#16 & 87 Carreg Cennen Castle
Dyfed, Wales
1283
This is NOT an official Lego site

While the legends of this magnificent site overlooking the Towy Valley go back to King Arthur, the first castle here was probably built by Lord Rhys, Prince of Beheubarth, in the late 12th century. The castle changed hands several times in the next century, eventually being seized in 1277 by Edward I of England, who had the Welsh castle demolished. The imposing replacement was built by John Giffard and his son, beginning in 1283. The outer ward of the new castle was protected by a stone wall with corner towers and a modest gatehouse, and contained stables, a lime kiln and workshops. The huge Northeast Tower overlooked the outer ward.
The only access to the gatehouse of the inner ward was via an unusual twisting barbican with two drawbridges with pits below. The northeast tower, inner ward curtain wall and gatehouse loom above the staired barbican, making unwelcome entry an ominous undertaking. While the inner ward originally contained all the amenities, it is now quite ruinous. The castle, also called Caer Cynan in Welsh, was captured on several occasions, usually by surprise or trickery. There is a fascinating cave, entered deep in the bowels of the castle, which is lined with stone and vaulted. It contains a dovecote, and may also have been used to collect water or as a postern. The castle was severely damaged by Owain Glyndwr and again in 1462 after the War of the Roses.

 





Photos of the Lego Models
Built September 1988 & August-October 2002
The 1988 model split in four parts, to be reassembled on my outdoor patio, where
models were photographed. Following the basement remodelling, castles stay inside.

North View
of 1988 Model
East View using green
dropcloth for the first time
South View
of 4-part model
East View of Carreg Cennen
October 2002
North Northeast View
with barbican and outer ward
East Northeast View
2002 Model
Southeast View
with castle on cliff's edge
Southwest View
with Hall and Curtain
Outer Ward with
work in progress
Detail of Barbican and
Main Cistern
Courtyard View with oven
and minor cisterns
Southwest Corner
with arrowslit details

 

Build Your Own
The 2002 model has been disassembled and counted: For those considering the project, you will need
23,791 Lego bricks and parts - 16,606 of them light gray. In addition the landscaping used 1008 medium
green bricks, plates and slopes, plus 97 BURPs and LURPs ("Ugly Rock Pieces").
Incidently, 167 3x3x6
light gray castle wall corners were used.

Lego Plan 1988
Lego Plan 2000
Part 1
Lego Plan 2000
Part 2
North Elevation 2000
East Elevation 2000
South Elevation 2000


Other Carreg Cennen Castle pages:
http://www.castlewales.com/carreg.html
http://www.red4.co.uk/About%20Wales/welshcastles/carregcennen.htm
http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk/wales/carreg/carreg.php
http://www.greatcastlesofwales.co.uk/carreg.htm

Return to the main castle page.

Castles created by Robert Carney
Webpage created and maintained by Robert Carney