Laugharne Castle

Laugharne Castle stands on the estuary of the River Tâf in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It began in 1116 as an earthwork fort and became a Norman stronghold. By the 16th century it had been rebuilt as a Tudor mansion with mock battlements. During the English Civil War it was besieged and slighted in 1644. The castle ruins sit beside the later Castle House, built in the 18th century. The site witnessed key moments in Welsh and English history. In 1171–72 Henry II met Rhys ap Gruffudd here to agree a peace treaty. Owain Glyndŵr lost 700 men in an ambush at Laugharne in 1403, a blow from which his rebellion never recovered. Queen Elizabeth I granted the castle to Sir John Perrott, who turned it into a comfortable residence. The author Richard Hughes and Dylan Thomas both worked in a garden gazebo overlooking the river. Visitors walk among the remaining round towers and curtain walls. The north-west tower still has its domed roof, while the south-west tower has partly collapsed. The Tudor courtyard cobbles and kitchen floor are visible, and the raised curtain wall shows its greenish stone repairs. Formal gardens occupy the outer ward, laid out around the start of the 19th century. Beyond the castle the estuary opens to wide views of the surrounding countryside.