Dolforwyn Castle
Encyclopedia
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
situated within the Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
of Powys
Powys
Powys is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.-Geography:Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire , and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,179 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.It is...
(Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
Landranger map : series No 136) some 4 miles from Montgomery
Montgomery, Powys
The historic county town of Montgomery in Powys, Wales lies just three miles from the English border in the Welsh Marches. It is best known for its castle, Montgomery Castle, begun in 1223, and its parish church, begun in 1227. However its origins go back much further, as seen by the Celtic Iron...
close to the village of Abermule
Abermule
Abermule is a village in Powys, mid Wales, located on the River Severn. The Montgomeryshire canal runs through Abermule, the canal is very close to the river.- Amenities :...
. Positioned on a wooded ridge overlooking the Severn Valley
Severn Valley
Severn Valley could be*The Severn Valley in Shropshire, English Midlands *The Severn Valley Country Park in Shropshire, English Midlands *The fictional Severn Valley...
the site commands excellent views in all directions except east.
Dolforwyn Castle is a fine example of the type of castle built by the Welsh princes as opposed to those built by the English within Wales.
First Period
Llywelyn ap GruffyddLlywelyn ap Gruffydd
Llywelyn ap Gruffydd may refer to:*Llywelyn the Last *Llywelyn ap Gruffydd Fychan...
, Prince of Gwynedd's main land holdings lay in the Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
. In order to assert his claim to be the most important of the Welsh princes he felt the need to exercise his authority in the strategic area which is the Severn Valley, giving as it does access to the heartlands of Wales. In 1257 he invaded the area so that by 1263 he had captured the districts known as Cedewain and Ceri. As a result of this Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
recognised Llywelyn as Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
under the terms of the Treaty of Montgomery
Treaty of Montgomery
By means of the Treaty of Montgomery , Llywelyn ap Gruffydd was acknowledged as Prince of Wales by the English king Henry III, the only time in history that an English ruler would recognise the right of a ruler of Gwynedd over Wales...
of 19 September 1267. In order to consolidate his newly conquered lands and to affirm his control Llywelyn ap Gruffydd constructed the castle at Dolforwyn between 1273 and 1277 for a recorded cost of £174.6s 8d.
The castle was fairly primitive in its concept compared to some structures to be found elsewhere. A rectangular platform was hewn from the rock some 240 feet by 90 feet and the initial castle consisted of a rectangular keep at the south west end of the platform and a circular tower at the opposite end. The two structures were subsequently connected by ramparts to make a rectangular shaped enclosure with a D shaped tower on the northern wall. The enclosed area was divided into two by a ditch cut through the rock and a two storey structure was built against the north wall. The main entrance was in the west wall of the castle and a smaller entrance was made in the south wall.
Second Period
Following the construction of the castle without the authorisation of Edward IEdward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
tensions grew between Llywelyn ap Gruffydd
Llywelyn ap Gruffydd
Llywelyn ap Gruffydd may refer to:*Llywelyn the Last *Llywelyn ap Gruffydd Fychan...
, the new English king Edward I whose frontier post was at Montgomery Castle
Montgomery Castle
Montgomery Castle is a stone masonry castle looking over the town of Montgomery in Powys, mid Wales. It is one of many Norman castles on the border between Wales and England.- Motte & Bailey Castle :...
and Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn
Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn
Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn was a Welsh prince who was lord of the part of Powys known as Powys Wenwynwyn.Gruffydd was the son of Gwenwynwyn ab Owain and Margaret Corbet. He was still a child when his father, who had been driven out of his princedom by Llywelyn the Great, died in exile in 1216...
Prince of Southern Powys who held Powis Castle
Powis Castle
Powis Castle is a medieval castle, fortress and grand country mansion located near the town of Welshpool, in Powys, Mid Wales.The residence of the Earl of Powis, the castle is known for its extensive, attractive formal gardens, terraces, parkland, deerpark and landscaped estate...
at nearby Welshpool
Welshpool
Welshpool is a town in Powys, Wales, or ancient county Montgomeryshire, from the Wales-England border. The town is low-lying on the River Severn; the Welsh language name Y Trallwng literally meaning 'the marshy or sinking land'...
