SwanseaCAM - 061001 A visit to Kidwelly Castle

Pictures of places in and around Swansea, Wales.
Saturday 6th October 2001.
A visit to Kidwelly Castle..

Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind
permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland

I am in Kidwelly today to visit the Castle and this is a view of the main street..

At the other end of the street is the bridge over the River Gwendraeth.

Set back off the main street is St. Mary's Priory and Parish Church. Built about 1320 as a Benedictine priory before the Reformation, the tower with its graceful spire is the most outstanding architectural feature.

The church was open so I was able to to take this photo of the interior. .

After leaving the church I headed for the castle. The 'Boot and Shoe' public house stands adjacent to the town wall and southern gatehouse .The town wall, now mostly disappeared, was built in about 1280 to protect the borough. The gatehouse ,which consisted of a ground floor and two upper stories, still spans the roadway leading to the castle. Now ruined, it once contained the shire-hall and a prison.

I pass under the gatehouse arch and into the area that was the original mediaeval borough. Most of the houses bordering the roadway are fairly modern but there are a few older buildings like these cottages.

The inscription above the door of this cottage ..... .

...... tells us its age. .

The first castle was built here in 1106 by the Normans as an earth-and-timber stronghold to consolidate their gains in south-west Wales. The present castle built on the high knoll on the west bank of the River Gwendraeth is largely of thirteenth and fourteenth century construction.

Before going into the castle, I went down to the river bank to view the castle from the outside..

The main entrance to the castle is heavily fortified. It has a drawbridge and inner and outer gates each with a portcullis.. Above the doorway is a recess into which the drawbridge would have been drawn.

A timber ramp now provides access in place of the drawbridge of years ago.

Inside there is plenty to see, dungeons to explore and towers to climb. When you purchase your entrance ticket you are supplied with an audio cassette player. This audio guide, as well as giving a general history, leads you step by step through the various parts of the castle, explaining its function together with sound effects of the period.

It is a fascinating experience and really brings the past to life..

There are many towers and from the top of one I look down on the ruined inner walls....

....and then down over the rooftops to the old town gate and to the estuary in the far distance. .......'bye.

Thank you for visiting my website. All photos were taken using a Nikon 990 digital camera.
You are welcome to copy and use any of the photographs for non-commercial purposes. If you include any of these photographs on your own website, please credit Alex Thomas as the photographer and add a link to this website.