History
The castle, palace or rather a medieval court, was erected in the 12th century as the seat of the bishops of St Davids. Among others, it was the home of Giraldus Cambrensis (Gerald of Wales), a Welsh monk, chronicler, linguist and writer, who served as archdeacon of Brecon in the years 1175-1203. He described Llanddew as “a small residence well suited to literary pursuits and contemplation of eternity.” The court was significantly expanded in the first half of the fourteenth century by bishop Gower. It was abandoned in the 16th century due to the changes brought by the Reformation, and within a few decades fell into ruin.
Architecture
The palace was built on flat ground, to the northeast of the church and east of the Honddu River, a few hundred meters away. It was laid out on an irregular quadrangle, 90 meters long from north to east and 85 meters from south to west. The entire structure was likely protected by a moat and at least two small semicircular towers on the west side. A chamfered, pointed gateway was located on the south side, with a hood in the form of a pointed shaft mounted on corbels.
The main residential element of the palace was a house located in the northern part of the courtyard, built on a rectangular plan, measuring approximately 18 x 12 meters and with walls 1.2 meters thick. It housed a vaulted lower floor measuring 15 x 7 meters, likely for utility purposes (a pantry or warehouse). It housed the base for the fireplace located above, which must have heated the residential and ceremonial chamber (great hall). Numerous putlog holes were made in the building’s walls, left by scaffolding used during construction. The northern and western walls featured large pointed windows, and smaller lancet windows on the southern wall.
A wide, segmental headed recess was inserted into the perimeter wall in the western part of the complex, housing a well. This recess was divided, so that one half served to supply the settlement’s inhabitants, while the other was designated for use within the manor courtyard.
Current state
The remains of the court consist of two corner fragments of the walls of the main building, the remains of two round towers on the north-west and south-west sides, and a moat along the north-eastern side. The walls have survived up to a maximum height of 2.5 meters. At the end of the south-eastern wall there is an ogival portal, you can also see relics of a large ogival window and the well of bishop Gower dating back to 1340.
bibliography:
Haslam R., The buildings of Wales. Powys (Montgomeryshire, Radnorshire, Breconshire), London 1979.
Salter M., The castles of Mid Wales, Malvern 2001.