Pencoed Castle Gatehouse

Pencoed Castle Gatehouse is a roofless three-storey structure likely built at the same time as the castle. It has a rectangular plan with two projecting octagonal turrets on the west side, which contain a continuous staircase to the north and possibly latrines to the south. The gatehouse is made of large, roughly coursed sandstone blocks, while the turrets are primarily constructed from thin sandstone slabs, all featuring fine ashlar quoins of yellow sandstone. The carriageway crosses a moat via a small masonry bridge and leads into the courtyard through the tunnel-vaulted ground floor of the gatehouse.

The front and rear doorways are round-headed with moulded stone dressings, likely from the 16th century, and match the rectangular windows with hoods and arch-headed lights that appear to have been added to the central part of the gatehouse and incorporated into the turrets. On the rear (east) side facing the castle, there is a large oblong opening with dressed jambs and a voussoired arch. The second-floor window has lost its head. On the front (west) elevation, there is an oblong window at ground level and a two-light window on the second floor featuring a chamfered mullion, sunk spandrels, and a flat hoodmould under a voussoired arch. Both turrets have single-light square windows with flat hoodmoulds and simple label stops. To the left side of the ground floor, there is a lean-to structure, which may be modern but is located on the site of an earlier guardroom.