id: sig-20260722-report-pe004
site_id: gb-manorbier-manorbier
attribute: designation_report
value: 'Reference Number

  PE004

  Name

  Manorbier Castle

  Date of Designation

  Status

  Designated

  Unitary Authority

  Pembrokeshire

  Community

  Manorbier

  Easting

  206411

  Northing

  197809

  Broad Class

  Defence

  Site Type

  Castle

  Period

  Medieval

  The monument consists of the remains of a castle, dating to the medieval period and which
  is located about 800m from the sea on a low spur dividing a deep valley above the confluence
  of two streams. The castle is first mentioned as the birthplace of Giraldus Cambrensis in
  1147. Giraldus was the fourth son of William de Barri from a family which held estates principally
  in Ireland and is famous for documenting a journey around Wales in 1188 whilst accompanying
  Archbishop Baldwin who was recruiting for the Third Crusade.  Manorbier passed down the
  family line until the 14th century and had a peaceful history apart from one internal family
  dispute in 1327. After a succession of subsequent occupiers in 1475 it became crown property,
  by 1630 had been disposed of to the Phillips of Picton Castle and in 1645 the castle was
  taken for Parliament during the Civil War. In the 17th and 18th centuries several agricultural
  buildings were constructed within it and in 1880 when the castle was under lease a house
  was built within the inner ward and other parts restored to habitable use.

  The castle retains substantial stone buildings erected before 1200 though most are the result
  of rebuilding in the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries, some remains dating to refortification
  for the civil war are also present. The remains consist of an inner ward, about 76m by 44m,
  an outer ward, about 100m by 76m together with an area that encompasses some of the associated
  park, grounds, and gardens. The inner ward is surrounded by a curtain wall with a gatehouse
  in the east wall. At the north-east and south-east corners are two towers, the north tower,
  and the round tower. There is a spur tower at the south-western corner and a turret roughly
  mid-way along the northern curtain wall. A range of domestic buildings, including a hall
  block, kitchens, and a chapel, formerly abutted the southern, western and north-western
  curtain walls. Some of these have been replaced by modern buildings. The hall block and
  the chapel survive. The outer ward is located to the east of the inner and separated by
  a defensive ditch protected to north and south by short wing walls and was surrounded a
  less substantial curtain; most that now survives is on the north side. This includes the
  ground-level remains of a small rectangular tower to the north and a half round turret on
  the northeast. Within the outer ward are the remains of a large later medieval barn. Extending
  northwards from the castle wards are two long lengths of wing wall, one at the west end
  of the hall block and the other from the flanking wall of the outer ward, these descend
  down-slope to where they terminate at what was the location of the pond for a mill southeast
  of the castle

  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=2687
source_title: Scheduled Monument Full Report — Manorbier 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.