Kidwelly

Kidwelly is an imposing monument of Norman power. It is also a beautiful example of castle development, as the castle was altered on a number of occasions to conform to the latest ideas in military science. Roger, bishop of Salisbury, the justiciar of England, established Norman power in the area and the ringwork castle ( below) that he built here was one of a series of strongholds designed by the Normans to secure the new conquests of south Wales by commanding the river passes here and at Laugharne, Llansteffan and Loughor..

The ringwork at Kidwelly was constructed on a steep ridge overlooking the River Gwendraeth at its upper tidal limit. No further strengthening was needed on the riverside, and the present semicircular bank and ditch formed the 12th-century defences which would have been supplemented by a timber palisade on the bank,

probably further strengthened by towers and certainly by a gate. In the interior would have been the timber domestic buildings of the lord. This castle fell to the Welsh on a number of occasions in the late 12th and early 13th centuries, including once in 1159 when the Lord Rhys took it and burnt it. He is later credited with rebuilding the castle in 1190. By 1201, however, it was back in Norman hands and remained English from then on, despite periodic attacks.