Caergwrle Castle

Ruins of Caergwrle Castle with town of Caergwrle below
Exterior walls of Caergwrle Castle ruins

Caergwrle Castle, also known as Queen's Hope in scholarly texts, is located in the town of Caergwrle, in Flintshire, Wales. It was the final castle to be built by Welsh rulers before the loss of Welsh independence in 1283.[1] Built on a steep hill near the Anglo-Welsh border, the castle has views which extend far into Cheshire.[2]

Construction of the castle began in 1277, after King Edward I gave the lordship of Hope to Dafydd ap Gruffudd as reward for his service in the Welsh war concluded earlier that year. Notable features included two D-shaped towers and a great circular keep overlooking the approach to the south-east. It has been speculated that Dafydd employed English masons to work on the castle, which was apparently unfinished when Dafydd revolted in 1282. By the time Edward had gathered an army to invade Wales in June, Dafydd had already retreated from Caergwrle, and had slighted the castle, even blocking up its well to deny it to the English. Edward promptly began rebuilding the castle, and gave it to his wife, Eleanor of Castile. However, a fire in 1283 gutted the castle and it was never rebuilt.[1]

Today, the castle's ruins are cared for by Caergwrle Community Council.[2] They are a grade I listed structure.

References

Notes
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 King 1974, pp. 113–139
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Caergwrle Castle and the Bronze Age Caergwrle Bowl, BBC News, 23 March 2010, retrieved 3 February 2012
Bibliography
  • King, D J. Cathcart (1974), "Two Castles in Northern Powys: Dinas Bran and Caergwrle", Archaeologia Cambrensis 123: 113–139

Further reading

External links

Media related to Caergwrle Castle at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 53°06′26″N 3°02′14″W / 53.107290°N 3.037164°W