Castell Aberlleiniog
We keep a map of all the places we hear about in Wales that might be worth seeing, and on one of our trips, at the end of a beautiful day, we pulled up our map to find one last place to visit: Castell Aberlleiniog! [Before 15 minutes ago, I had never heard of this castle, but it was built by one of the vassals of the Earl of Chester, back in 1088, right after the Norman conquest.\ [Aberlleniog was one of the motte and bailey castles built by Robert of Rhuddlan in his attempt to conquer Gwynedd in the 11th century.] Aberlleniog is thus an early Norman castle, constructed during a time when the Earl of Chester was authorizing the building of motte and bailey castles all over Gwynedd. [This castle actually sits directly across from the motte at Read more…
Pembroke Castle
Pembroke Castle is a medieval fortress in Pembroke, South Wales. It was the seat of the Norman Earls of Pembroke for centuries. Pembroke Castle was begun in 1093 by Arnulf de Montgomery on a promontory near the Pembroke River as part of the initial Norman conquest of Wales. He made Gerald of Windsor, who built Carew Castle, its castellan. Today, it is located in what became known in south Wales as ‘little England’ in that this region has been ruled by the English since that early date. The castle began as a typical motte and bailey structure with a rampart and palisade. It was rebuilt in the 12th century in stone by William Marshal, who was not only the Earl of Pembroke but also the Marshal of England. He had acquired the castle in 1189 through marriage to Isabel de Read more…
Raglan Castle
Raglan castle is a fortress begun in the 15th century by William ap Thomas, a Welsh lord with political acumen. He married two different heiresses in succession, which garnered him great wealth and position within the society of the day. Likely the original construction at Raglan took place in the early 11th century as part of the initial conquest of south Wales by William Fitz Osbern, the Earl of Hereford. If so, little trace remains today except for possible remains of a bailey ditch. The site was occupied as a manor from the twelfth century until William ap Thomas bought it in the 15th and turned it once again into a castle. Raglan has been described as one of the last formidable displays of medieval defensive architecture. much of what survives that was built by William’s son, also named William. Read more…
The Lords of Chepstow
This video focuses on two sites in South Wales established by the Lords of Chepstow: Chepstow Castle and Tintern Abbey Chepstow Castle was begun in 1067 by the first Earl of Hereford, William Fitz Osbern, who was a close friend of William the conqueror. As you can see by the early date at which the first motte and bailey castle was begun, Chepstow was seen as a crucial early castle for control of the March. It is located on the western, or Welsh, bank of the Wye River, and thus for hundreds of years gave the Normans a foothold in Wales. Crucially, though it is in Wales, it can be supplied from the river in the event of a siege. Subsequent Lords of Chepstow included William Marshal, the Earl of Pembroke and Roger Bigod, the Earl of Norfolk, each of Read more…
Penrhyn Castle
Penrhyn Castle is located just to the east of Bangor, on a promontory overlooking the Menai Strait. It was originally a medieval fortified manor house, founded by Ednyfed Fychan, who was the seneschal to the Kingdom of Gwynedd and served Llywelyn the Great and his son Dafydd ap Llywelyn. That original construction was destroyed in the building of the Neo-Norman folly that can be seen today. The present castle was begun in 1822 by George Day Dawkins-Penrhyn, who’d inherited the estate from his cousin, the first Baron Penrhyn. The Penrhyn fortune was built initially on the backs of nearly 1000 slaves who worked sugar plantations in Jamaica and then, after the abolition of slavery in 1833, through the exploitation of generations of Welsh slate miners. By the late 19th century, over three thousand men worked the Penrhyn mine, the largest Read more…
Carlisle Castle
Carlisle Castle is located on the western end of Hadrian’s Wall at an old border between Scotland and England. Currently a Norman Castle dating to the 12th and 13th centuries, Carlisle was a palace and seat of the British Kingdom of Rheged until it was conquered by William Rufus in 1092. For hundreds of years, even before the arrival of the Roman legions, a British kingdom was centered on Carlisle. Once the Romans conquered Britian, they made where the castle stands today the nucleus of the fort of Luguvalium, which by the middle of the second century was one of the most important military bases in Roman Britain. The British returned after they left and then in turn were conquered by the Normans. Carlisle was besieged both by Robert the Bruce in the Scottish wars for independence and during the Read more…
