Aberystwyth Castle is located on the west coast of Wales, and is the only castle of King Edward’s iron Ring of castles that he built in Ceredigion. The castle guards the coastline, as well as entry into the mountains to the east.

The first fortification at Aberystwyth was an iron age hill fort, which was occupied for about 300 years, into the first century BC.
Other fortifications followed, although the first true castle, known today as Tan-y-castell, wasn’t built until the 12th century. Traces of that castle, which was constructed in earth and wood, are still visible above the River Ystwyth to the south of the current castle. Tan- y -castell was burned by Gruffydd ap Rhys, King of Deheubarth and then rebuilt by Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd of Gwynedd, King Owain Gwynedd’s wayward brother, when he took over Ceredigion after the end of the 1136 war.

Aberystwyth makes an appearance in multiple books in the Gareth & Gwen Medieval Mysteries. As recounted in my book, The Good Knight, the castle was burned a second time a few years later by Prince Hywel, nephew of Cadwaladr, in punishment for his betrayal of King Owain. Also in the Good Knight, Gwen is abducted by Danes and Gareth follows her.

Before us is the mountain upon which the old castle of Aberystwyth was built. This is the castle of the Welsh Princes. Prince Hywel, in the Unlikely Spy, rules from a castle built on that hill, and it is this castle which he burned to oust his uncle, Cadwaladr. Following the shoreline here, this is the new castle at Aberystwyth built by King Edward after the conquest of Wales.

While there are hints that Llywelyn Fawr may have built the first stone castle at Aberystwyth in the early 13th century, King Edward I is credited with the first construction at this particular site.

When completed, the castle consisted of a diamond-shaped inner ward with a large gatehouse and two D-shaped towers. It was further protected by a curtain wall, barbican, and rock-cut ditch, only bits of which can be seen today.

Aberysstwyth was built by Edward I as part of his iron ring of castles, beginning in 1277. In 1282, in one of the few good things that Dafydd ap Gruffydd ever did, is he rose in rebellion on Palm Sunday. In his case, in the north, he burned Hawardan and he coordinated with lords in the south. Gruffydd ap Maredudd invited the constable here to dinner, took him captive, while Gruffydd’s men took Aberystwyth three days later. They then burned the castle and the town, and that was the beginning of the 1282 war of the Welsh against King Edward.
After his final victory, Edward rebuilt the castle, completing it by 1289.

Then, in 1404, the castle fell to Owain Glyndwr, who occupied it until the English recaptured it in 1408. During this occupation it became an important seat of Owain Glyndwr’s government.

In 1637 the castle was chosen by Charles I to house a royal mint. Coins of eight different denominations were produced from local silver and all carried the emblem of the Prince of Wales. In fact, the silver mine plays a role in my upcoming mystery, The Admirable Physician.
During the English Civil War, royalists garrisoned the castle and used it to store silver and lead. After a siege, it surrendered in 1646.
With this defeat, Cromwell’s forces slighted the castle, and over the centuries it fell further into decay, leaving only a husk of its former glory to be visited today.