Cresswell Castle

Cresswell Castle stands half a mile north of Cresswell Quay in Pembrokeshire, beside the River Cresswell on private land. The site began as a 13th-century stone fortified manorial complex founded by the Augustinian Priory of Haverfordwest. Over the centuries it has seen many changes, especially in the 16th and 17th centuries. Originally it had defensive features, but later became more of a domestic residence. By the late 17th century it appears to have been abandoned. The castle consists of three buildings arranged around a rectangular courtyard about thirty metres by twenty metres. A curtain wall with small circular corner towers surrounds the courtyard. One of these towers was later used as a dovecote. In the 16th century the Barlows of Slebech remodelled the castle into a manor house with stables, gardens and fishponds. It overlooks the river at its highest navigable point. The castle lies within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, three miles north of Carew Castle and eight miles south of Llawhaden Castle. It can be reached via Millway Lane, a turning off the A4075 near Canaston Bridge. The property is close to a minor road beside the river, where a few cars can park and the castle is visible from the road.