Conwy Castle
Conwy Castle was begun in March 1283 as part of Edward’s Iron Ring of Castles and mostly completed by 1289 to the tune of 15,000 pounds (over ten million today). The previous castle in the area was at Deganwy, which is visible from Conwy’s walls but was destroyed during the wars with King Henry and not rebuilt. Edward built the castle on the western side of the Conwy River as a foothold in the heart of Gwynedd in order to control an important river crossing. To build the castle and town Edward destroyed the monastery of Aberconwy, patronized by the Welsh princes. He also destroyed Llywelyn’s llys (palace). Like many castles of the iron ring, Conwy consisted of a castle and planted town of English settlers, all surrounded by massive stone walls with 8 great towers in a relatively compact Read more…
Trim Castle
Trim Castle is located on the Boyne River at the edge of The Pale–the border between Norman controlled Ireland and Gaelic Ireland. One of the largest castles in Ireland, it was built by Hugh de Lacy and his son Walter in the 12th and 13th centuries. The first Norman conquest of Ireland began in 1171 with the arrival of King Henry II, determined to rein in the power of Strongbow, who had arranged for himself to be King of Leinster by marrying the current king’s daughter. The Normans very quickly carved out a portion of Ireland for themselves, called ‘The Pale’, which included the area from Dublin to the Boyne River. Hugh de Lacy, as one of these original magnates, was granted the Lordship of Meath and effective rule over much of Norman-controlled Ireland. It continued to be a powerful 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…
Roscommon Castle
Roscommon Castle is located near the very center of Ireland. The name derives from Coman mac Faelchon who built a monastery there in the 5th century. The woods near the monastery became known as Ros Comáin (St. Coman’s Wood) The castle was built by the Justiciar of Ireland, Robert de Ufford, in 1269, on land seized from the nearby Augustinian monastery that furthermore for centuries was the homeland of the Connachta dynasty. The O’Connors besieged the castle starting in 1272 and it went back and forth between English and Irish control until the O’Connors regained it in 1340. The Irish retained control for the most part until 1652 when it was partially blown up by Cromwellian forces. What to see when you visit: Note the towers, which were built to a design similar to that of Harlech. The associated lake Read more…
Bective Abbey
Bective Abbey was located within Norman controlled Ireland, called The Pale, which was the area around Dublin conquered by the Normans starting in 1171, and is the source of the phrase, ‘beyond the pale’. If something is beyond the pale, it is unacceptable or unseemly. In other words, here be dragons. Bective Abbey, and Trim Castle which is not too far away, are located on the River Boyne, which in some eras formed the barrier between Norman and Irish controlled Ireland—though Trim is on the inner bank and Bective on the outer. Dan: Does that mean it wasn’t always a Norman abbey? It was founded in 1147 by the king of the Irish Kingdom of Meath. I’m not pronouncing his name because I would only butcher it. It was a ‘daughter house’ of Mellifont Abbey, located close to Drogheda, and Read more…
Tintern Abbey Ireland
? The Tintern Abbey in Wales has been referred to as ‘Tintern major’ and the abbey in Ireland as “Tintern of the vow” Dan: It can’t be a coincidence they have the same name. It isn’t, anymore than New York is name for ‘York’ in England. In this case, both abbeys were founded by the Norman Lord of Chepstow. In the case of the Tintern Abbey in Wales, that was Walter de Clare, and that abbey will the subject of a video coming up. Tintern Abbey in Ireland was founded by William Marshal, who was a later Lord of Chepstow, and named the Irish Tintern after the Tintern Abbey in Wales. As we talked about last week, William Marshal married Isabel de Clare, daughter of Richard de Clare, who made himself Lord of Leinster by marrying the daughter of Diarmait, Read more…
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