Castles / GB / Wales
Ruthin 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 | A 13th-c castle on a sandstone ridge, an irregular pentagon with a surviving curtain wall, two standing wall-towers, a corner entrance gateway and a moat still visible to the north — active defence. Within it the report locates the hall (opposite the gateway) and a chapel abutting the west curtain — the lordly residential accommodation. Both halves 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 | 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 | Ruthin, Denbighshire, 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 —
DE022· Scheduled Monument — SiteType: Castle · entry
Location
Approximate. © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Notes
Assessed from Cadw's full report (DE022), replacing the register-derived verdict. The report opens with a boilerplate definition sentence (identical to other Cadw texts) which I treat as non-specific; the site-specific description — pentagon plan, curtain wall, two towers, entrance gateway, moat, hall and chapel — is substantive enough to assess. fortified_residence YES on the defensive enceinte plus the hall and chapel (lordly residence); no lord is named in the report but the hall establishes lordly residential use. All other bands OMITTED: not spoken to, and no popular-usage evidence. Confidence medium: one official report plus register.
Sources
- Scheduled Monument Full Report — Ruthin Castle — Cadw, 2026-07-21
Full designation report; the sole source, assessed against the definition bands.
Signals
Raw per-source observations behind this record (2):
sig-20260721-cadw-de022,
sig-20260722-report-de022
Record file · dataset licensed CC BY 4.0 — see provenance.