Torredonjimeno Castle is located inside the town, standing on a small rise above the north bank of a stream known as the Arroyo Salado. 

It originally consisted of a large quadrangular enclosure with circular and square-shaped towers protecting the corners. The enclosure housed a bailey and keep, which has since disappeared. The towers stood some 11 metres tall and were accessed from inside the enclosure, although their upper floors opened out onto the parapet that runs along the top of the walls. The majority of the castle complex is constructed from irregular masonry.

During the Christian era, the castle’s east flank was protected by a sloping outer wall and a moat, thereby creating a double wall or barbican that incorporated at least one semi-circular bastion projecting outwards. Recent archaeological excavations have also revealed the remains of defensive structures on the west side of the complex; specifically, part of a moat and outer wall that would have reinforced the castle’s defences on this side.

Following the conquest of Granada, the castle lost its strategic value and military function and was used for both industrial and residential purposes, subsequently becoming the stately home of the head of the Commandery of La Peña de Martos. In the 15th century, the interior of the enclosure was divided into two large sectors. The western sector was home to a palatial residence built by Luis de Guzmán, the Master of the Order of Calatrava.

Surviving features of this residence include coffered ceilings in the Mudéjar style, featuring geometric and plant motifs and the heraldic coat of arms of the Guzmán family, and a garden occupying the west end of the sector. 

In the 18th century, the Duke of Abrantes ordered the construction of two olive mills in the eastern sector of the enclosure, which remained in use until the 20th century. They were built on the site of the earlier sloping wall, which was demolished and its masonry used as building material. 

The archaeological excavations carried out in the area around Torredonjimeno Castle have found materials dating back to the first half of the 3rd millennium BC and the Ibero-Roman era; however, the castle’s construction appears to have destroyed any structures from those periods.

The origins of the area’s defensive structures may lie in the fortification of a Muslim farming settlement located in the district of Martos, for which there are two phases of recorded occupation: one dating to between the 8th and 10th centuries, and another, longer phase dating to between the 11th and 13th centuries. In view of the instability that characterised the region during the Almohad era, perhaps it was at this time that a walled enclosure or defensive tower was built in order to protect the inhabitants of this small settlement. However, it was only after the Christian conquest, and the establishment of the feudal estate of the Order of Calatrava in the western part of what is now the province of Jaén, that major construction work began and the fortified complex we see today was built. 

Four years after he conquered Martos and the surrounding region in 1224, Ferdinand III granted the town of Martos to the Order of Calatrava. This embryonic feudal estate expanded as the Castilians advanced, and in 1241 the settlement known as “El Logar de Don Ximeno” became part of the Order’s landholdings. The Order amassed an extensive territory located in the south-west of what is now the province of Jaén, controlling large swathes of the Campiña region and the foothills of the Sierra Sur mountains. This territory constituted an enormous feudal estate and was divided into commanderies, from which the Order could exercise close control over the main routes of communication linking Jaén to Córdoba and Granada. 

In view of the unstable nature of this border region, which was subject to continuous Muslim incursions, the Order embarked on an intense programme of fortification throughout the area. The result was a strategic system of defences comprising a complex network of castles, fortified structures and towers, designed to deter the Muslims’ constant raids into Jaén’s Campiña region. Torredonjimeno Castle was a key part of this network, and had important defensive structures built from irregular masonry as well as innovative new elements that enabled the castle to be defended using artillery and firearms. Following its construction, a small settlement grew up around the castle as a result of the repopulation efforts carried out by the Order within its territories. Sources say that this settlement was protected by a walled enclosure, although the only surviving traces of this structure are in the names of the town’s streets. Both economically and in jurisdictional terms, the settlement was controlled by the Commandery of La Peña de Martos.

The castle served as a border bastion during the process of territorial expansion carried out by the Castilian armies during the 13th and 14th centuries.

Subsequently, during the second half of the 15th century it became embroiled in conflict once more within the context of the clashes between noble families that broke out during the reign of Henry IV of Castile, in which those loyal to the king fought the supporters of a coalition of noblemen led by Pedro Pacheco, the Marquess of Villena, and Pedro Girón, the Master of the Order of Calatrava.

In 1558, Torredonjimeno was granted the status and privileges of a villa, which freed it from the jurisdiction of the town of Martos. During the 16th century, Torredonjimeno underwent significant urban development, as reflected in the construction of a number of impressive civic and religious buildings. However, this rise was halted by the economic, demographic and social crisis that arose in the 17th century, although the town began a slow process of economic and demographic recovery during the century that followed. 

In 2005, the Regional Government of Andalusia’s Department of Culture declared Torredonjimeno a Site of Cultural Interest, under the category of Site of Historical Interest.