Sully Castle

In the community of Sully. In the historic county of Glamorgan (Modern authority of Vale of Glamorgan, preserved county of South Glamorgan).

A small but complex fortified manor of many periods. Destroyed 1828. The excavations of 1963-69, lead by Gary Dowdell, on the site of the castle revealed six phases of occupation ranging from the Romano-British to C17-C18. Four were medieval (phases 2-5) from which were deduced two main periods of building: I, an earthwork (probably a ringwork) of C12 to which a stone keep was added (phases 2-3), and II, a fortified manor-house of C13 and early C14. Rob Prince, who took part in the excavations, informs me that 'part of a wall and one gate remain at the rear of Sully church, and form part of the church's perimeter wall (north eastern corner)'.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is ST15166834

Air Photo from Air Photo and general mapping	1st edition OS Map from Mid to late 19th century maps
Modern Map from Landscape form and features	Modern Map from General location and route planning
Geograph British Isles occasionally has photos of the site and will usually give an idea of the surrounding landscape.

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's National Monument Record (Coflein) number is 300457
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 00585s '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.

• Books
  • RCAHMW, 1991, An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Glamorgan Vol3 pt1a: The Early Castles (London: HMSO) EM6 p343-7
    Salter, Mike, 1991, The Castles of Gwent, Glamorgan and Gower (Malvern) p64
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p172
    Davis, Paul R., 1983, Castles of Glamorgan (Alun Books) p42
    Hague, D.B., 1971, in Pugh, T.B. (ed), Glamorgan County History Vol3 The Middle Ages (Cardiff) p447
    Homfray, Jeston, 1828, The Castles of the Lordship of Glamorgan (Cardiff) p33 and plate
• Journal Articles
  • Dowdell, Gareth, 1990, 'Excavations at Sully Castle 1963-69' The Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies Vol37
    Spurgeon, Jack, 1987, 'The Castles of Glamorgan' Chateau Gaillard Vol13 p209n, 222
    Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1967, 'Masonry castles in Wales and the Marches: a list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol116 p71-132
    Dowdell, 1966, Morgannwg Vol10 p67 [Interim report]
• Other sources, 'grey' literature, unpublished works, etc. (Theses, in-house reports and other such.)
  • Rob Prince, 6-1-2009, Pers corr