Castles / GB / Wales
Crickhowell 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 12th-century motte (60m diameter, 8m high) and bailey rebuilt in stone in 1272, with a shell keep on the motte, a defensive wall carrying two D-shaped flanking towers, a bailey curtain wall with round towers and a crenellated conjoined double tower — active defence with flanking fire and parapets. Built and held by the Turberville family, then rebuilt by Sir Grimbald Pauncefote and refortified by Sir John Pauncefote (named lords) before Glyndŵr left it in ruins. Both 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 12th-century timber motte-and-bailey rebuilt in stone in 1272 and refortified under royal command in the 14th century, ruined in the Glyndŵr rising — a genuine medieval defensive castle of the defensive era, not a post-defensive-era folly. |
| 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 | Crickhowell, Powys, 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 —
BR111· Scheduled Monument — SiteType: Castle · entry
Location
Approximate. © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Notes
Assessed from Cadw's full report (BR111), replacing the register-derived verdict with an assessed fortified_residence: yes and adding revival_folly: no. Evidence: shell keep on the motte, D-shaped and round flanking towers, bailey curtain wall, crenellated conjoined double tower, and the Turberville then Pauncefote lords. popular_castle left UNASSESSED — the bailey is now a playground and the report shows no visitor operation or usage evidence; the dataset does not inflate this band. palatial_seat, state_fortification and enclosure_fortification omitted — the report does not speak to them. Confidence medium: one official report plus the register.
Sources
- Scheduled Monument Full Report — Crickhowell Castle — Cadw, 2026-07-22
Cadw's full scheduled-monument report (BR111); supplies fabric, phasing and named lords, read in full and assessed.
Signals
Raw per-source observations behind this record (2):
sig-20260721-cadw-br111,
sig-20260722-report-br111
Record file · dataset licensed CC BY 4.0 — see provenance.