Pennard Castle

Ruined castle of rubble stone walls, of which only the curtain wall and gatehouse survive in part. The E gatehouse has a segmental arch to the main doorway with a segmental-headed window above it. It is flanked by 2-stage half-round towers, which are battered at the base. The S tower is less well preserved and is partly reconstructed and supported with concrete underpinning and cement render. It has a first-floor arrow slit facing the entrance, and the partial survival of 2 merlons of the battlements. The N tower has an arrow slit in the lower storey, and a similar arrow slit facing inwards above it. The curtain wall N of the gatehouse is set back at an angle and has a tall, narrow, flat-headed window. The N wall has numerous putlogs, above which is a row of similar sockets that were used to drain the wall walk. At the W end is a shallow garderobe projection, although the wall is now breached here. The NW angle has a half-round turret, its wall partly fallen away facing the steep cliff. Inside the gatehouse, the N tower has wide embrasures and segmental rere arches to the windows, and a further arrow slit facing the gateway, its rere arch now missing. An inset band defines the level of first-floor beams. The rear of the tower is square and wider than the half-round front, resulting in an irregular plan. Of the narrower S tower little is now visible above ground level. The first-floor arrow slit has a concrete lintel in place of the rere arch. Of the curtain wall on the N side, the face of the wall is partly missing and no wall walk is now visible. The NW turret has, in its W wall, the embrasure of a former window, its rere arch now missing. Against the exterior of the W curtain wall is a tower added after defence ceased to be the principal purpose of the castle. The opening in the curtain wall was previously breached and is infilled with modern blockwork incorporating a doorway. Inside the tower are the raked sills and embrasures of W and S windows, and numerous putlogs. A detached curved section of the S curtain wall also survives.