CM183

Kidwelly Town Gate & Defences  

 

Designated  

Carmarthenshire  

Kidwelly  

240817  

206928  

Defence  

Gatehouse  

Medieval  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument comprises an unusually well preserved medieval town gate dating from c. 1300 whose upper storey was converted into the late medieval town hall. The "old town" of Kidwelly was laid out with the castle from the foundation in 1106. However, following a murage grant in 1280 the town was separated from the northern bailey of the castle by stone walls. Three gates of which this gate is the only survivor originally entered the town. When Leland visited in 1539 he saw "three gates and over one of them was the ruine of a fairtown haul, and under a prison". This refers to this gateway. The gate passage and the two storey chambers to either side date from around 1300. The external facade was nearly symmetrical, though the left side is now hidden behind the public house. The lowest chamber has oilets and the chamber above single trefoiled lights. The sides are angled and the SW corner has the remains of a spur buttress similar in form to those on the chapel tower in the castle. The upper storey has some 14th century fabric but the three window openings and the fireplace are later additions following the modifications to a town hall in the late 15th / early 16th centuries. The gate passage contains a portcullis slot in the front of a rebated setting for a pair of wooden gates. The gate passage is un-vaulted but collapse of the side walls does not allow the arrangements to the rear to be reconstructed. The internal arrangements of the chambers to the side are not clear as they were converted into cottages in the 16th and 17th centuries. They may also have replaced the prison mentioned by Leland, as there are a number of partition walls. On the first floor the room to the south of the gate passage has a central fireplace between the two windows and retains some of the corbels from its timber ceiling. There is access to a garderobe within the thickness of the wall. The equivalent room on the northern side is more complicated with a puzzling arrangement of doors, recesses and windows, but at some phase of its history it was provided with a fireplace. The second floor contains a suite of rooms independent from the floor beneath, apparently entered by a timber stair into the western side. This gave access to the main chamber with two windows looking west flanking a large fireplace. The northern window retains some of its dressed stone surround, showing it to be mullioned and glazed. To the northern end is a smaller, well-lit and appointed chamber probably separated by a timber partition, and at the southern end there is a room on the same plan as those below. The room at the southern end is isolated, whilst that to the north has a doorway leading onto the walkway of the town wall. This upper floor is a remodelling of the original as it partly blocks the portcullis slit and contains windows and fireplaces of late medieval date. This remodelling may have followed damage during the Glyndwr rebellion, but there is no evidence that the gate contained the Shire Hall destroyed in that uprising. During the middle ages the economic activity shifted from the "Old Town" within the walls, to the area around the priory, and this new town hall was well sited to service both communities. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of entrance architecture. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. The structure itself may be expected to contain archaeological information concerning chronology and building techniques. A gatehouse may be part of a larger cluster of monuments and their importance can further enhanced by their group value. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.