Ogmore Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Castle of William of London; William de Londres

In the community of St Bride's Major.
In the historic county of Glamorgan (Modern authority of Vale of Glamorgan, preserved county of Mid Glamorgan).

Substantial remains of a Norman stone-built castle, raised by the de Londres family. The initial earthwork castle was established by William de Londres, soon after 1100. Ruined walls and building define a sub-oval enclosure, 53m NW-SE by 34m. A second enclosure, c.23m NE-SW by 41m, on the SW is defined by banks. Both are ditched, except where they rest on the river. Castle established c.1100, abandoned between c.1530 and 1631, with the exception of the Court House, still in use in 1803. Rectangular limestone keep with Sutton stone dressings to SW. Originally 2-storey but third storey added at later date. Semi-circular stair turret and and garderobe abbutting L side. Large, square cellar to NE, with two small flanking bays to entrance. Rectangular gatehouse on the SE side of the keep. Long, rectangular hall to NW side. Rectangular office block to SE. The single-storey, rectangular courthouse is located to the N of the outer bailey, with limekiln to SW.

This site has been described as a;
Masonry Castle
Timber Castle.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Masonry ruins/remnants remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This site is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SS88187695

Modern Map from Good for landscape form and features	Modern Map from Good for general location
Air Photo from	1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Monuments Record number; 93019

County Sites and Monuments Record number; 00234m

• Web site links
  • http://www.cadw.wales.gov.uk/default.asp?id=6&PlaceID=100
    http://www.castlewales.com/ogmore.html
• Books
  • Pettifer, Adrian, 2000, Welsh Castles, A Guide by Counties (Boydell Press) p102
    Reid, Alan, 1998, Castles of Wales (John Jones Publishing) p113
    Remfry, P.M., 1995, Ogmore Castle, 1066 to 1283 (SCS Publishing: Worcestershire)
    RCAHMW, 1991, An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Glamorgan Vol3 pt1a: The Early Castles (London: HMSO)MR5 p274-88
    Salter, Mike, 1991, The Castles of Gwent, Glamorgan and Gower (Malvern) p59-60
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p166
    Davis, Paul R., 1983, Castles of Glamorgan (Alun Books) p32-3
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p369
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Hague, D.B., 1971, in Pugh, T.B. (ed), Glamorgan County History Vol3 The Middle Ages (Cardiff) p432-3 Plate XXI-XXII
    Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p768-9 [slight]
    Randall, Henry John, 1961, The Vale of Glamorgan, Studies in Landscape and History (Newport: R.H.Johns Ltd) p78
    Homfray, Jeston, 1828, The Castles of the Lordship of Glamorgan (Cardiff) p39 and plate
    Grose, F., 1756, Antiquities of England and Wales Vol7 p87-9
• Journal Articles
  • Spurgeon, Jack, 1987, 'The Castles of Glamorgan' Chateau Gaillard Vol13 p210-11
    Thompson, M.W., 1986, 'Associated monasteries and castles in the Middle Ages: a tentative list' Archaeological Journal Vol143 p313
    Spurgeon, C.J., 1983, ‘Ogmore Castle’, 130th annual meeting, Vale of Glamorgan, 1983: programme, CAA p19–20
    Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1967, 'Masonry castles in Wales and the Marches: a list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol116 p71-132
    King, D.J.C. and Alcock, L., 1969, 'Ringworks in England and Wales' Chateau Gaillard Vol3 p90-127
    Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1963, 'Early castles in Wales and the Marches: a preliminary list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol112 p77-124
    1928, Archaeologia Cambrensis [ser7] Vol8 p389-90
• Guidebooks
  • Kenyon, John R. and Spurgeon, Jack, 2001, COITY CASTLE — OGMORE CASTLE — NEWCASTLE (CADW)
    Remfry, P.M., 1995, Ogmore Castle, 1066 to 1238, (Worcester)
    Radford, C.A.Ralegh, 1946, Ogmore Castle (HMSO)
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/glameng.html#glam5]
    Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (Bell and Sons; London) Vol3 p28