Morlais Castle: A Medieval Fortress in Wales
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.5
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- English
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page12 sections
History
Morlais Castle is a ruined medieval fortress in the United Kingdom, near Merthyr Tydfil in Wales. Built around 1287 by Gilbert de Clare, an Anglo-Norman nobleman and Lord of Glamorgan, it was intended to secure his authority in northern Glamorgan after the English conquest of Wales.
A Disputed Foundation
The castle’s construction soon became the focus of a bitter dispute. Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford, another powerful English magnate, claimed the site and challenged Clare’s authority. In 1289, Edmund of Cornwall, acting as regent for Edward I, ordered Clare to stop building. The disagreement later developed into a violent feud between the two men.
After Edward I returned from France, Bohun appealed directly to the king. In early 1292, Edward severely punished both magnates, bringing the immediate dispute under royal intervention.
Capture and Abandonment
Morlais Castle was drawn into the Welsh revolt of 1294–1295, an uprising against English rule. Welsh rebels led by Morgan ap Maredudd captured the fortress in 1294. After the revolt was suppressed, Edward placed Glamorgan under royal administration and visited Morlais on 15 or 16 June 1295.
Clare regained Glamorgan in October 1295, but died six weeks later. The remote castle was apparently never rebuilt or completed. It was probably abandoned soon afterward and then fell into decay. A description from 1741 indicates that substantial sections of its walls still survived at that time. The remains have been protected as a Scheduled Monument, a legally protected archaeological or historic site of national importance, since 1982.
Remains
Setting and Overall Layout
Morlais Castle stands within an Iron Age hillfort, a fortified settlement or enclosure built before Roman rule in Britain. The ruin occupies a limestone ridge above the valleys of Taff Gorge and Merthyr Tydfil, at approximately 366 metres above sea level. Its plan comprised a triangular inner ward, the central enclosed part of the fortress, and an elongated, irregular outer ward extending south.
Inner Ward
Round Keep
The inner ward measured about 60 metres along the side facing the outer ward and approximately 45 metres along each of its other sides. A round keep, the principal strongly fortified tower of a medieval castle, stood at its northern corner and measured about 17 metres in diameter.
Southern Towers and Gate
Two towers with D-shaped plans occupied the southern side of the inner ward, facing the outer ward. The gate between them was comparatively weakly fortified.
Residential Building
A principal residential building approximately 25 metres long stood along the western side of the inner ward.
Outer Ward
Defensive Towers and Entrance
Three further towers defended the eastern and southern sides of the outer ward, while the ground fell steeply to the west. The southeastern tower was built as a second keep. Its ground floor survives with a vault supported by a central column.
The outer ward was approached across a ditch through a gate on its eastern side. The adjacent southeastern tower of the inner ward protected this entrance.
Buildings and Cistern
An approximately 20-metre-long building stood against the eastern wall of the outer ward, while another building occupied its western side. A deep shaft in the northern part of the enclosure probably served as a cistern.
Only a small number of wall remains survive, and the castle is now in a ruined condition.
