THE CASTLES OF ENGLAND AND WALES AT THE LATTER PART OF
THE TWELFTH CENTURY (_concluded_).
There remain to be enumerated the castles west of the Severn and the
Dee up to the Dyke of Offa. To this tract must be added on the one
hand the half of Shropshire, which was on the English side of the
Severn; on the other, one or two valleys like those of the upper
Severn and the Wye, penetrating into the heart of Wales; and to the
north and south a tract of seaboard, reaching in the one case to the
Conwy, and in the other to Pembroke and including Aberystwith. Of this
border-land, divided between the northern, middle, and western Marches,
the first was given in charge by the Conqueror to Hugh Earl of Chester;
the second to Roger Earl of Shrewsbury, Arundel, and Montgomery;
and opposite to the last, most of which was as yet unconquered, was
placed William FitzOsbern, Earl of Hereford. In the north and middle
Marches the opposing parts of Wales were mountainous and strong,
exceedingly dangerous to invade, and of little value to a conqueror;
but in the south the country was far more open and more fertile, far
less dangerous to the invader, and offering far greater attraction to
the cupidity of the settler. The general policy was to penetrate the
country by the open valleys and the seaboard, and at certain frequent
points to erect castles strong enough to resist a sudden attack, and
occasionally capacious enough to contain men and stores sufficient
to reinforce troops in the field, or to receive and rally them when
worsted.
The three principal fortresses which, placed upon English territory,
formed in a military point of view the base for operations in Wales,
were Chester on the Dee, Shrewsbury upon the Severn, and Gloucester at
the mouth of the same river, the last being under the Mercian kings a
place of great strength and importance. Chester and Gloucester were of
Roman, Shrewsbury of British origin. In advance of Chester, and beyond
the estuary of the Dee, were the castles of Hawarden, Ewloe, Halkin,
Flint, Diserth, Rhuddlan, and Diganwy, extending upon or at no great
distance from the sea coast as far as the Conwy river. More inland and
south of these are Caergwrle, Mold, Ruthyn, Denbigh, and Basingwerk,
the last nearly upon Watt’s Dyke. Hope Castle is mentioned, but is
probably the same with Caergwrle, and Overton, which, though on the
Cheshire side of the Dee, was held by the Princes of Powis. It seems to
have been founded by William Peverel, and was by him defended against
Stephen in 1138. Most of these castles are mere ruins; of others the
extant buildings are Edwardian additions. Hawarden, however, has a
tolerably perfect circular keep, with a small mural oratory, and an
exceedingly complex but later arrangement for defending the approach.
Considerably south of these castles, where the Dee has ceased to be
the dividing stream of England and Wales, is the hill castle of Dinas
Brân, an early and strong place, by whom built is uncertain, but which
was held for long periods by the Welsh Princes. Again, south, upon the
Ceiriog river, and a few yards east of Offa’s Dyke, is Chirk Castle,
inhabited and much altered, but of early date.
The western side of Shropshire and the adjacent part of Montgomery
formed nearly the whole of the Middle March. Earl Roger, its custos
under the Conqueror with powers which William only delegated from
absolute necessity, and which it took his successors centuries to
resume, was the only Norman lord who gave name to a county in the
conquered land. Under him and his lieutenants, Roger Corbet and Roger
Mortimer, the March was feued out to a number of knights and lesser
barons, all of whom built castles, and thus defended the common
territory, while protecting their own private estates. The task of
construction probably was not so onerous as at first sight might
appear. Shropshire and Herefordshire, and especially their most exposed
parts, were already studded over thickly with strong places constructed
after their own fashion by the Mercian invaders and settlers, and of
these it is evident that the new lords availed themselves until they
were able to make additions to them in masonry.
Of Shrewsbury Castle, the citadel of the Middle March, and the “caput”
of Earl Roger’s earldom, enough remains to show that, though small in
area, it was a place of excessive strength. The mound upon which the
Earl placed his keep in 1080 still rises to a great height direct from
the river, and of the works to make room for which 51 English burgages
were swept away there still remain parts of the wall, a gatehouse, and
the foundations of a later hall. In the Hundred roll, in the reign of
Edward I., occurs the following very curious entry:—“Quod unus magnus
turris ligneus qui edificatur in castro Salop corruit in terram tempore
domini Uriani de St. Petro tum vicecomitis et meremium ejusdem turris
tempore suo et temporibus aliorum vicecomitum preterea existencium
ita consummatur et destruitur quod nichil de illo remansit in magnum
dampnum domini Regis et deteracionem ejusdem castri.” Was this a wooden
keep upon the mound? “Quoddam Barbican” is also mentioned, and we are
told the “dampnum mote” amounted to 60 marcs, which damage the jurors
do not attribute altogether to the Abbot’s Mill, for thirty years
earlier the mote of the castle was injured. This can scarcely mean the
ditch, for which “fossa” is the word used. It is evidently the mound.
