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| Visitors to Wales are acquainted with the Norman and Edwardian castles that dominate the landscape, Although many lesser known Welsh built castles, also marked the land during the Middle ages, used by princely brothers vying for control of their inheritance. Welsh castles were usually lightly fortified, enclosed by a stone curtain wall, and during the Iron Age, hill forts dotted the Welsh landscape. Hundreds of these castles were built throughout Wales; many historically significant Welsh castles disappeared centuries ago, leaving little or no trace. Timber castles have long since gone due to the materials used, stone did not always guarantee survival either, destruction, time and neglect have all helped to reduce many stone-built castles to rubble. Castles such as Caernarfon and Harlech are so well know that I feel I need say nothing more on them and its the lesser known castles or hill forts I will concentrate on. |
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| For the visitor with an interest in the lesser-known castles in Wales there are many , Caergwrle castle, Carreg Cennen castle, Castell y Bere, Criccieth castle, Deganwy Castle, Castell Dinas Bran, Dinefwr castle, Dolbadarn castle, Dolforwyn castle, Dolwyddelan castle, Dryslwyn castle, Ewloe castle, Nevern castle, Newcastle Emlyn, to name just a few. The following is a brief rundown of some of those castles. |
| Dolbadarn Llanberis Pass is an area known for its natural beauty and slate mining, visitors speed through the village with hardly a glance, Hardly noticing one of its hidden treasures, Dolbadarn castle. The Castle stands on a hilltop above Llyn Padarn, on the east side of the A4086. The castle dates to the 13th century, built by the Welsh prince, Llywelyn ap Iorwerth (Llywelyn the Great), sometime before 1230. Although a shell of its former self, the spot was used as early as the 6th century, but surviving evidence dates no earlier than the 1200,s. Owain ap Gruffydd spent 20 years as a prisoner on its upper floors and Owain Glyndwr may have used it to hold other prisoners such as Ruthin castle�s Lord Grey. |
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| It was built towards the later part of the 13th century by the princes of Powys and was the meeting place between the sons of Gruffydd Maelor in 1270. During the wars between Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, and Edward I the castle was burnt by the Welsh before it was captured in 1277 by Henry de Lacy, earl of Lincoln. It was never repaired and ceased to be used after the 1280s. |
| Castell y Bere At the foot of Cader Idris, rising from the floor of the Dysynni valley lie the ruins of Castell y Bere, The castle belongs to the 13th century, although there is evidence of usage from a much earlier period. In 1221 Llywelyn ap Iorwerth took control of Meirionnydd from his son, Gruffydd, and began to build a castle for himself, Bere is without doubt that castle. In 1282-83 it was besieged by an English army under the leadership of Sir Otto de Grandison, and fell on 25 April 1283. The castle was recaptured by the Welsh during Madog ap Llywelyn`s revolt in 1294, but is not mentioned again, so it appears it was then abandoned. |
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| Castell Dinas Bran Castell Dinas Bran stands on the site of an ancient Iron-Age hill fort, believed to have been the home of the Kings of Powys, well into the 8th century. Its major claim is to be Castle Corbenic, the Grail Castle. The castle is named for King Bran Bendigeid (the blessed), a Celtic God known from both Welsh and Irish mythology. |
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| Caergwrle Castle The Castle, on the highest point of the hill, was probably first built by Dafydd ap Gruffydd, in lands given him by Edward I after the first Welsh campaign of 1277, in recognition of his help in their capture from his brother Llywelyn. The castle, although probably not complete, was sufficiently well defended by 1282 to provide a base for Dafydd's attack on the English garrison at Hawarden, which sparked Edward's second Welsh campaign. When the English reached Caergwrle in June 1282, the retreating Welsh had damaged the castle and filled in the well; The following year Edward gave the castle, probably still unfinished, to his queen Eleanor, but it burnt down six months later. The shell, which had outlived its strategic purpose, passed to their son Edward of Caernarfon. It was granted in 1308 to John of Cromwell on condition that he repair it, but by 1335 it was nonetheless ruinous. |
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| Carreg Cennen Castle The story of Carreg Cennen Castle is a long one, going back at least to the 13th century. There is archaeological evidence, however, that the Romans and prehistoric peoples occupied the craggy hilltop centuries earlier (a cache of Roman coins and four prehistoric skeletons have been unearthed at the site). Although the Welsh Princes of Deheubarth built the first castle at Carreg Cennen, what remains today dates to King Edward I`s momentous period of castle-building in Wales. |
| Much of the interior of Carreg Cennen is considerably ruined, the result of demolition in 1462 after the Wars of the Roses. The Welsh Lord Rhys, Prince of Deheubarth, probably built the first castle on the site in the late 12th century. His descendant, Rhys Fychan, eventually inherited the castle, but was betrayed by his mother (the Norman Matilda de Braeos) who turned over the stronghold to the English. Rhys Fychan regained control of the castle in 1248, but had it taken away by his uncle, Maredudd ap Rhys Gryg, and then seized in 1277 by King Edward I. From that time onwards, the fortress remained in the hands of the English. The original Welsh stronghold was demolished in the late 13th century and replaced with the imposing structures we see today, by John Giffard and his son. Other owners included Hugh le Despenser, John of Gaunt and Henry of Bolingbroke (the future King Henry IV). Upon Henry's accession, the castle became Crown property. It was besieged during the rebellion of Owain Glyndwr in about 1403 and was considerably damaged. During the Wars of the Roses, Carreg Cennen's owners unfortunately sided with the Lancastrians. After the Yorkist victory in 1461, the castle was deemed too much of a threat to the monarchy and was destroyed the following spring. |
| These are just a very small collection of Castles in Wales. I will be listing a more complete selection on further pages, along with map references (where known) and other relevant information. |
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| Ever wonder about life in and around a castle ? Then click the "forward" button to visit the castlelife section. |
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