We
had another lazy start to the day, then at about 10.00am set off for to explore
Newtown and visit the ruins of Dolforwyn Castle. Newtown is the largest town in
the area. We wandered around the town centre for a while and enjoyed a coffee
before heading to the castle.
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| Newtown |
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| The track up to the castle |
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| Dolforwyn Castle |
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| one of the views from Dolforwyn Castle |
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| another view of Dolforwyn Castle |
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| Alison looking through one of the windows in the castle |
Dolforwyn
Castle (Welsh: Castell Dolforwyn) is a Welsh medieval castle above
the village of Abermule, Powys. The fortification was established by Llywelyn
ap Gruffydd, Prince of Gwynedd in the late 13th century. It is sited on a
wooded ridge commanding excellent views of the upper Severn Valley. Dolforwyn
Castle is a fine example of Welsh castle design as opposed to those built by
the English during their conquests of Wales. Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of
Gwynedd's main land holdings lay in the Gwynedd. 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 recognised Llywelyn as Prince of Wales under the terms of the Treaty
of Montgomery 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 wards by a rock-cut ditch. A two-storey structure was built
against the north wall. The main gateway into the castle was in the west wall.
A smaller entrance was sited in the south wall. Following the construction of
the castle without the authorisation of Edward 1 tensions grew between Llywelyn
ap Gruffydd, the new English king Edward I whose frontier post was at
Montgomery Castle and Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn Prince of Southern Powys who held Powis
Castle at nearby Welshpool. In 1277 shortly after the castle had been completed
Roger Mortimer and Henry de Lacey, Earl of Lincoln besieged the castle. It fell
on 8 April 1277 because the castle occupants lacked water (a well had not been
constructed). Custody was firstly given to Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn but
subsequently to Roger Mortimer along with the lands of Ceri and Cedewain.
Following its fall, the castle's design was modified by its new English
overlords. The South gate was blocked up, new buildings were constructed in the
courtyard and a well was dug. Following the death of Roger Mortimer in 1282,
the castle passed to his son Edmund Mortimer, then to his son Roger who lost
the family estates in 1322 after an act of treason. An inventory taken at the
time states Dolforwyn's accommodations which included an armoury in the round
tower as well as domestic ranges: a pantry, buttery, kitchen, brewhouse,
bakehouse, chapel, hall, a lady's chamber and two granges for the storage of
grain. Dolforwyn appears to have been occupied until the reign of Richard II
(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 and was subsequently bought by the grandfather of the antiquarian John
Davies Knatchbull Lloyd who gave the site to the Welsh Ancient Monuments Board
Cadw in 1955. Cadw arranged for excavation of the site between 1981 and 2002
and the monument is now open to the public. It was an interesting site to
wander around, but it was not an easy place to find. We had to drive along a
very narrow road till we found the carpark. There was then a 10-15 minute walk
up a steep slippery track. Of course the light drizzly rain didn’t make it any
easier. After our visit to the castle ruins, we headed back to Newtown for
lunch before heading back to the lodge to pack up ready to leave tomorrow. Our
last dinner in Wales will again be at the Red Lion Hotel.
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