Castles / GB / Wales
Castell Cilgerran
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 two strong round towers projecting beyond the curtain wall with arrow slits, a main gatehouse with portcullis grooves and draw-bar holes (a gate meant to be held), a curtain wall with wall-walk and a defensive ditch cutting off the promontory — active defence. Residence with hall, private apartments and kitchen, held by Earl William Marshal of Pembroke and later the Hastings and Vaughan families. |
| 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-13th-century masonry castle of the defensive era, refortified in the 1370s against a feared French invasion; a genuine castle later left as a picturesque ruin, not a purpose-built revival or sham. |
| Popularly a castle | yes | The report records that the ruin's "picturesque setting made it an early favourite among tourists, who from the 18th century, could visit by boat from Cardigan" — documented long-standing popular visitor appeal, not merely a register name. |
Facts
| Tradition | european medieval |
|---|---|
| Location | Cilgerran, Pembrokeshire, 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 —
PE002· Scheduled Monument — SiteType: Castle · entry
Location
Approximate. © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Notes
Assessed from Cadw's full designation report (PE002). fortified_residence: yes — two round towers with arrow slits, a gatehouse with portcullis and draw-bar holes, curtain wall with wall-walk and a promontory-cutting ditch are active defence, integrated with hall, private apartments and kitchen held by identified lords. revival_folly: no — a defensive-era castle, refortified in the 1370s. popular_castle: yes — the report explicitly documents long-standing tourist visitation from the 18th century. palatial_seat OMITTED: the Vaughans built a new house nearby and let the castle fall to ruin rather than converting it into an unfortified seat, so no palatial phase of the castle itself is evidenced. Confidence medium: single official report plus register. (The fragment scheduling PE384 is a separate record, gb-cilgerran-cilgerran-additional-area.)
Sources
- Scheduled Monument Full Report — Castell Cilgerran — Cadw, 2026-07-22
Cadw's full scheduled-monument report (PE002); read in full — records the two round towers, gatehouse, curtain wall, ditch, domestic buildings, lordly tenure and the site's 18th-century tourist appeal.
Signals
Raw per-source observations behind this record (2):
sig-20260721-cadw-pe002,
sig-20260722-report-pe002
Record file · dataset licensed CC BY 4.0 — see provenance.