th century | Ruined | Carmarthenshire Council | Remains of the high medieval castle, including a shell keep, gatehouse and two towers, are obscured by modern buildings, notably County Hall. | |
| Carreg Cennen Castle | Enclosure castle | 13th century | Ruined | Cadw | Spectacularly set on a crag over the upper Cennen valley. A vaulted passage runs from the SE corner to a cave below E outer ward. | |
| Dinefwr Castle | 12th century | Cadw | Dinefwr castle is thought to have been founded in the later twelfth century by Rhys ap Gruffudd, the Lord Rhys, and became known as the traditional capital of Dyfed. | |||
| Dryslwyn Castle | 13th century | Cadw | The shattered ruins of a medieval castle crown the ultimate summit of a dramatically isolated and abrupt hill rising from the Tywi floodplain. | |||
| Kidwelly Castle | 12th century and earlier | Cadw | Kidwelly Castle is an imposing ruin, situated on a scarp above the upper tidal limit of the Gwendraeth Fach Estuary, and considered one of the finest castles in Wales. | |||
| Laugharne Castle | 13th century | Cadw | The castle of Laugharne was built by the Anglo-Normans in the early twelfth century and is probably mentioned in 1116, but the existing ruins are thirteenth century and later. | |||
| Llandovery Castle | 11th century | Llandovery Castle is a motte and bailey castle first mentioned in 1113. Extensive remains of masonry walls and towers occupy the motte, and a shell keep enclosure is represented by half-buried footings. | ||||
| Llansteffan Castle | 12th century | Cadw | Prominently situated on a rocky promontery, overlooking the mouth of the Tywi. Substantial and impressive remains of a rubble masonry castle dating from the C12 to C15. | |||
| Castell Moel | 16th century | Shattered ruins of a possibly 16th but probably 17th century house ruins; an early wing was incorporated into large cruciform renaissance house. | ||||
| Newcastle Emlyn Castle | 13th & 15th century | Shattered ruins remain of Newcastle Emlyn Castle. Excavation through the 1980s have revealed some details, but the castle is best known from a collection of medieval accounts and surveys. |
[Ceredigion]
Castles of which only earthworks or nothing remains include:| Name | Image | Type | Date | Condition | Ownership / Access | Notes |
| Aberystwyth Castle | Concentric castle | 13th century | Ruined | Aberystwyth Town Council | Work on Aberystwyth Castle commenced in 1277 under Edward I and was completed in 1289. The castle remains have been much restored and now form part of a public park. | |
| Cardigan Castle | 13th century | Ceredigion County Council | Situated on promontory overlooking Cardigan Bridge. Portions of the curtain wall survive in the tall embankment overlooking the bridge. There are remains of three semi-circular towers, the largest & most elaborate incorporated into the early C19 Castle Green House | |||
| Ystrad Meurig Castle | 12th century | The earthworks remain of an important castle established in about 1110. In the northern part of the enclosure are the foundations of a massive rectangular stone tower, 18-20m across. |
Conwy">Conwy County Borough">Conwy
| Name | Image | Type | Date | Condition | Ownership / Access | Notes |
| Conwy Castle | 13th century | Cadw | ||||
| Deganwy Castle | 13th century | |||||
| Dolwyddelan Castle | 13th century | Cadw | ||||
| Gwrych Castle | 19th century | Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust | Mock Gothic | |||
| Gwydir Castle | 16th century | Private |
[Denbighshire]
| Name | Image | Type | Date | Condition | Ownership / Access | Notes |
| Bodelwyddan Castle | 19th century | |||||
| Denbigh Castle | 13th -14th century | Cadw | ||||
| Dinas Brân | 12th century | |||||
| Dyserth Castle | 13th century | |||||
| Rhuddlan Castle | 13th century | Cadw | ||||
| Ruthin Castle | 13th century | Hotel | ||||
| Twthill, Rhuddlan | 11th century | Cadw | ||||
| Prestatyn Castle | 12th century Motte & Bailey castle |
[Flintshire]
| Name | Image | Type | Date | Condition | Ownership / Access | Notes |
| Caergwrle Castle | 13th century | Cadw | ||||
| Ewloe Castle | 12th century | Cadw | ||||
| Flint Castle | 13th century | Cadw | ||||
| Hawarden Castle | 13th century | |||||
| New Hawarden Castle | 18th century | |||||
| Mold Castle | 12th century |
[Gwynedd]
| Name | Image | Type | Date | Condition | Ownership / Access | Notes |
| Bryn Bras Castle | 19th century | |||||
| Caernarfon Castle | 13th century | Ruined, with partial restoration | Cadw | |||
| Carndochan Castle | 13th century | |||||
| Castell y Bere | 13th century | Cadw | ||||
| Criccieth Castle | 13th century | Cadw | ||||
| Dinas Emrys | 12th century keep on early medieval site | |||||
| Dolbadarn Castle | 13th century | Cadw | ||||
| Harlech Castle | 13th century | Cadw | ||||
| Penrhyn Castle | 19th century | Intact | National Trust |
[Isle of Anglesey]
