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…
Wigmore Castle
Wigmore Castle is a medieval fortress located in the March in northwest Herefordshire. It was built initially after the Norman conquest of England by the first earl of Hereford, William FitzOsbern, who also built Chepstow Castle. Fitz Osbern rebelled against William the Conqueror in 1075, however, in what has been called the ‘Revolt of the Earls’, prompted by William’s refusal to allow the marriage of Fitz Osbern’s daughter to the Earl of East Anglia. At their subsequent defeat, and FitzOsbern’s death, King William seized Wigmore and gave it to one of his faithful followers, Ranulph de Mortimer, and from then on it was the seat of the Mortimer earldom in the March. The castle has gone through many reconstructions over the centuries, most of which took place in the 12th-14th centuries, before the decline of the Mortimers after the execution Read more…
Abbey Cwm Hir
Abbey Cwm Hir is located in Powys, north of Cilmeri near Llandrindod Wells. Known in Welsh as Abaty Cwm Hir, it was a Cistercian Abbey founded in 1176 by a Welsh lord, Cadwallon ap Madog. Unfortunately, Cadwallon, who was the lord of Maelienydd, was killed three years later by Roger Mortimer of Wigmore, leading to a blood feud between two families. In the process, the abbey, which was remote to begin with, was neglected. The abbey’s prospects improved in the 13th century under the patronage of the princes of Wales, Llywelyn Fawr and Llywelyn ap Gruffydd. Twice the Normans burned abbey granges, which were rebuilt with money from the prince. In 1231, the abbey was fined 200 pounds by the Normans for aiding Llywelyn Fawr. After the death of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd in 1282 at Cilmeri, his headless body was Read more…
^