There is a reference to a castle near Kermerdyn (Carmarthen) in 1093, when it seems the Sheriff of Devon, one William fitz Baldwin, raised what was probably a simple motte topped with a wooden fortified tower. He probably did so on the orders of King William Rufus. It was called Rhydygors (rhyd meaning ford, and cors meaning marsh or bog), suggesting it protected a crossing of the River Tywi just south of the present-day town, which remains salt-marsh to this day. Its location is uncertain, although an Ordnance Survey map of 1830 shows some earthworks, all of which were flattened for the railway line a few years later.
Three years later, William was dead, and the garrison seems to have withdrawn. King William Rufus was killed in the New Forest during a hunting accident in 1100, and his younger brother, Henry, seized the throne. There is no evidence that Henry was complicit in his brother’s death, but he was certainly quick to capitalize on the situation and turn it to his advantage. He was to become one of the strongest and most efficient of English kings.
Henry immediately faced serious trouble all along the Welsh borders, mostly led by his own barons, especially the notorious tyrant Robert de Belleme, but the tide was turned in his favour when a number of Welsh princes fought on his side. One of these was Hywel ap Gronw, a Welsh noble who was described as a ‘king’ in contemporary records. He came to real power in 1102, when Henry rewarded him for his help against Belleme with a gift of Rhydygors Castle and the area known as Ystrad Tywi. At the same time, an unknown knight named Sear was granted Pembroc (Pembroke), although he did not keep it for long – it was soon passed to the better-known and more powerful Gerald of Windsor, who began rebuilding it in stone.
In 1105, William fitz Baldwin’s younger brother, Richard, arrived at Rhydygors and stocked it with soldiers. Just a year later, Hywel was enjoying a pleasant evening at the house of his close friend and counsellor, Gwgan ap Meurig, when he was murdered. The story goes that Gwgan stole Hywel’s sword and armour as he slept, then mentioned the fact to Richard’s garrison. The castle was abandoned shortly after the murder, and a new fortress built nearer the town. Parts of the later buildings survive today, although the bulk of the site is under County Hall.
The earliest records of St Peter’s Church come from documents dating to Henry’s reign, in which the monarch conferred it on the abbey at La Batailge (Battle Abbey). Later, Bernard, Bishop of St David’s, made repeated requests for the church to be returned to his own See. This happened in 1125, at which point Bernard gave the church with its tithes and benefits to his newly founded priory of St John and St Teulyddog. There is some suggestion that there was a Celtic monastic foundation on this site, and that Bernard replaced it with Cistercians and a Norman prior. It later passed to the Benedictines.
Other characters in the story are also real. Alberic de Felgoriis was a knight based in Kermerdyn in the early twelfth century, Cornald was a merchant, and Robert was a steward. The custodian of Kadweli (Kidwelly) was named Edward, and the Bishop of St David’s from 1085 until 1115 was Wilfred. Maurice (Bishop of London, 1086- 1107) built an early St Paul’s Cathedral in London, and his contemporaries did accuse him of sleeping with women to improve his health. Baderon was the Lord of Monmouth in the early 1100s, and the Bishop of Durham was known to have sired several illegitimate children.
Prince Tancred was a Norman from Sicily, who went to the Holy Land to make his fortune on the Crusade. He succeeded and carved a kingdom in the east.
Some kind of castle was raised at Goodrich by Godric Mappestone shortly after the Conquest, although records indicate it did not remain with him and his family for long.
