Chirk Castle

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Chirk Castle (Welsh: Castell y Waun) is a castle located at Chirk, Wrexham, Wales.

The castle was built in 1295 by Roger de Mortimer, 1st Earl of March as part of King Edward I's chain of fortresses across the north of Wales. It guards the entrance to the Ceiriog Valley.

The castle was bought by Thomas Myddelton in 1595 for £5,000. His son, Thomas Myddelton of Chirk Castle was a Parliamentarian during the English Civil War, but became a Royalist during the Cheshire Rising of 1659. Following the Restoration, his son became Sir Thomas Myddelton, 1st Baronet of Chirk Castle.

During the 1930s the Castle was home to Thomas Scott-Ellis, 8th Baron Howard de Walden, a prominent patron of the arts and champion of Welsh culture. The Myddelton family resided at Chirk Castle until 2004. Lieutenant-Colonel Ririd Myddleton was an extra equerry to Queen Elizabeth II from 1952 until his death in 1988.

The castle is presently in the ownership of the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty.

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