Benton Castle

Benton Castle stands on a wooded rise above the Eastern Cleddau in Pembrokeshire. The river curves past the west side of the site, carrying boats that once made the haven busy. Two round towers of different heights guard the main entrance, with a small courtyard behind them. The castle is said to be the smallest enclosure castle in Britain. Its origins go back to the 13th century, when it helped protect the Hundred of Rhos. The castle’s history includes a 14th-century owner, Thomas de Roche, Lord of Llangwm. George Owen wrote about it in 1603, and a 1583 map shows the castle on the river’s west bank. During the Civil War it was held and damaged, then left to ruin. Later writers like Richard Fenton in 1811 and Lewis’s Topographical Dictionary in 1844 described its round tower and octagonal battlements. Visitors today see a whitewashed castle with Grade II* listing. The main tower rises above the trees, its upper part ending in an octagon. The courtyard has been roofed since the 1950s, and the building now serves as a private house. Earthworks still mark the plot once surrounded by a detachment of troops. From the site there are views over the river and the thriving plantations nearby.