HISTORY:

Candelston Castle is a 14th century fortified manor house, located on the edge of the Merthyr Mawr sand dunes near Bridgend.
It has been altered many times across the years, but was abandoned some time in the 19th century and it is now however, an ivy covered ruin.

It is believed that the house once belonged to the Norman-Welsh Cantelupe/ Cantilupe family (Running Wolves), which is where the name Candelston is though to be derived from. However it was pointed on in 2002 by Professor Gwynedd O Pierce, that there was no record of the Cantelupes in this particular area, thus the origins of Candelston Castle remain a mystery.

Candelston Castle ruins consist of a polygonal courtyard with a 1.1 m thick, 2m high wall. Many of the features of Candelston have been repaired quite recently, such as a large 14th century fireplace on the first floor being rebuilt, the west wall window being restored, a lot of the ivy has been removed, the east side of the ruins have been elevated and also the southern end of the tower has been elevated.

HAUNTINGS:

It is reputed that Candelson Castle was the central place for a now lost village called Treganlaw, (Welsh for: The town of a hundred hands). Not much is know about what happened to the inhabitants of Treganlaw although it is claimed that the village has been buried under the sand dunes of Merthyr Mawr.

It is said that the castle and surrounding areas are haunted. Many old stones and crosses have been found nearer the castle and ghostly appearances are said to occur near by.
One of these stones which have been reported to contain the most paranormal activity is the Goblin Stone. It is said that the stone is haunted by a ghost that entices people to embrace the stone, thus trapping them by their hands and feet amongst the ancient carvings. The only way to escape this is said to be to pray.