The castle formed part of the town wall, and occupied an angle of its
area. Both castle and town were included within the foldings of the
deep and broad Severn, and indeed often needed its protection.
In advance of Shrewsbury and placed along the most exposed border of
the county, and sometimes a little beyond it, were seventeen castles,
all strong and of early foundation, though not all of equal importance.
Of these, to the south, the principal were Cleobury, Ludlow, Richard’s
Castle, Wigmore, Knighton, and Knucklas or Heyhope, some within and
others a little to the outside of the dyke. To the west were Clun,
Bishop’s Castle, Montgomery, Cause, Abberbury, and Knockyn, and to the
north Oswestry, Whittington, Ellesmere, and Whitchurch.
Of these castles Ludlow stood next to Shrewsbury in importance, and
was fully its equal in strength, and far its superior in dimensions
and architectural display. It was, indeed, a superb Norman castle, the
work of Roger de Lacy, in the reign of Rufus, and before it Stephen was
foiled and very nearly captured in 1139. The rectangular keep, some of
the mural towers, and most of the lower part of the containing wall are
original. The curious circular chapel, though Norman, is rather later,
and the magnificent hall, kitchen, and lodgings are later still. The
castle is built on the eastern bank of the Lug, which here flows down
a deep rocky ravine; the town also was strongly walled. Cleobury, to
the east of Ludlow, attributed to Roger de Mortimer in 1074, is more
probably the work of a later lord in the reign of Stephen. It was taken
by Henry II. in 1155. Wigmore, of which the castelry is mentioned in
“Domesday,” the chief seat of the great border family of Mortimer, is
actually in Herefordshire, but belongs to the Shropshire fortresses. It
occupies a rocky ridge, defended by a natural ravine and steep slopes.
The small mound that bore its keep remains, and below is a Norman
tower, and more or less of ancient masonry. The outworks seem to have
been strong. Richard’s Castle, the Auretone of “Domesday,” founded
by Richard Fitz Scrob in the reign of the Confessor, though also in
Hereford, lies between Wigmore and Ludlow, and was closely associated
with Shropshire. It retains its ancient mound near the church, and a
part of its shell keep, and is still defended by a very formidable
ditch. There is, however, no masonry of the age of the Confessor,
nor is it probable that the keep was constructed before the reign of
Stephen, if so early. Wigmore and Richard’s Castle were the advanced
posts of Ludlow. Cleobury Mortimer was held by Ralph Mortimer at the
Survey, and probably came to him from the forfeiture of Earl Roger de
Britolio. Knighton and Knucklas are on the right bank of the Teme,
just outside the Shropshire border. Their exposed position made them
very important posts. In 1180 Randulf Puher, Sheriff of Herefordshire,
accounted for the expenses of works at the castles of Knighton and
Camerino, and a little later, while employed in building a border
castle, he was slain by the Welsh. Of Knighton only the mound remains.
The masonry, now removed, has been attributed to one of the Lords of
Clun. Of Knucklas or Cnoclâs Castle there are scarcely any vestiges.
It was probably built by Roger Mortimer soon after the Conquest,
its mound, known as Castle Hill, being of course older. Clun Castle
is three miles within the dyke, but the intervening country is very
rugged, and exceedingly favourable to the operations of undisciplined
troops such as the Welsh. Clun was held under Earl Roger by Picot de
Say, and became afterwards the castle of Alan the son of Flaald, and
the cradle of the House of Stewart. There remains a rough but grand
square keep, a mound, strong circumscribing earthworks, and beyond
the church an advanced bank and ditch of formidable dimensions. It is
evident that those who laid out these earthworks were well aware of the
peril of the position. Bishop’s Castle or Lydbury is well within the
frontier. It was the residence of the bishops of Hereford from 1085
to 1154, and was taken by storm in 1235. By their possession of this
castle the bishops became Lords Marchers. Montgomery was the centre and
one of the most exposed castles of the frontier. It occupied the summit
of a steep rock, and was almost impregnable. It has, however, been
taken, destroyed, and re-built at least twice, so that little, if any,
of its masonry is of the time of Earl Roger. It stands just within the
dyke.
