id: sig-20260722-report-pe040
site_id: gb-narberth-narberth
attribute: designation_report
value: 'Reference Number

  PE040

  Name

  Narberth Castle

  Date of Designation

  Status

  Designated

  Unitary Authority

  Pembrokeshire

  Community

  Narberth

  Easting

  210985

  Northing

  214394

  Broad Class

  Defence

  Site Type

  Castle

  Period

  Medieval

  The monument consists of the remains of a castle, dating to the medieval period. It is situated
  at the top of steep-sided spur overlooking the fording point of the Narberth Brook. It comprises
  a sub rectangular enclosure measuring c 50 m north to south defined by the very fragmentary
  remains of a masonry curtain wall. There are four cylindrical ‘drum’ towers, one at each
  corner but only the two southern towers, each of three storeys, survive to any height. Midway
  along the long west side of the ward are the remains of a small ‘D’-shaped turret and opposite
  on the east side a larger ‘D’-shaped tower. Against the south curtain wall is a large, unvaulted
  two-storey Great hall, which forms an ‘L’-shaped block with a two-storey vaulted building
  against the east curtain. The enclosure was entered from the north over a ditch dividing
  it form a possible outer ward. The fabric is limestone rubble throughout. Most of the facework
  has been lost except on the two southern towers. The little dressed stone that survives
  suggests the defences are from the mid-late 13th century and the domestic buildings are
  from c 1300 onward.

  Underlying earthworks may relate to an initial foundation of the castle in c 1100 but the
  first record of the castle, when burnt and taken by the Welsh is from 1116. It may have
  been attacked again in 1159 and was partially destroyed twice by Llewellyn ap Iorerth prince
  of Gwynedd in 1215 and 1220. Held by Roger Mortimer, Lord of Wigmore from 1247 it was completely
  destroyed in 1257 during the rising of the Welsh under Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. Likely to have
  remained entirely of timber throughout this period the castle it was then probably Mortimer
  who rebuilt it in stone with repair work after a minor attack of 1299 providing a context
  for the domestic buildings as the Great Hall has widow detail of a broadly late 13th-early
  14th century date.  An inventory of the castle survives from 1330 though by 1424 it was
  recorded as in decay. Passing through a succession of families including episodes of being
  held by the crown it continued to decline though a detailed survey of 1539 shows it to have
  been fully occupied. Manorial courts were held into the castle well into the 16th century
  and the castle was finally abandoned sometime after 1677.

  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=478
source_title: Scheduled Monument Full Report — Narberth 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.