St. Quentins Castle, Wales

St Quentin’s Castle, also known as Llanblethian Castle, is one of the lesser-known castles in South Wales.  There is very little documented information, but there are some things we can say with certainty.  We know that the castle stands in the loop of the River Thaw, it is set on a ridge, and is surrounded by natural steep slopes on three sides.  The Normans chose their sites carefully, and Its location is why this site was chosen.   The castle is first mentioned in 1234 and is believed to have been built around 1102.

Like Ogmore and Coity Castle, St. Quentin’s also belongs to the time period just after the Norman Conquest, when Robert Fitzhamon took control of South Wales and distributed it amongst his Twelve Knights of Glamorgan.  The Lordship of Llanblethian he granted to Herbert de St Quentin, who is thought to have established the first castle on the site. We don’t know what form the early castle took, but it is thought that it may have been a ringwork castle, like those at Ogmore and Coity. 

By the end of the 12th Century, the rectangular stone keep had been built at St Quentin’s, which is thought to have replaced an earlier wooden structure. Very little now remains of the keep, it is now just a low wall of stone at the highest point.

The Lordship of Llanblethian remained in the hands of the St Quentin family until 1233, when it was seized by Richard Siward, a descendant of another Richard Siward who had also been one of the Twelve Knights of Glamorgan. He lost the castle when he was outlawed for treason in 1245.  The castle was then taken by its next owner, Earl Richard de Clare.

At the end of the 13th or beginning of the 14th Century, it is thought that Richard de Clare’s grandson, Gilbert, built the present castle of St. Quentin’s.  However, with the time it takes to build a stone castle, it may have been Richard de Clare who began the work, which his grandson may have tried to complete. If this is correct, it would have to have been before 1314, as in that year he was killed at the Battle of Bannockburn. It is thought this may be the reason that the castle might not have been completed. The evidence given for this, is the weakness of the curtain wall, and the lack of internal buildings which we know of.  

It is somewhat surprising, that Gilbert de Clare paid much attention at all to St. Quentin’s Castle.  He was the 8th Earl of Gloucester; his father having died when he was only 4 years of age, he inherited the Earldom at the age of 16.  His mother was Joan of Acre, the sister of King Edward I. He was involved in the defence of the northern border, and was a supporter of his uncle, Edward I, and his cousin, Edward II.  He was the highest ranking man to die at the Battle of Bannockburn.  Having no issue, his estates were divided between his three sisters, one of whom was married to the king’s favourite, Piers Gaveston. With these events, it is certainly possible that even if he did further strengthen the castle at St. Quentin’s, that after his death and the conquest of Wales, the work may have been abandoned. 

The most substantial building remaining on the site, is the large twin towered gatehouse, which dates from the early 14th Century and is the principle remaining building of the castle. Although we don’t know the exact date it was built, its twin towers, wide ditches, and long arrow loops, point to the first half of the 14th Century.

The castle entrance would always be a weak point in the defences, and so the gatehouse was often one of the first things to be strengthened.  The gate would need to protect from any sort of attack. The first twin-tower gatehouse appeared in the 12th Century, later the wall towers were connected, and by the 13th Century, it was the fashion to have one gatehouse, which would house a small garrison and protect the gate from both towers, with access to the walls. 

The entrance passage of the gatehouse, was defended by portcullises and doors at both ends. The flanking guard chambers each had four arrowloops, although some of these were later altered, when the gatehouse was turned into a prison in the late 15th Century.  

In total, there were more than 600 castles built in Wales throughout the medieval period.  Many of these were early Welsh Castles, built of timber, of which nothing but earth works remain.  Many are also in a ruinous state, with little remaining masonry. Some, like St. Quentin’s, have at least one substantial building that helps us to understand how the castle once looked, while others still, have survived virtually intact. Very few stone castles in Wales are Welsh castles. The vast majority of them all belong to the Normans, and the English Conquest of Wales.