id: sig-20260722-report-gm074
site_id: gb-llantrisant-llantrisant
attribute: designation_report
value: 'Reference Number

  GM074

  Name

  Llantrisant Castle

  Date of Designation

  Status

  Designated

  Unitary Authority

  Rhondda Cynon Taff

  Community

  Llantrisant

  Easting

  304754

  Northing

  183412

  Broad Class

  Defence

  Site Type

  Castle

  Period

  Medieval

  The monument consists of the remains of a castle dating to the medieval period. It was built
  in about 1250 by Richard de Clare, Lord of Glamorgan, to hold this hill district of Meisgyn
  which he had just wrested from its Welsh overlords. The castle''s strategic and commanding
  position, guarding an important route from the upland to the lowland zone, is very apparent.
  The castle stands on a flat-topped blunt spur on the edge of a steep drop to the south.
  Parts of the spur''s stone revetment are still visible, and ditches separate it from the
  rest of the ridge top on the east and west sides. The north side of a circular tower, once
  called the raven (or Gigvran in Welsh), is the main upstanding stonework of the castle.
  Details on a doorway halfway up it point to a mid 13th century date, and also give an idea
  of the height of the curtain wall, and the wall-walk of which was originally reached from
  this doorway. The curtain wall would have skirted the spur, but very little of it survives.
  On the south-west flank there is the base of a half round projecting tower.

  The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of medieval
  defensive practices. The monument is well-preserved and an important relic of the medieval
  landscape. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of
  the presence of both structural evidence and intact associated deposits.

  The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related
  evidence may be expected to survive.'
source_url: http://cadwpublic-api.azurewebsites.net/reports/sam/FullReport?lang=en&id=635
source_title: Scheduled Monument Full Report — Llantrisant Castle
publisher: Cadw
observed_date: '2026-07-22'
collected_by: scripts/build_assessment_batch.py
confidence: high
notes: The designation text. Assess the six bands against THIS evidence only; omit any band
  it does not speak to.