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2. The Castle Green
Take a good look around the Castle Green.
Notice the high earth banks around the outside. These defences were constructed by the Normans – around the end of the 11th century – on top of the remains of the original Roman walls.
Around two centuries later – during the medieval period – the Green itself was divided by a massive stone wall. This wall linked the main Castle entrance to the Keep: that’s the large stone building high up on the mound. If you look at the information panel, you can see a painting, showing this wall running across the centre. As you see, it effectively created two Wards, or Courts, within the medieval Castle.
If you now look out to the middle of the Green, you can see the remains of this original dividing wall.
The Inner Ward – on the far side of the wall – was a private area, where the Lord and his family lived.
But the Castle was not just a home. In those days, it was the administrative centre for the powerful Lords of Glamorgan, who ruled this area from the 11th century. Here, on this side of the Castle Green – in what would have been the Outer Ward – there were several official buildings. They included a Shire Hall – where local justice was administered – a Chapel, Treasury and Law Court. And there was also accommodation for the knights who served here as castle guards.
