Castles in Gower that spring to
mind might be Pennard, Oxwich or Penrice on the south of the peninsula, but
there is one on the north side that overlooks the Burry estuary. Between Llanrhidian and Landimore stands Weobley Castle , which was damaged during
Glyndŵr’s attempt to attain Welsh independence, and later forfeit to the Crown
after its owner was executed for treason.
Like Oxwich, Weobley is more of a
fortified manor house than a fortress, occupying a strong site with to the
north a natural fall to the salt marshes and mud flats below. The castle has a fine hall with a fireplace, private rooms and a
sizeable guest chamber. Much of it was
built by the de la Bere family in the early 14th century, though it
was thought that a thick-walled square tower (now only 2m high) at the
south-west corner was earlier. The
simple gatehouse is on the west side, with traces of a late-mediaeval barn with
walls over 1m thick east of the castle, and traces of an early limekiln. South
of the gateway is the so-called Cistern Turret, which may have contained a cistern
for rainwater storage
From the de la Bere family the
castle passed to a major figure in Tudor times, Sir Rhys ap Thomas, a supporter
of Henry Tudor at the battle of Bosworth.
He was knighted by a grateful Henry VII, who later made him a Knight of
the Garter in 1505. Sir Rhys governed
much of West Wales from Carmarthen
Castle , and managed in
those turbulent times to serve later Henry VIII. At
Weobley he added the porch
fronting the north range, where the windows are of Tudor design. Sir Rhys transferred Weobley and his
extensive estates to his son, who unfortunately pre-deceased him – a situation
that the families of Kilvrough Manor and Penrice Castle
would later encounter. So when Sir Rhys
died in 1525 his estates including Weobley
Castle passed to his
grandson Rhys ap Gruffydd, then aged about seventeen. Six years later while Henry VIII was scheming
to divorce Catherine of Aragon in order to marry Anne Boleyn (of whom
Rhys spoke disparagingly), riots
and street fighting in Carmarthen led to him
being charged with treason. It was alleged that Rhys, who
claimed descent from his namesake the 12th century Prince of Deheubarth, was plotting with James V of Scotland to become Prince of
Wales. Notwithstanding his late
grandfather’s high standing, Rhys ap Gruffydd was found guilty, and
executed in London
in 1531.
By an Act of Attainder, Weobley and the other
estates were forfeited to the Crown. The
castle was let, until in 1560 it was sold to William Herbert, 1st
Earl of Pembroke. A century later a
descendant sold Weobley to Sir Edward Mansel of Margam, from whose family it
passed to the Talbots, until in 1911 Miss Emily Talbot gave Weobley
Castle to
the care of the then Ministry of Works (now Cadw).
Weobley may be the only castle remaining on the
north coast of peninsular Gower, but its remoteness belies its links to
important historical events.