Swansea Castle
| Swansea Castle | |
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| Swansea, Wales | |
Swansea Castle today
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 Swansea Castle
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| Coordinates | 51°37′13″N 3°56′28″W / 51.6203°N 3.9412°W |
| Type | Castle |
| Site information | |
| Condition | Ruins |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1107 |
| Battles/wars |
1116 - Partially destroyed by the Welsh |
| Type | Grade I listed |
| Designated | 1952 |
1116 - Partially destroyed by the Welsh
1192 - Survived a 10-week siege
Swansea Castle (Welsh: Castell Abertawe) is located in the city centre of Swansea, Wales, UK. It was founded by Henry de Beaumont in 1107 as the caput of the lordship of Gower. The castle is now ruined and only two blocks remain, though the site has been improved in the 2010s for use as a public space.
Swansea Castle is located on the east side of the city centre, facing Castle Square (the River Tawe used to flow a short distance east on what is now the Strand). Originally covering 4.6 acres (1.9 ha), the surviving remains of the square castle include residential blocks, together with a section of parapet wall forming an L-shape to the southeast. There are five tunnel-vaulted basement rooms.
Henry de Beaumont was granted the Lordship of Gower in 1106 and he began to solidify the control of the Normans in the area. A timber castle existed in Swansea in 1116, when it was recorded as being attacked by Welsh forces who destroyed the outer defences.
The original castle seems to have been a sub-rectangular/oval enclosure overlooking the River Tawe on the east, surrounded on the north, west and south sides by a larger sub-rectangular outer bailey. The inner bailey probably contained a motte but the other view is that it was a ring work. The motte (or ring work) was 52 metres (171 ft) in diameter (only second in size to Cardiff Castle) and survived to the early 20th century.
The castle was besieged in 1192 by Rhys ap Gruffydd, Prince of Deheubarth. Despite 10 weeks of starvation the castle was saved.
After various other unsuccessful attacks the castle fell in 1217 but was restored to the English in 1220 as part of the settlement between Llywelyn ap Iorwerth and Henry III of England.
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Wikipedia