Oxwich Castle ( cy, Castell Oxwich) is a

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

castle which occupies a position on a wooded headland overlooking

Oxwich Bay Oxwich Bay on the Gower Peninsula of South Wales Oxwich Bay ( cy, Bae Oxwich) is a bay on the south of the Gower Peninsula, Wales. Its landscape features sand dunes, salt marshes and woodland. Oxwich Bay includes a long sandy beach, accessible f ...

on the

Gower Peninsula Gower ( cy, Gŵyr) or the Gower Peninsula () in southwest Wales, projects towards the Bristol Channel. It is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan. In 1956, the majority of Gower became the first area in the United Kingdom ...

, Wales. Although it may occupy the site of an earlier fortification, it is a castle in name only as it is a grand Tudor fortified

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

built in courtyard style.

The castle

A charter of 1306 granted in

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

refers to tenants of "the ancient knight's fees" (that is, military tenants) at Oxwich, and this indicates that there may have been some fortifications on the site before the present castle. At this time Oxwich was owned by the de Penres family, who had been in possession since the 1230s. However, with the exception of a ruined tower to the north-east of the castle, which may predate the Tudor building, (and may be the "''castrum de Oxenwych''" mentioned in a document of 1459) nothing remains of any earlier works. The existing buildings were largely created in the 16th century. They consist of a Gateway (built 1520–1538) leading to a courtyard, a Hall at the east of the courtyard opposite the Gateway (1559–1580) and a South Range (1520–38). At the corner of the Hall and the South Range is the six-story South-East Tower. To the north-east of the Castle are the remains of a large stone

dovecote A dovecote or dovecot , doocot ( Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pige ...

. The Gateway is surmounted by a plaque with the

coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its wh ...

of the Mansell family and the Penrice and Scurlage families to which Sir Rhys was related. The East Range carried a large Hall, and, with the South-East Tower to which it was connected, provided extensive accommodation. It is possible that the construction of this range may have led to the bankruptcy of its builder, Sir Edward Mansell. The South Range contained a kitchen.

History

Oxwich was originally built by Sir Rice Mansel (d. 1559), who also owned

Old Beaupre Castle Old Beaupre Castle ( cy, Hen Gastell y Bewpyr; also known as Beaupre Castle, Old Beaupre Manor, or simply Beaupre) is a ruined medieval fortified manor house located in the community of Llanfair, outside Cowbridge in Wales. It is known in histor ...

. The structure was built over the original ruined castle, the residence of the Norman de la Mare family during the 13th and 14th century. His son, Sir Edward Mansel (d. 1595) succeeded to the property and between 1560 and 1580 created a much grander structure, called the Great House, capable of housing a large number of guests and retainers. It was a leading example in Wales of the Elizabethan

prodigy house Prodigy houses are large and showy English country houses built by courtiers and other wealthy families, either "noble palaces of an awesome scale" or "proud, ambitious heaps" according to taste. The prodigy houses stretch over the period ...

. By 1632 however the Castle was already leased out by the Mansell family. Parts of the building collapsed in the eighteenth century. Following this, parts of the South Range were rebuilt and it continued to be used as a farmhouse into the 20th century. In 1949 the Castle was threatened with demolition but was saved and given to the State. The building is now in the care of

Cadw (, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage s ...

The Oxwich Brooch

During maintenance works at the Castle in 1968, a gold brooch was discovered by Cyril Grove, which is a rare fine example of medieval British jewellery. The brooch is in the form of a gold ring with mounts, of the period 1320–1340, two inches in diameter. It is set with three

rubies A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sap ...

and three cameos; it is believed that the cameos were added at a later date and that the brooch may have originally contained

sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sapphir ...

s. It may once have been part of the treasure of

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...

or an heirloom of the Mansel family. The brooch is now on display at the

National Museum Cardiff National Museum Cardiff ( cy, Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd) is a museum and art gallery in Cardiff, Wales. The museum is part of the wider network of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales. Entry is kept free by a grant from the Welsh Go ...

.Williams (1998), p. 36

References

;Notes ;Sources *Hughes, Wendy. (1992). ''The Story of Gower.'' Orsaf, Llanrwst: Gwasg Carreg Gwalch. *Williams, Diane M. (1998). ''Gower: A Guide to Ancient and Historic Monuments on The Gower Peninsula.'' Cardiff: CADW. *Hughes, Wendy. (1992). ''The Story of Gower.'' Orsaf, Llanrwst: Gwasg Carreg Gwalch.

External links

"Oxwich Castle" in ''Cadw'' website
accessed 26 March 2016

accessed 26 March 2016 * {{Gower Peninsula, state=collapsed Castles in Swansea Grade I listed buildings in Swansea Country houses in Wales Castle ruins in Wales Grade I listed castles in Wales