Cilgerran Castle

Cilgerran Castle stands on a rocky promontory above the River Teifi in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The first wooden fort was built around 1110 by Gerald of Windsor, later replaced by stone walls. William Marshal the second earl began the present ruins in the 13th century. The castle faces inland with two drum towers and an outer bailey, not a central keep. It is the most northerly castle in Pembrokeshire and is twinned with Cardigan Castle downstream. The site changed hands many times between Welsh and English forces in the 12th and 13th centuries. Rhys ap Gruffydd destroyed the early castle in 1165, then rebuilt it in stone. William Marshal recaptured it in 1223 and enlarged the defences quickly. By 1400 the castle was abandoned and left to ruin. National Trust took charge in 1938, with Cadw as guardian. Visitors find the two standing drum towers and the cliff-side ruins above the river. A dry ditch once held a pivoting bridge to the gatehouse. Walks lead down to the Teifi from the castle grounds. The site inspired paintings by J. M. W. Turner now in the Tate collection. The surrounding area shows signs of its medieval past and later slate quarrying.