Dolforwyn Castle

The castle survives as a ruined structure between a series of earthwork ramparts. It is approximately rectangular in shape and orientated roughly east-west on a high ridge with precipitous slopes to N and S. On the E and W are the earthwork defences of the castle ditch and outer banks, while on the flat land beyond the castle lie earthworks associated with the medieval town. The walls are constructed of roughly course local siltstone and comprise inner and outer faces with corework between. Quarry pits found during the archaeological excavations on site have shown that the stone was acquired on site. The walls survive to a height of c1.5m generally but the keep and sections of curtain wall stand up to 4m. No roofs survive. The castle is bounded by a curtain wall and contains a substantial round tower at the end and a rectangular keep at the W. Between these is a long courtyard divided into two by a deep rock-cut ditch running N-S, and crossed by a masonry bridge. Ranges of rooms stand to the NE, SE and SW with the aisled hall on the NW. Fragmentary remains of a D-shaped tower survive in the centre of the north curtain wall and there is evidence for garderobe projections from the wall on the south. There were two main entrances, one on the W adjacent to the keep, and one on the south by the ditch, which was blocked relatively early in the castle's history. The SW room contains 2 circular ovens, hearths, and a drainage gully.

The keep is the earliest feature on the site and consists of thick walls on a battered plinth with narrow doorways and one E window with wide, splayed jambs. It was subdivided later in its history. The round tower has a battered plinth and is equipped with an external stair on the north. The keep, on the highest part of the ridge, was originally free-standing and probably constructed by Llewelyn ap Gruffydd (1273-77), followed quite quickly by the round tower and curtain walls. During English occupation between 1277 and 1398 the keep and courtyard buildings were modified, the latter substantially rebuilt.