12th – 14th centuries In the 12th century, Candleston manor passed to the St Quintin lords of Talyfan and Llanbleddian; The Cantilupe family are considered Candleston's first tenants. It was Tregantlow in
Welsh, Tref or Tre meaning town. Candleston Castle, a fortified manor, was built in the 14th century. An enclosure, in the shape of a D, surrounded the structure. The late-medieval manor may have been constructed on the site of a previous building, based upon the presence of remnants of an earlier wall. Robert III, who is not recorded after 1320, may have been succeeded by John de Cantilupe, who may have been the Abbot of
Margam in 1315. The Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales reported that Candleston's "elevated position was just sufficient to save it from the encroaching sand dunes on the northern fringe of the Merthyr Mawr Warren, which entirely surrounded the promontory and formed a relatively stable margin close to the southern wall of the castle."
20th – 21st centuries In the 21st century, the castle is an "ivy covered ruin". The nearby Merthyr Mawr dunes are among northwestern Europe's "highest and most voluminous" sand dunes, and it is the "second highest mobile sand dune system in Europe." The dunes west of Candleston Castle are more than above sea level and are now fairly stabilised. ==See also==