Cresswell Castle Mansion

Description

Cresswell Castle is a ruined complex of three buildings set around a rectangular courtyard. The courtyard is enclosed by a wall with a small round tower at each corner. The earliest origins of the site seem to be medieval although much alteration took place in the 16th and 17th centuries. By the end of the 17th century the complex was no longer lived in. JH May 1999 based on Cadw 1989 (Dyfed Archaeological Trust record)

Cresswell Castle was originally C13 stone fortified manorial complex, founded by the Augustinian Priory of Haverfordwest. Built to defend the highest navigable point of the River Cresswell, the curtain wall is flanked on the angles by vaulted towers, with the largest being built as a dovecote. In 1553, the Barlows of Slebech converted the fortress into a manor house, with stables, fish-ponds and a garden. (Castleuk website ? source)

Ruins in dense vegetation of rectangular building 30 ft. x 40 ft. Possibly 16th century. Round turret at each corner. Possibly of 13th century origins.
Castle-like structure, probable home of Barlows, said to have produced medieval tiles. Remarkably like Ruperra, and reminiscent of the towered formal gardens. Garden 'stretched beyond the north wall (castle), an almost square enclosure with a pleasant river frontage. (Inventory 1925, no884). Rectangular walled enclosure/building, 30m NW-SE by 20m, having round turrets at each angle, with a roofless, gabled structure, c.15m NW-Se by 7.0m, attached on the NE. (Coflein–ref. J.Wiles 20.04.04)

Comments

This site must have been known to earlier castle authors, such as D.J.C. King, but has not been described as fortified by them and reject as fortified by Davis. Clearly the later house was domestic but it seems likely the earlier house has some martial architectural features.