Newport Castle, Pembrokeshire

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Trefdraeth

In the community of Newport.
In the historic county of Pembrokeshire (Modern authority of Pembrokeshire, preserved county of Dyfed).

The castle was founded at end of C12 by William Fitz Martin, then taken by Llywelyn the Great and later by Llywelyn the Last. The remains date from C13 and consist of towers, gatehouse and cellars. The castle is a roughly quadrilateral ringwork, circled by a wide moat, part of which appears to have been utlised as a fishpond. There are remains of a curtain wall and of four towers at the angles of the work, one of which, the gatehouse, now forms a private residence.

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 Listed but grading unknown listed building protected by law*.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SN05703887

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; 94978

County Sites and Monuments Record number; 1499

• Web site links
  • http://www.castlewales.com/newport.html
• Books
  • Hull, Lise, 2005, Castles and Bishops Palaces of Pembrokeshire (Logaston Press) p158-60
    Pettifer, Adrian, 2000, Welsh Castles, A Guide by Counties (Boydell Press) p167
    Davis, Paul, 2000, A Company of Forts. A Guide to the Medieval Castles of West Wales (Gomer Press) p102-3
    Reid, Alan, 1998, Castles of Wales (John Jones Publishing) p111
    Salter, Mike, 1996, The Castles of South West Wales (Malvern) p71 [plan]
    Browne, D. and Percival, D., 1992, An Architectural Study: Newport Castle, Pembrokeshire (Aberystwyth: RCAHMW)
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p395
    Soulsby, I., 1983, The Towns of Medieval Wales (Phillimore)
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p368
    Miles, Dillwyn, 1979 (Revised 1988), Castles of Pembrokeshire (Pembrokeshire Coast National Park) p27-9
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Stickings, T.G., 1973, Castles and Strongholds of Pembrokeshire (Tenby) p108-12
    RCAHMW, 1925, An inventory of the Ancient Monuments of Pembrokeshire (HMSO) p274-6
    Armitage, Ella, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (London: John Murray) p279
    Edwards, Emily Hewlett, 1909, Castles and Strongholds of Pembrokeshire (Tenby) p12
    Buck, Samuel and Nathenial, 1774, Buck’s Antiquities (London) Vol2 p425
• Journal Articles
  • 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
    Miles, Dillwyn, 1964, 'Newport Castle' Archaeological Journal Vol119 p340
    Brown, R, Allen, 1959, 'A List of Castles, 1154–1216' English Historical Review Vol74 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press)] pp90-121
    1922, Archaeologia Cambrensis [ser7] Vol2 p494-6
    1860, 'Newport, Pembrokeshire' Archaeologia Cambrensis [ser3] Vol6 p64-5
    1859, Archaeologia Cambrensis [ser3] Vol5 p334-5
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/glameng.html#pemb9]