Dolforwyn Castle
Dolforwyn is a medieval castle built by Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, the last prince of Wales, between 1273 and 1277 for a recorded cost of £174. It is located in Powys above the village of Abermule with commanding views of the Severn Valley. It was constructed in order to counter the power of the Mortimer family, whose castle of Montgomery is two miles to the northeast near the current Wales/England border. Dolforwyn castle was designed more as an outpost of Llywelyn’s domains rather than as a luxurious seat, as was the case with some other of Llywelyn’s castles, like Criccieth or Castell y Bere. It covered an area 240 feet by 90 feet, and consisted of two wards divided by a rock cut ditch. A rectangular keep sat at the southwest end with a circular tower on the northeast. These were Read more…
Chirk Castle
Chirk Castle was begun in 1295 by Roger Mortimer, a younger son within the powerful Mortimer family. Roger, along with his elder brother, Edmund, were the Marcher lords primarily responsible for luring the last Prince of Wales, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, to his death at Cilmeri in 1282. As reward for this service, King Edward gave the land upon which Chirk was later built to Roger and elevated him to 1st Baron Mortimer of Chirk. The castle served as one of King Edward’s Iron Ring of Castles encircling north Wales. Chirk guards the entrance to the Ceiriog Valley and is located very close to Offa’s Dyke. The original construction consisted of a curtain wall with five circular towers, with an offset entrance. Over the centuries, the house continued to be lived in, even after its defenses were no longer necessary. Thus Read more…
Beaumaris Castle
Beaumaris Castle overlooks the Menai Strait on Anglesey in north Wales and was built by King Edward I in 1295 as part of his Iron Ring of Castles, a series of castles built around Gwynedd to control the Welsh. Beaumaris itself was begun in response to a rebellion led by Madog ap Llywelyn. In order to build Beaumaris, Edward destroyed a Welsh llys (palace), along with the entire Welsh town of Llanfaes, which was the most important trading port in Gwynedd at the time. The people were moved inland to Newburgh, and English settlers were brought in to populate Beaumaris. The English crown spent a total of 15,000 pounds on the castle, but it was never finished, the work finally being abandoned in 1330. Key features to visit within the castle are the many passages within the walls, the numerous Read more…
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