- Barry Castle
Barry Castle is a small ruined two-storey gatehouse with the adjacent walls of a hall located in the Romilly district of
Barry, Vale of Glamorgan in southWales . The Norman castle was really little more than a small fortified manor house, the seat of the de Barry family, which was built in the 13th and 14th centuries to replace an earlier earthwork. [ [http://www.ecastles.co.uk/barry.html Barry Castle ] ]By the late 13th century the castle had two stone buildings on the east and west sides of a courtyard, but nothing now remains of these above ground. Early in the 14th century the castle was strengthened by the addition of a large hall and gatehouse on its south side, and the ruins of these can be seen today.
Architecture
The gatehouse passage is arched, with a
portcullis groove on the east side. As well as a portcullis it had adrawbridge and double doors. A small room above, whose outer wall and arched window have survived, held the portcullis windlass and possibly a chapel. Behind the gate passage is a rectangular room with a blocked staircase on the southeast corner and an arrowslit on the east wall. The walls of the hall block to the west are much lower, with a low arched doorway and an arrowslit on the north side. [ [http://www.castlewales.com/barry.html Barry Castle ] ]The main hall was located on the first floor, and was heated by a fireplace on the north wall. There was a narrow mural stair in the southeast corner on to a wall-walk on the curtain wall, and a door, the bottom part of which is visible, in the east was leading to the portcullis chamber. There is evidence that the hall was roofed with
slate fromCornwall , and had green glazed ridge tiles.References
External links and sources
* [http://www.castlewales.com/barry.html Castlewales.com]
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