The original castle at Aberystwyth was built in 1110 by the Earl of Clare and occupied by the Normans until 1136. The Welsh controlled it from from 1136 to 1143. The site comprises a large oval ringwork castle on the back of a ridge, with a bailey 120ft long running along the ridge and protected by a scarp up to 13ft high; the ringwork measures 90ft by 70ft. The site was excavated in 1956-7, revealing that the castle was extensively damaged circa 1143 or later and that another period of occupation commenced about 1200AD, when the ruins were levelled and the gateway strengthened. The castle is some 350m north of St Hychan's Church (NPRN 96043) and the two may have been contemporary.
Sources include:
OS 495 card: SN57NE2
Ceredigion 3 1956-9 65, D.J.C King
CBA Gp 2 NL 1 1961 11-12 C.H. Houlder
RCAHMW, March 2001.
Resources
DownloadTypeSourceDescription
application/pdfCTYC - Castell Tan y Castell CollectionDigital copy of 'First Castle of Aberystwyth'. Draft publication text produced by David M. Browne.
application/pdfCTYC - Castell Tan y Castell CollectionReport entitled: Excavations at Tan-y-castell (the first castle of Aberystwyth) - Part 3: Pre-medieval and medieval non-pottery finds. This report supercedes all previous reports which had the status of 'work in progress'.
application/pdfCTYC - Castell Tan y Castell CollectionDigital copy of 'Excavations at the First Castle of Aberystwyth'. Produced by David M. Browne as 'work in progress'.
application/pdfCTYC - Castell Tan y Castell CollectionReport entitled: Excavations at Tan-y-castell (the first castle of Aberystwyth) - Part 2: Features and Stratification. This report supercedes all previous reports which had the status of 'work in progress'.
application/pdfCTYC - Castell Tan y Castell CollectionSchedule of documents in the NMRW related to the Tan-y-Castell excavations.
application/pdfRCAHMW ExhibitionsBilingual exhibition panel entitled Ceredigion: Cestyll Aberystwyth. Ceredigion: Castles of Aberystwyth, produced by RCAHMW for the Royal Welsh Show, 2010.
