Narberth Castle

Narberth is a small town in Pembrokeshire, just off the A40 road from Carmarthen, about 10 miles before Haverfordwest. It lies on the Landsker line which marks a significant language boundary. For centuries the area to the north of it was largely Welsh-speaking while the land to the south was “Little England beyond Wales” where English predominated. There remain significantly fewer Welsh speakers to the south of the line.

There has been a fortification in Narberth since early times. Over the centuries since the Norman Conquest, the castle seems to have suffered more than most. There were fires in 1116 and 1215 and, though the Flemings rebuilt the castle, Llewelyn ab Iorwerth destroyed it again in 1220. There was further destruction in both 1257 and 1299. Nevertheless the castle was lived in in the 16th century, but was destroyed, once and for all by Cromwell’s men. It was a rectangular structure with towers at each corner. Nothing remains of the northern end, but there are remnants of two towers at the south and a pantry and vaulted cellar.