.
In 1277 shortly after the castle had been completed Roger Mortimer
Roger Mortimer
Roger Mortimer was the name of several Marcher lords:* Roger Mortimer of Wigmore , married Isabel de Ferriers and became Lord of Maelienydd...
and Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln besieged the castle. Because the castle lacked water (a well had not been constructed), it fell on 8th April 1277. Custody was firstly given to Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn
Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn
Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn was a Welsh prince who was lord of the part of Powys known as Powys Wenwynwyn.Gruffydd was the son of Gwenwynwyn ab Owain and Margaret Corbet. He was still a child when his father, who had been driven out of his princedom by Llywelyn the Great, died in exile in 1216...
but subsequently to Roger Mortimer
Roger Mortimer
Roger Mortimer was the name of several Marcher lords:* Roger Mortimer of Wigmore , married Isabel de Ferriers and became Lord of Maelienydd...
along with the lands of Ceri and Cedewain.
Following its fall into English hands the castle was modified. The South gate was blocked up, new buildings constructed in the courtyard and a well dug.
Due to an inventory dating from 1322 it is known that the following rooms existed at the castle on that date: an armoury in the round tower, pantry, buttery, kitchen, brewhouse, bakehouse, chapel, hall, a lady's chamber and two granges for the storage of grain.
Later history
Following the death of Roger MortimerRoger Mortimer
Roger Mortimer was the name of several Marcher lords:* Roger Mortimer of Wigmore , married Isabel de Ferriers and became Lord of Maelienydd...
in 1282, the castle passed to his son Edmund Mortimer
Edmund Mortimer
-Members of the Marcher family of Mortimer:*Edmund Mortimer, 2nd Baron Wigmore*Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March, and his second son*Edmund Mortimer, son of the 3rd Earl*Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March...
, then to his son Roger who lost the family estates in 1322 after an act of treason.
Dolforwyn appears to have been occupied until the reign of Richard II
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
(1377-99), but by 1381 it was already described as being in poor repair, and in 1398 it was described as being "ruinous and worth nothing." It appears that after this date the castle was almost lost from memory and attracted little interest.
The ownership of the castle passed to the Earls of Powis
Earl of Powis
Earl of Powis is a title that has been created three times. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1674 in favour of William Herbert, 3rd Baron Powis. In 1687 he was further honoured when he was made Marquess of Powis...
and was subsequently bought by the grandfather of the antiquarian John Davies Knatchbull Lloyd
John Davies Knatchbull Lloyd
John Davies Knatchbull Lloyd was born on 28 April 1900 at Plas Trefaldwyn, Montgomery in the present day county of Powys in mid Wales. He was the son of John Maurice Edward Lloyd a barrister...
who gave the site to the Welsh Ancient Monuments Board Cadw
Cadw
-Conservation and Protection:Many of Wales's great castles and other monuments, such as bishop's palaces, historic houses, and ruined abbeys, are now in Cadw's care. Cadw does not own them but is responsible for their upkeep and for making them accessible to the public...
in 1955. Cadw arranged for excavation of the site between 1981 and 2002 and the monument is now open to the public.
In June 2009 Cadw (Welsh monuments board) commenced a 6 month process of consolidation of the castle masonry.
Legends
According to legend the maiden SabrinaHafren
Hafren is the name of a mythical person in Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudo-history Historia Regum Britanniae...
, is said to have drowned at Dolforwyn, and become goddess of the River Severn.
