Newcastle Castle (Cadw)

Along with its neighbours at Coity and Ogmore, Newcastle guarded the important river crossings which once controlled access into Glamorgan when much of this part of the country was under native Welsh control.
The original castle here was most likely a less sophisticated earthwork, with the remains standing today dating from a later building period of renovation in the 1180s. At that point, the castle was held by Henry II, and this royal connection probably explains why it is so well constructed.