Coity Castle, Bridgend, United Kingdom

Coity Castle in Glamorgan, Wales, is a Norman castle built by Sir Payn 'the Demon' de Turberville, one of the legendary Twelve Knights of Glamorgan supposed to have conquered Glamorgan under the leadership of Robert FitzHamon (d. 1107), Lord of Gloucester.

The castle began as a late 11th-century ringwork. A rectangular stone keep and the main curtain wall were added by the Normans in the 12th century, under the de Turberville family. The three-storey keep was primarily a defensive structure.

Extensive reworking took place in the 14th century, when a domestic range was attached to the keep by the middle gatehouse. New stone vaults replaced the earlier timber floors. The central octagonal pier for the vaults is still prominent among the castle ruins. An adjoining chapel wing with a tall east window was added to the first floor at the eastern end of the domestic range in the 15th century.

The Gamage family held Coity until the death of John Gamage in 1584. The castle was abandoned around the 17th century. The castle was sold in the 18th century to the Edwins of Llanharry. Through the Edwins, the Coity lordship passed to the Earls of Dunraven.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Ingrid Peebles (2 years ago)
Great castle, shame about the litter scattered about when there is a bin just outside. Parking available just outside.

Ben Regler (2 years ago)
Worth a visit especially with the children. There is parking outside next to a small play park. At first it looked like the front entrance was locked. There is a pub very close to the castle but wasn't open on our visit.

Marianne Skinner (2 years ago)
Amazing how much is left standing, interesting ruin, could do with a bit more signage to explain the layout. Locals treat it as a play area, it seemed a bit unloved.

Louis Ebarb (2 years ago)
Nicely kept castle ruins. Street parking in the vicinity with very few people on the day we visited

Sally (2 years ago)
Lovely old ruin. Only one thing; could people NOT leave litter around. One of a group of kids playing there just dropped a plastic bottle on the ground and left it there... are Coety kids now too posh to pick up after themselves? (Plus thick tourists walking on the walls.)

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Christian Lauw

Historic Site of the week

Wieskirche

The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.

The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.

The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.

Coity Castle

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Wieskirche