Abermarlais Castle
Has been described as a Possible Fortified Manor House
There are no visible remains
Name | Abermarlais Castle |
Alternative Names | |
Historic Country | Carmarthenshire |
Modern Authority | Carmarthenshire |
1974 Authority | Dyfed |
Community | Llansadwrn |
A high-status dwelling may have been established at Abermarlais as early as C14 (Rees 1932), when it was the residence of Sir Rhys ap Gruffydd who commanded the Welsh at Crécy (Jones 1987, 4). During the early C16 it was occupied by the great Tudor magnate Sir Rhys ap Thomas (ibid.) and upon his death it was inherited by his grandson, another Sir Rhys ap Gruffydd. He was executed by Henry VIII for treason and the estate, and the neighbouring 'lordship of Llansadwrn', fell to the crown (Sambrook and Page 1995, 21). Abermarlais was the subject of a laudatory poem by Lewis Glyn Cothi and was described by Leland in the 1530s as 'a well favorid stone place' (Smith 1906), which may have been semi-fortified but having been 'new mendid and augmentid' by Sir Rhys ap Thomas (Jones 1987, 4). (Dyfed Archaeological Trust)
Not scheduled
Not Listed
The National Monument Record (Coflein) number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid Reference | SN692295 |
Latitude | 51.9489707946777 |
Longitude | -3.90387988090515 |
Eastings | 269200 |
Northings | 229500 |