Castles / GB / Wales
Original Swansea Castle
Which definitions does it satisfy?
This dataset does not record whether something “is a castle”. It records a verdict against each named definition, with the reasoning that produced it.
| Definition | Verdict | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Fortified residence | yes | Cadw's report describes a motte-and-bailey castle with a deep ditch, rebuilt in stone with a curtain wall and mural tower and a walled rectangular outer bailey — active defence. Established by Henry de Beaumont, first earl of Warwick, as the seat of administration of the marcher lordship of Gower: an identified lord's fortified residence. |
| Enclosure fortification | unassessed | No source consulted so far speaks to this definition. Unassessed is not the same as no. |
| State fortification | unassessed | No source consulted so far speaks to this definition. Unassessed is not the same as no. |
| Palatial seat | unassessed | No source consulted so far speaks to this definition. Unassessed is not the same as no. |
| Revival and folly | no | A 12th-century Norman motte-and-bailey, later rebuilt in stone, all within the defensive era and built for defence by a marcher lord — not a post-defensive-era revival or sham. |
| Popularly a castle | unassessed | No source consulted so far speaks to this definition. Unassessed is not the same as no. |
Facts
| Tradition | european medieval |
|---|---|
| Location | Castle, Swansea, Wales, GB |
| Built | Medieval |
| Confidence | medium |
| First recorded | 2026-07-21 |
| Last updated | 2026-07-22 |
In the registers
Where this structure appears in official inventories. This is what turns an individual record into evidence about a count.
- Cof Cymru — National Historic Assets of Wales —
GM441· Scheduled Monument — SiteType: Castle · entry
Location
Approximate. © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Notes
Assessed from Cadw's full designation report (GM441), the earliest phases of Swansea Castle (later phases are GM012 / gb-castle-swansea). fortified_residence: yes — motte-and-bailey with a deep ditch and later stone curtain wall and mural tower, founded by an identified marcher lord. revival_folly: no — a defensive-era Norman castle. palatial_seat and popular_castle OMITTED: nothing of these phases survives above ground and the report gives no evidence of an amenity phase or modern popular standing. Confidence medium: single official report plus register.
Sources
- Scheduled Monument Full Report — Original Swansea Castle — Cadw, 2026-07-22
Cadw's full scheduled-monument report (GM441); read in full — records the motte-and-bailey, deep ditch, stone curtain wall and mural tower, and foundation by Henry de Beaumont, earl of Warwick.
Signals
Raw per-source observations behind this record (2):
sig-20260721-cadw-gm441,
sig-20260722-report-gm441
Record file · dataset licensed CC BY 4.0 — see provenance.