Dolforwyn Castle

Dolforwyn Castle is a ruined castle situated between a series of earthwork ramparts, dating to the second half of the 13th century. The roughly rectangular castle is oriented east-west on a high ridge, with steep slopes to the north and south. Earthwork defences, including a ditch and outer banks, are present on the east and west sides. Beyond the castle lie earthworks related to a medieval town. The walls are built from roughly coursed local siltstone, incorporating an inner and outer face with corework between. Stone was quarried on-site. The walls generally survive to a height of around 1.5 meters but the keep and sections of the curtain wall reach up to 4 meters. No roofs survive. The castle is enclosed by a curtain wall and includes a substantial round tower at one end and a rectangular keep at the west. A courtyard lies between these, divided into two sections by a north-south rock-cut ditch crossed by a masonry bridge. Ranges of rooms stand to the northeast, southeast, and southwest, with an aisled hall on the northwest. Fragmentary remains of a D-shaped tower are visible in the center of the north curtain wall, and garderobe projections are evident on the south. Two entrances existed, one to the west, near the keep, and one on the south, by the ditch, though the latter was blocked relatively early in the castle's history. A room on the southwest contains two circular ovens, hearths, and a drainage gully.

The keep is the oldest part of the castle, featuring thick walls on a battered plinth with narrow doorways and a single east window with wide, splayed jambs. It was subdivided later. The round tower also possesses a battered plinth and has an external staircase on the north side. The keep, positioned on the highest part of the ridge, was originally free-standing and was likely constructed by Llewelyn ap Gruffydd between 1273 and 1277, followed shortly by the round tower and curtain walls. During English occupation between 1277 and 1398, the keep and courtyard buildings were modified, with the latter substantially rebuilt.