| Name | Image | Type | Date | Condition | Ownership / Access | Notes |
| Castell Aberlleiniog | 12th century | |||||
| Beaumaris Castle | 13th century | Cadw |
[Merthyr Tydfil]
| Name | Image | Type | Date | Condition | Ownership / Access | Notes |
| Morlais Castle | 13th century | |||||
| Cyfarthfa Castle | 19th century |
[Monmouthshire]
| Name | Image | Type | Date | Condition | Ownership / Access | Notes |
| Abergavenny Castle | 11th to 13th century | |||||
| Betws Newydd | Castle 11th century | |||||
| Caldicot Castle | 12th to 15th century | |||||
| Castell Arnold | 12th century | Near Llanover | ||||
| Chepstow Castle | 11th to 14th century | Cadw | ||||
| Dingestow Castle | 11th and 12th century | Two castles, one 11th century the other 12th | ||||
| Grosmont Castle | 12th to 14th century | Cadw | ||||
| Llanfair Kilgeddin Castle | 11th century | |||||
| Llangibby Castle | 13th century | |||||
| Llantrisant, Monmouthshire Castell Troggy | 13th century | |||||
| Llanvair Discoed Castle | 12th to 13th century | |||||
| Monmouth Castle | 11th to 13th century | Cadw | ||||
| Newcastle | 11th century | |||||
| Penrhos Castle | 11th century | |||||
| Pen y Clawdd Castle | 11th century | Near Abergavenny | ||||
| Raglan Castle | 15th century | Cadw | ||||
| Skenfrith Castle | 12th to 13th century | Cadw | ||||
| Trellech Castle | 12th century | |||||
| Usk Castle | 12th to 14th century | |||||
| White Castle | 11th to 13th century | Cadw |
[Neath Port Talbot]
| Name | Image | Type | Date | Condition | Ownership / Access | Notes |
| Neath Castle | 12th century | Neath Town Council |
Newport">Newport, Wales">Newport
| Name | Image | Type | Date | Condition | Ownership / Access | Notes |
| Caerleon Castle | 11th to 13th century | |||||
| Newport Castle | 13th century | Cadw | ||||
| Pencoed Castle | 13th century | |||||
| Penhow Castle | 12th century |
[Pembrokeshire]
| Name | Image | Type | Date | Condition | Ownership / Access | Notes |
| Benton Castle | no date | |||||
| Carew Castle | 11th to 16th century | Private / Open to the public | ||||
| Cilgerran Castle | 13th century | Cadw | ||||
| Haverfordwest Castle | 12th century | |||||
| Llawhaden Castle | 12th to 14th century | Cadw | ||||
| Manorbier Castle | 12th to 14th century | Private / Open to the public | ||||
| Narberth Castle | 13th century | - | - | |||
| Newport Castle | 19th century | - | - | |||
| Pembroke Castle | 12th & 13th century | Private / Open to the public | ||||
| Picton Castle | 12th century | Picton Castle Trust | ||||
| Roch Castle | 12th century | Private | ||||
| Tenby Castle | 13th century | |||||
| Upton Castle | 13th century | Private | ||||
| Wiston Castle | 12th century | Cadw | ||||
| Wolf's Castle | Motte and bailey | 11th century |
[Powys]
Castles of which only earthworks, fragments or nothing remains include:| Name | Image | Type | Date | Condition | Ownership / Access | Notes |
| Aberedw Castle | 11th to 13th century | Two castles, one 11th and one 13th century | ||||
| Blaenllyfni Castle | 13th century | |||||
| Brecon Castle | 11th century | Hotel | ||||
| Bronllys Castle | 12th century | Cadw | ||||
| Crickhowell Castle | 12th century | |||||
| Dolforwyn Castle | 13th century | Cadw | ||||
| Hay Castle | 11th or 12th century | Hay Castle Trust | ||||
| Maesllwch Castle | 19th century | Private | 19th-century house in castellated style | |||
| Montgomery Castle | 13th century | Cadw | ||||
| Powis Castle | 12th to 19th century | National Trust | ||||
| Tretower Castle | 12th century | Cadw |
[Rhondda Cynon Taf]
| Name | Image | Type | Date | Condition | Ownership / Access | Notes |
| Llantrisant Castle | 13th century |
[Swansea]
| Name | Image | Type | Date | Condition | Ownership / Access | Notes |
| Loughor Castle | 12th century | Cadw | ||||
| Oxwich Castle | 16th century | Cadw | ||||
| Oystermouth Castle | 12th & 13th century | City and County of Swansea Council | ||||
| Pennard Castle | 12th century | Pennard Golf Course | ||||
| Penrice Castle | 13th century | Private | ||||
| Swansea Castle | 12th century | Cadw | ||||
| Weobley Castle | 13th century | Cadw |
[Vale of Glamorgan]
Castles of which only earthworks, fragments or nothing remains include:| Name | Image | Type | Date | Condition | Ownership / Access | Notes |
| Barry Castle | 13th - 14th century | Cadw | ||||
| Fonmon Castle | 14th century | Private | ||||
| Hensol Castle | 18th century | Private | ||||
| Ogmore Castle | 12th century | Cadw | ||||
| Old Beaupre Castle | 16th century | Cadw | ||||
| Penmark Castle | 12th century | |||||
| St Donat's Castle | 12th century | Atlantic College | ||||
| St Quintins Castle | 14th century | Cadw |
Wrexham">Wrexham County Borough">Wrexham
| Name | Image | Type | Date | Condition | Ownership / Access | Notes |
| Chirk Castle | 13th century | National Trust | ||||
| Holt Castle | 13th century |