North of Montgomery, and protected by the well-known Long Mountain, is
Cause Castle or Alreton, the earliest seat of the Corbets, who named
it from the Pays de Caux, whence they came. It was built towards the
close of the reign of the Conqueror, and is remarkable for its massive
keep and capacious well, and for the rare example of the substitution
of a Norman for a native name. North of Cause is Abberbury, the seat
of the Fitz Warines before they held Whittington. It was held under
Cause. Knockin Castle, the head of the Barony of Strange, was probably
built by Guido le Strange in the reign of Henry II. Far more exposed,
and having the mountainous ground of Denbigh in its front, is Oswestry,
supposed by Mr. Eyton to be the Castel Luare (L’Ouvre) of “Domesday,”
the work of Rainald de Ballieul, and long celebrated as a seat of the
Earls of Arundel. It is now reduced to a mound and the foundations
of a keep. The outworks have been levelled and built over by the
encroaching town, and the ditches filled up. The town walls are also
removed. Very near to Oswestry is Whittington, founded as a Norman
work by William Peverel in 1138, but better known from its later lords
the Fitz Warines. This is the castle that defied the Welsh in 1223,
and the strength of which lay not only in its shell keep, towers, and
gatehouse, parts of all which remain, but in a curious arrangement
of outworks in earth, with several broad and deep ditches connected
with a morass, the limits of which may still be traced. The original
mound, scarped and enclosed like Bungay in a revetment wall by the
Norman engineer, is a good example of the manner in which those early
fortifications were adapted to the masonry of later times. Ellesmere
is a Peveril castle, but was held by the Welsh Princes as late as
the reign of Henry III. Whitchurch was founded probably by William
de Warren, whose wife was stepdaughter to the Conqueror. It was the
Weston of “Domesday,” and by a singular inversion became widely known
afterwards as Blackmere. These complete the outer line of defence of
the Middle March.
Connected with these were a large number of other castles, mostly,
though not always, held by men of lesser rank and power. Wem, now
entirely destroyed, was founded by William Pantulf, holding under Earl
Roger. Middle Castle was held of the Fitz Alans by the Lords Strange,
as was Ruyton. At High Ercal is a moated mound, but whether masonry was
ever added to it is doubtful. Srawrthin or Sharwardine had a castle,
probably before 1165. There seem also to have been castles at Charlton,
Howgate, Braincroft, Corshall, Shipton, Ryton, and Le Botwood.
Pulverbach was the castle of Robert Venator in the eleventh century.
Tonge was Earl Roger’s private demesne, but the castle achieved its
fame under the Pembrugge family. Church Stretton or Brockhurst Castle
was held direct by the Crown, but was demolished at an early period.
At Broymeron, near Tugford, there seems to have been a castle. Corfham
was held by Fitz Ponce, the ancestor of the Cliffords. Wattlesborough,
an early Corbet castle, still preserves a small but tolerably perfect
rectangular keep. Stone has some traces of a castle, and at Hopton is
a square keep of Decorated date, on a slightly raised knoll, with some
extensive and marshy outworks. Besides these may be mentioned Castle
Holgate, thought by Mr. Eyton to be one of the four earliest castles
built under Earl Roger, the others being Shrewsbury, Montgomery, and
Oswestry, all in some shape of earlier date than the great Survey.
Holgate was built by Helgot de Stanton, and used by Henry II. in 1109.
Bryn Castle was an early seat of the Gerards; Bromfield and Cainham
are destroyed; of Shiffnall little is known; Stottesden was granted in
1159 by Henry II. to Godfrey de Gamaches or Gamage; Stokesay is said
originally to have been built by Picot le Say; Tirley, near Market
Drayton, was the work of Roger de Corcelle, but taken by Ralph le
Botiler of Wem, who left it unfinished in 1281. The Fitz Alans seem to
have had a castle at Wroxeter, the Lords Strange at Cheswardine, and
at Morton Soret, now Corbet, the Sorets built a castle. West of Ludlow
was a castle at Stapleton-en-le-Harness, built probably by the lords of
Richard’s Castle. Kinnerley Castle, taken by Llewelyn in 1223, has long
since disappeared. Alveton was held by Theobald de Verdon in 1389.
Robert de Belesme, the son of Roger and the third Earl of Shrewsbury,
built two castles which played a part in the struggles of the time,
and are mentioned by historians. One, Carregchova, was in advance of
the frontier, and in Montgomery. It is said to have been built about
1101-2 in great haste. In 1160 it was held and garrisoned by Henry II.
