Laugharne Castle

History

The castle was first established in 1116 and rebuilt in stone as a Norman stronghold soon after. In the sixteenth century, the Elizabethan courtier Sir John Perrot converted the decaying medieval fortress into a fashionable fortified manor house, adding the great hall whose windows still overlook the estuary. Parliamentary forces took control of the castle in 1644.

Architecture

The surviving structure combines two thirteenth-century stone towers with the ruined shell of Sir John Perrot's Tudor mansion, including a great hall range with large mullioned window openings.

Worth knowing

Dylan Thomas, who lived nearby in Laugharne, wrote Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog in a summerhouse within the castle grounds, and the town remained closely tied to his life and work.

Gardens & grounds

The castle is set within ornamental gardens laid out in the nineteenth century, which now soften the ruined walls above the estuary.