Lydstep Palace

Lydstep Palace stands in the small hamlet of Lydstep in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is a ruined medieval hall house built from limestone in the late 14th or 15th century. The structure rises over two levels, with a hall on the upper floor and several barrel-vaulted rooms below, likely used as cellars. The floors were not connected inside but only by external stone stairs. Historians debate whether it served as a court for the Manor of Manorbier and Penally or as a hunting lodge for Bishop Gower of St Davids. The building was long known as the Place of Arms, a name that may have shifted into Palace of Arms and eventually Lydstep Palace. It is also called The Old Palace. In 1970 it was given Grade I status, reserved for buildings of exceptional interest, and listed on 14 May that year. The site is now owned by Pembrokeshire County Council. Visitors find a striking ruin of local limestone set in quiet countryside. The two-storey shell shows the remains of the hall above and the vaulted cellars below. The external stone stairs still mark where people once moved between floors. The open walls frame views of the surrounding fields and lanes of Lydstep. The Grade I listing recognises the building’s historical importance within Wales.