Literary associations
John MiltonJohn Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
in his masque Comus presented at Ludlow Castle
Ludlow Castle
Ludlow Castle is a large, partly ruined, non-inhabited castle which dominates the town of Ludlow in Shropshire, England. It stands on a high point overlooking the River Teme...
in 1645 before the Earl of Bridgewater
Earl of Bridgewater
-History:The earldom was first created in 1538 for Henry Daubeny, 9th Baron Daubeny. The Daubeney family descended from Elias Daubeny, who in 1295 was summoned by writ to the Model Parliament as Lord Daubeny. The eighth Baron was created Baron Daubeny by letters patent in the Peerage of England in...
invokes the goddess Sabrina:
- Sabrina fair
- Listen where thou art sitting
- Under the glassie, cool, transluscent wave,
- In twisted braids of lillies knitting
- The loose train of thy amber-dripping hair,
- Listen for dear honour's sake
- Goddess of the silver lake."
Bernard Cornwell
Bernard Cornwell
Bernard Cornwell OBE is an English author of historical novels. He is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe which were adapted into a series of Sharpe television films.-Biography:...
in The Winter King, part of the Warlord Chronicles, places some of the action at Dolforwyn castle. The following is a small extract from the passage associated with the betrothal of Ceinwyn and Arthur.
Excavation
Dolforwyn Castle was archaeologically excavated between 1981 and 2002 as a joint project between the University of YorkUniversity of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
Department of Archaeology and CADW. Each summer for 3 or 4 weeks students and CADW employees excavated the entire site under the directorship of Dr Lawrence Butler while the site was rendered by a team of local masons employed by CADW. Finds from these excavations included part of a leather book cover, a small die, a silver coin from the reign of Edward II and a large array of stone catapult balls from the English siege of 1277. The excavation produced many unexpected features as the excavators removed over 15 metres of debris/infill. These included a small stone lined hall, English repairs to Welsh masonry (shown by different types of mortar), a suspected wheat drying oven and the cistern/cellar well excavated to a depth of approx 6 metres with signs of it still continuing. Some features remain to be explained, such as the true use of the cistern/cellar and why certain rooms (such as the D-shaped North tower) were altered with no apparent reason.
Visiting
Visitors should, from the main A483 roadA483 road
The A483 is a major road in the United Kingdom, running from Swansea in Wales to Chester in England, although the official title is the Swansea to Manchester Trunk Road.-Swansea:...
at Abermule, follow the marked signing for Dolforwyn Castle until they arrive at its small car park. Opposite the car park the visitor will discover a narrow, rather difficult track leading uphill for some 500 metres past yew tree cottage
Yew tree cottage
Situated under the ramparts of Dolforwyn Castle, near Abermule in the Welsh county of Powys in the United Kingdom, Yew tree cottage is a part 17th century timber-framed structure which once belonged to the celebrated antiquarian John Davies Knatchbull Lloyd....
to a wooden gate. The track continues uphill until a sharp turn to the right leads onto the ridge where the platforms of timbered houses may be seen. These are the only remains of the small town which existed outside the walls of Llywelyn's castle. On the fall of Dolforwyn the town was replaced by the new settlement of Newtown in the Severn Valley some four miles away. The castle ruins may be seen behind the remains of the town.
See also
Other examples of the castles of the Welsh princes are:- Castell Dinas BranCastell Dinas BranCastell Dinas Brân is a medieval castle standing high on a hill above the town of Llangollen in Denbighshire, Wales. It is also the site of an Iron Age hill fort.-Early history:...
- Castell y BereCastell y BereCastell y Bere is a native Welsh castle near Llanfihangel-y-pennant in Gwynedd, Wales. Constructed by Llywelyn the Great in the 1220s, the stone castle was intended to maintain his authority over the local people and to defend the south-west part of the princedom of Gwynedd...
- Dolwyddelan CastleDolwyddelan CastleDolwyddelan Castle was a native Welsh castle located near Dolwyddelan in Conwy County in North Wales. It was built in the 13th century by Llywelyn the Great, Prince of Gwynedd and North Wales.-Construction:...
- Dolbadarn CastleDolbadarn CastleDolbadarn Castle is a fortification built by the Welsh prince Llywelyn the Great during the early 13th century, at the base of the Llanberis Pass, in North Wales. The castle was important both militarily and as a symbol of Llywelyn's power and authority. The castle features a large stone keep,...