Castell Moel
Castell Moel is the remains of a 16th-century fortified manor house in the community of Llangain in Carmarthenshire, Wales, and also a medieval motte about to the south of the manor house. The remains are approximately south-west Carmarthen and north-east of the village of Llangain. Three miles to the north-west is Carmarthen Castle, and five miles to the south-west is Llansteffan Castle.
In 1917 the then Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales and Monmouthshire described the site as "showing a few vestiges of the foundation walls of what appears to be a 14th or early 15th century castle". The existence of Castell Moel in the 15th century is confirmed by a poem by Lewis Glyn Cothi, "I Nicolas Ryd o Castell Moel."
The castle stands on a plateau overlooking the River Towy, and the overgrown remains are now thought to be of a late medieval L-plan hall house, once owned by the Rede family. The main eastern block is a first floor hall and set in the re-entrant angle, is an adjoining high stair turret. The western block is a two-storey wing, with a porch and a cellar and the walls of the castle, once supported a crenellated parapet. It is doubtful that the building was ever intended to be defended.
The 1917 report also stated that the remains of a motte and bailey castle were easily traceable, and that it became known as the old castle. A much more recent visit by the Dyfed Archaeological Trust could find no trace of the older castle.
The Wales Coast Path passes through the associated Green Castle Woods, a nature reserve managed by the Woodland Trust.
