Dinas Powys Castle

Description

Dinas Powys Castle is a ruinous medieval fortress crowning a small and isolated steep-sided hill. It was the centre for a wealthy lordship. The castle is first recorded in about 1200 and was 'al in ruine' by the early sixteenth century. Thirteenth to fifteenth century coins have been found at the site. The castle consists of a near rectangular walled court about 68m north-west to south-east by 32m. The wall is 2.0m wide and in places survives to its battlements. There was a wide arched entrance facing the main approach from the south-east and a narrower postern with a pointed arch in the north-east wall. Masonry and timber buildings, including a great lordly hall, once lined the walls. At the north-west end there are slight remains of a great rectangular tower, some 18m by 13m, attached to the outside of the enclosure wall. A small counterscarped outwork, apparently earlier than the enclosure, lies beyond the tower. It is thought that the tower is earlier than the enclosure and it was probably built in the twelfth century. The enclosure may be late twelfth century, although the form of the postern hints at a thirteenth century date. (Coflein–ref. RCAHMW, 1991)

On a wooded spur in Castle Wood, immediately above the C20 development of Lettons Way and reached by footpath from there.
Masonry castle which replaced the ring work on the hill top to the NW and was the fortified headquarters of the Somery family in the C12. The castle continued in use throughout the C13 and there is evidence of some alterations and additions.
The remains of the castle stand at the NW end of a long narrow ridge which runs NW-SE. The ridge is steep sided on all sides except the SE and is covered in trees and scrub. The remains consist of an enclosure 65m x 53m surrounded by curtain walling, and the stump of a tower. The curtain wall encloses a roughly rectangular area on top of the ridge. The interior is cleared and is 1.5m thick, is roughly coursed. Only in the SE corner are any of the window and door dressings left. (Listed Building Report)

This multi-purpose site lies at the eastern end of the Vale of Glamorgan, one end of the hill having been fortified in the early Christian period by a bank and ditch dating from the 5th to the 7th century. In the Norman period a new bank and ditch were added and the scarp of the new bank was revetted in stone. Whether in wood or stone, the purpose of a revetment was to prevent a bank or mound of earth from collapsing, either into the ditch or the interior enclosure. A double row of postholes at Dinas Powys indicated that the bank was surmounted by a palisade and fighting platform, and there may have been a timber tower at this point; a similar feature was revealed at Penmaen. The entrance at Dinas Powys was on the north-west side, with a timber gate at the end of the passage. This phase has been dated to the 11th century, but there is a question as to who was responsible for building the defences. We do not know whether it was a Norman or a Welshman who refortified the site. A little later the site was strengthened by the addition of banks and ditches, now forming a formidable stronghold. Although this phase cannot be dated precisely, it may have been built by the Normans as part of their general advance into south Wales in the early 12th century. (Kenyon, 1990)

The monument comprises the remains of a medieval castle. Dating to around 1200 or slightly earlier, it was occupied into the 13th century and possibly later. It is located at the southern end of a narrow ridge, with steep slopes below on all but the south-east side – this gave the site great natural strength. Only the curtain wall of Dinas Powys Castle remains standing, and much of this is ruinous; but from the outside the castle still has the appearance of a defensive stronghold. The castle has a rectangular keep measuring 18m by 13m which is reduced to rubble. The very ruined north-west half of the early keep stands in a thicket just beyond the north curtain wall. It appears to have been a typical early Norman example, rectangular, with very thick walls, and it extended up to and possibly slightly beyond the curtain wall. When this was built a doorway, now a ragged gap, was made into the keep’s basement. The curtain wall is straight sectioned without corner towers and encloses a roughly rectangular area. The main entrance on the south-east side was originally a simple round-headed archway; now its merely a ragged gap, with a draw bar hole on its west side. A narrow postern gate with a pointed arch is located in the north-east wall and there are indications that masonry and timber buildings including a great hall will have lined the walls. The north-east and north-west curtain walls are high and well preserved, with much of their facing stone still in place. Putlog holes are the only relieving feature in their otherwise blank surfaces. The south-west wall is in poor condition and has lost most of its facing stone. The south-east side has the only window gaps in the castle and a fine east corner with large dressed Sutton stone alternating quoins. The castle was the centre of the lordship of Dinas Powys, and was held by the Norman de Sumeri family certainly in the mid-12th century and possibly earlier; the lordship was probably acquired by Roger de Sumeri soon after the initial Norman conquest of the area. (Scheduling Report)