Castles / GB / Wales
Monmouth Castle
Castell Trefynwy
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 | Both halves met — built by William Fitz Osbern as the fortified head of an independent Norman lordship, originally with a circular keep, a gatehouse and a curtain wall (destroyed in the Civil War); the surviving Great Tower held a first-floor hall and apartments over a cellar, and Edmund of Lancaster's Hall was used for holding courts. |
| 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 | unassessed | No source consulted so far speaks to this definition. Unassessed is not the same as no. |
| 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 | Monmouth, Monmouthshire, 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 —
MM159· Scheduled Monument — SiteType: Castle · entry
Location
Approximate. © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Notes
Assessed 2026-07-22 from Cadw's full scheduled-monument report (sig-20260722-report-mm159). fortified_residence upgraded to assessed: keep, gatehouse and curtain wall (now lost) with a residential Great Tower, seat of an independent lordship. popular_castle omitted despite the keep's fame as the probable birthplace of Henry V — that is historical fame of the site, not evidence of a visitor operation or popular castle-usage in the report. Great Castle House now occupies the round-tower site but is a distinct later building, not this record. Civil War garrisoning does not make it a state_fortification (original seigneurial purpose governs). revival and enclosure bands omitted as unspoken.
Sources
- Cof Cymru - National Historic Assets of Wales — Cadw, 2026-07-22
Scheduled-monument register entry and full designation report; the source assessed for the band verdict.
Signals
Raw per-source observations behind this record (2):
sig-20260721-cadw-mm159,
sig-20260722-report-mm159
Record file · dataset licensed CC BY 4.0 — see provenance.