Castles / GB / Wales
Castell Cricieth
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 an inner and outer ward bounded by a curtain wall with wall-walks and rebuilt battlements, a twin-towered inner gatehouse, a simple outer gatehouse and flanking towers (the SE/Leyburn, SW/Great and N/Engine towers, the last adapted with a stepped ramp to mount a siege engine) — active defence meant to be held. It was the residence of the Welsh princes Llywelyn Fawr and Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, later reconstructed by Edward I. Both the active-defence and private-lordly-residence halves of the criterion are met. |
| 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 13th-century native Welsh castle, burnt in the 1404 Glyndŵr rising — a genuine medieval defensive work built within the defensive era, not a post-defensive-era castellated house or sham; fails the revival criterion. |
| 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 | Criccieth, Gwynedd, 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 —
CN015· Scheduled Monument — SiteType: Castle · entry
Location
Approximate. © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Notes
Assessed from Cadw's full report (CN015), replacing the register-derived fortified_residence verdict with an assessed yes and adding revival_folly: no. The report supplies curtain wall, wall-walks, battlements, a twin-towered inner gatehouse, an outer gatehouse, the Leyburn/Great/Engine towers, a postern and a cistern, and names the lords (Llywelyn Fawr, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, later Edward I). popular_castle left UNASSESSED: this designation text shows no visitor operation or usage evidence, and the dataset does not inflate the one band with no register to check it. state_fortification omitted — the Edwardian reconstruction does not convert a Welsh princely castle into a state work; original seigneurial purpose governs. palatial_seat and enclosure_fortification omitted — the report does not speak to them. Confidence medium: one official report plus the register.
Sources
- Scheduled Monument Full Report — Castell Cricieth — Cadw, 2026-07-22
Cadw's full scheduled-monument report (CN015); supplies fabric and named lords, read in full and assessed.
Signals
Raw per-source observations behind this record (2):
sig-20260721-cadw-cn015,
sig-20260722-report-cn015
Record file · dataset licensed CC BY 4.0 — see provenance.