The Gatehouse website record for Dolbadarn Castle

In the community of Llanberis. In the historic county of Caernarfonshire (Modern authority of Gwynedd, preserved county of Gwynedd).

Probably built by Llywelyn ab Iorwerth ('the Great') early in C13, the castle is dominated by a massive round-towered keep, still standing up to 50 feet high. Welsh princely castle located on a triangular rocky site of moderate strength; one or two small rectangular towers, and a fine round keep on the curtain. Some rebuilding, which may include the keep. First mentioned in 1284 when being dismantled. Said to have been in existence in 1255. The highly developed keep is likely to be the last, rather than the earliest, part of the fabric.
Dolbadarn Castle was one of three castles begun by Llywelyn ap Iorwerth in the early twelfth century to defend the passes into Snowdonia, together with Dolwyddelan Castle (NPRN 952990) and Castell y Bere (NPRN 93719). It sits at the tip of Llun Padarn, which then, as now, was a main throughway of Wales, and thus allowed the garrison to control movement through the north. The castle consists of the finest surviving example of a Welsh round tower with adjoining stone walls. There are two further ‘towers’, but these were never of a great height. By contemporary standards it was a sophisticated example of military architecture, with a portcullis at the entrance and complex stairway in which the spiral reverses direction at the halfway point. It is probable that the tower of Dolbadarn was the site of Owain ap Gruffud’s long imprisonment, from 1255 to 1277. The castle fell into English hands after the defeat of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in 1282 and was soon supplanted by Edward I’s new fortification at Caernarfon (NPRN 95318), and so was partially dismantled and abandoned. Little is recorded concerning the castle after the early fourteenth century, though there is a suggestion that Owain Glyndwr used the castle to imprison captives circa 1400. (Coflein ref Avent, 2004)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SH586598

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's National Monument Record (Coflein) number is 93541
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 5550 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website.

Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant.

The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Wales, the four welsh archaeological trusts and other individuals and organisations. All the sources given should be consulted to identify the original copyright holder and permission obtained from them before use of the information on this site for commercial purposes. I do not receive any income from this site and I fund it myself.
The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Ancient Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from any site without proper recording and reporting. Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation.

Please help me to make this as useful a resource as possible by contacting me if you see errors or if you can add information.
I do acknowledge the help I get with this site.

*The listed building may no be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.