Carmarthen Castle

Carmarthen Castle is a significant historical site with remains of a rubble masonry castle primarily dating from the 12th to the 14th centuries. The existing ruins include a stone-revetted motte, a twin-towered gatehouse that has undergone considerable alteration from its original four-cornered design, a corner tower, and a wall turret, along with short sections of curtain wall, all located to the west of the site. To the northwest, the motte walls feature two small half-round turrets to the north and paired buttresses indicating the site of an additional turret to the west. Much of the masonry appears to be from the 19th century, as there is little clear evidence of medieval fabric, and the curtain wall connecting the motte to the gatehouse is largely rebuilt.

The gatehouse, constructed around 1400, is a fine example of three-storey rubble masonry and is stylistically similar to Kidwelly Castle, possibly built by the same mason. It is roughly square in shape with paired turrets flanking a large four-centred gate arch. The gate passage has been partially blocked internally in the 18th century as part of its use as a gaol, and an outer portcullis slot is visible. The twin towers originally featured battlemented coping on a raised corbel table. The upper floor was originally the constable's chambers and includes ashlar traceried trefoil-headed window openings.

The southwest tower, possibly dating from the late 13th century, stands three storeys high and is characterized by fine angle spur buttresses, a rounded exterior, and a square interior with openings on each storey. The basement has a whitewashed interior with a chute to the southwest, beneath a two-centred barrel-vaulted ceiling. An arched-headed door on the southeast angle provides access to a newel stair leading to the upper storeys. A modern entrance has been added from the terrace below the castle, following excavation and consolidation work in the 1990s. To the east of this tower, on the southern side of the circuit, lies the basement of the rectangular Water Tower, which features a tall square chamber in whitewashed rubble with a flat stone vault and narrow openings on each face. The southern side of this tower has been partly rebuilt in the 1960s.