Carew Castle

Carew Castle

Carew Castle is a medieval fortress of exceptional architectural importance, with construction spanning more than four centuries. Its development has been carefully documented through the studies of Cathcart King and Perks (1962), revealing distinct phases of military and domestic construction.

The oldest surviving structure is the Old Gatehouse Tower, dating to around 1200. Built in small courses of rubble masonry, it features a barrel-vaulted undercroft and originally stood as an independent strongpoint. Its gateway arch at the front has been blocked and reduced to a loophole. A latrine turret was added to its south side at an early stage to serve the upper floors. The tower contains two original storeys above the entrance level. In later domestic improvements, the tower was heightened and an oriel window was inserted into its structure.

The Edwardian castle was constructed around 1270-80 under Sir Nicholas de Carew and represents the main phase of medieval fortification. This work includes the principal curtain wall of the castle (except where removed by later construction) and the low wall defining the present outer ward. The new masonry employs larger stones than the earlier Gatehouse Tower and features tall, thin loopholes of fighting type. The outer ward wall was earth-cored and has since deteriorated significantly, though its crenellated masonry parapet survives. The principal features of this period are concentrated in the east range: the domestic quarters positioned above the Great Undercroft, the Chapel Tower, and the southeast tower.

The Great Undercroft is a notable vault of 6-metre span, raised on transverse ribs which have since fallen without compromising the structure's integrity. The vault itself is segmental in profile with a rise of slightly over 1 metre. The Chapel Tower contains a vaulted roof of three structural bays with diagonal and transverse ribs, these ribs also having fallen. The southeast tower features a plain barrel vault of segmental form with a span of approximately 3.5 metres. Within the chapel is a piscina, and an adjacent small room contains latrines.

The West Range dates to before 1320 and includes the Great Hall and the northwest and southwest towers. This phase may also encompass the refashioning of the Gatehouse on the east side of the inner ward. The Hall and towers are substantial structures built in coursed hammer-dressed masonry. Beneath the Hall are remnants of a double vault running its full length. The outer wall of the Hall measures approximately 2 metres thick at low level. Three great windows occupy the west wall, along with a stair that led to a lost minstrels' gallery. The east wall probably originally contained three similar windows, though one was lost when the Great Oriel was created at a later period to overlook the inner ward.

The western range towers are remarkable structures: each is circular but stands on great spurs rising from a square foundation. They are integral to the Hall, providing vertical communication between floors. The basement rooms are square in plan, but the upper rooms approach a circular form. Each tower is crowned with a crenellated parapet on corbels.

Under the patronage of Sir Rhys ap Thomas (circa 1480-1507), the castle underwent significant domestic improvements. Sir Rhys's contributions include the outer ward gate, the north and south turrets constructed over earlier work on the east side, a second floor added over the Hall adjacent to the Chapel, and architectural embellishments throughout the castle. A range of buildings that Sir Rhys added outside the north curtain wall was subsequently destroyed.

The Grand Stairway block at the rear of the east range displays particularly fine detail, notably a four-centred arch with plain jambs. This block and adjacent refacing work employ large courses of hammer-dressed local stone, with door and window dressings in oolitic limestone apparently sourced from Somerset. Windows incorporate Tudor-arched lights arranged in pairs or triplets, set within rectangular heads surmounted by label moulds.

In the Great Hall on the west side of the inner ward, Sir Rhys's main embellishment involved improving the windows. A large Perpendicular south window was inserted, and an oriel was added at the north end of the Hall, above which is a carved panel displaying three armorial bearings. A low-pitched roof once covered this space, its line still traceable.

The Elizabethan North Range (1588-92) was added by Sir John Perrot, constructed outside the line of the north curtain wall. It features two oriels and a rounded east end. Though historically considered incomplete, contemporary nineteenth-century records noted that its windows were at least partly glazed and it must therefore have been roofed. The range is built in hammer-dressed local stone in courses smaller than those of earlier work, with string courses dividing the elevations. Crenellations of merely decorative type crown the walls. The dominant architectural features are the great windows, constructed in oolitic limestone and divided by three mullions and two transoms, facing north, east, and toward the ward. A fireplace survives in the Long Gallery.

Civil War-period modifications were minor, consisting mainly of window blockings and the formation of a ravelin east of the outer ward. In the bailey east of the castle stands a large walled garden of uncertain date, its walls incorporating numerous fragments from earlier demolished buildings.