Dale Castle

Dale Castle stands near the village of Dale in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is a 13th-century castle built after the Norman invasion of South Wales by the de Vales family. The castle has passed through several owners over the centuries, including the Walter, Paynter, Allen and Lloyd families. Lucy Walter, mistress of King Charles II and mother of the Duke of Monmouth, was descended from the Walter family of Roch Castle. Part of the castle was removed in 1910 and incorporated into a new private dwelling house. The site has been remodelled and changed significantly over time. The castle’s history is tied to the de Vales, a knightly family who arrived with Robert fitz Martin. The male line ended, so ownership passed through female descendants. The Paynters, Allens and Lloyds each held the castle in turn. By the 19th century, illustrations show a rectangular battlemented tower and a range of buildings with a hipped roof. By the 1880s, the buildings had three storeys and the tower remained intact. The 1910 remodelling reduced the tower’s height and removed the roofs of the buildings. Little remains of the original medieval structure today. The south wing of the current house was once the castle’s central block, measuring about 19.5 metres by 17 metres with walls nearly 2.4 metres thick. The back wall was removed and the front wall became part of the forecourt. The Lloyd Philipps family now owns the castle and has sold much of the surrounding estate land. The castle itself is not open to visitors.