Saturday, July 26, 2025
A strategic fortfication
As the Cadw site says, although what remains of the fortification is now hemmed in by the city centre, its original location was on a clifftop above where the River Tawe used to flow, controlling a harbour and important east–west route along southern Wales. The river has since been diverted and its former route is now a road leading to a shopping mall amongst other destinations.
Though there has been a castle there since at least the early 12th century, the remains that stand today date from the late 13th and early 14th centuries. The most striking feature is the distinctive arcaded parapet on the south block, remarkably similar that of the bishops’ palaces at St Davids and Lamphey.
The castle itself has gone through many iterations. By 1650 it was described as "a decayed Buildinge". By the 1670s the square tower was being used as a bottle factory and, in 1700, a town hall was built in the castle courtyard. By the mid 1700s the Great Hall had become Swansea's workhouse.
The town hall was replaced by a post office in the 1800s and, by 1850, a military Drill Room had replaced the workhouse. The River Tawe, which had flowed near to the castle, was straightened and diverted during the 1840s. Part of the interior of the castle, in particular the large motte, was demolished 1909–1913 for the construction of a newspaper office.
In the very early 1930s, poet Dylan Thomas worked for the South Wales Daily Post at the castle site. The newspaper offices were removed in 1976 and the remains of the castle were later consolidated and opened up to view from the street.