It has long been utterly destroyed. The other, Bruges or Bridgenorth
Castle, was upon the Severn below and inland of Shrewsbury. Earl Roger
had built a castle not far off upon the ancient earthworks of Quatford,
opposite to Oldbury, one of the burhs thrown up by Queen Æthelflæda.
This castle, of which there remain a mound and a deep well, Earl Robert
removed in 1102 to the top of a steep rocky platform above the Severn.
It was strong and spacious, and had the church of St. Mary Magdalen for
its chapel, and within its area accommodation for some thousands of
men. Of all this there remains now little save a fragment of the keep
and parts of the containing wall. It was besieged by Henry II. in 1155,
and was surrendered for political rather than for military reasons.
In advance of the borders of Shropshire are two or three castles of
doubtful origin, and which were frequently held by the Welsh. Such
were Powis or Pool Castle, attributed to Bleddyn ap Cynfin about 1109;
Mathraval, on the Vyrnwy, the residence of the Welsh Princes, but
fortified by Robert de Vipont. This was one of the few local castles
that resisted the Welsh outbreak of 1212, soon after which it was
destroyed. Dolforwin is a small hill-castle on the left bank of the
Upper Severn, much resembling Dinas Brân, and far to the west. Deep
in the defiles upon the western flank of Cader Idris is the castle of
Bere, the remains of which fell into the friendly hands of the late
Mr. Wynn of Peniarth, who has shown that the building was of the Early
English period of architecture, and unusually ornate in its details.
How an early castle came to be placed so far from the border, and in
a position by no means abounding in the means of subsistence, is a
mystery.
The plain of the Upper Severn, open and fertile, outside the Shropshire
border, was contested from a very remote period between the Mercians
and the Welsh, and was at times completely and permanently occupied
by the former. The Mercian fortresses of this very perilous district
were moated mounds similar to those thrown up in England in the
ninth and tenth centuries. Of these there are very many along the
course of the river or in its tributary valleys, of which the chief
are Keri, Hên-domen near Montgomery, Nantcribba a fortified natural
knoll, Guilsfield, a burh at Chirbury thrown up by Æthelflæda and
now removed, Welsh Pool designated in 1299 as Mota de Pola, a mound
on the Luggy, Winsbury, Dudston, Brynderwen, several mounds about
Llanidloes and Moat-lane, Tafolwern, a fine mound upon the junction of
two streams with the Afon Lwymyn, and whence some of the charters of
the Welsh Princes are dated, and a remarkable mound at Talybont near
Towyn, whence Llewelyn dated a letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury,
and which was visited by Edward I. Very few of these “Mottes” were
surmounted by works in masonry, and the accompanying extract from the
Close Roll shows that even as late as the reign of Henry III. timber
was the recognised material for their defences:—
“Rex etc dilecto et fideli suo Godescallo de Maghelins salutem.
Recipimus tibi quod ex parte nostra firmiter precipias omnibus illis
qui motas habent in valle de Muntgumery quod sine dilatione motas suas
bonis bretaschiis firmari faciant ad securitatem et defensionem suam et
parcium illarum. Teste Rege apud Weston xxx die maii, 9 H iii, 1225.”
(Close Roll.) The Brut y Tysogion says that the castles of Llandwnyl,
Trevuverw, and Cynfig were begun in 1092 to be built stronger than
before; for before that time castles were of wood, and before long the
Frenchmen had built their castles over the whole country. Although
it is evident that the moated mound was an English and not a Welsh
fortification, yet many of these mounds are found in situations where
no English household could have lived, and others, like Tafolwern and
Talybont, are known to have been Welsh residences, so that it would
seem that the Welsh, finding this form of fortification both simple
and strong, easily thrown up, and when burned easy to repair, had
recourse to it in imitation of their foes. Almost all the castles in
Shropshire on the border were held of Earl Roger, or some Lord Marcher
by the tenure of castle guard, and many of the lesser castles had
lands attached to them held by the same honourable service. The usual
condition was attendance upon the lord in time of war, armed, for a
period of forty days, or an engagement to defend and sometimes to
repair a particular part of the lord’s castle. Lord Coke indeed speaks
of tenure by castle guard as always attached to some specific part of
a castle. The manor of Hodnet was held by the service of seneschal,
and in war by attendance in the outer bailey of Shrewsbury Castle. The
inquest on William de Bollers in 1299 shows that he held a tenement
in Mariton by the tenure of providing one soldier in war time at the
Mote of Poole with a bow and arrow and a bolt for a night and a day.
Mr. Eyton takes the Mote of Pool to be Powis Castle, but may it not
more probably be the mote which is seen, or was recently to be seen,
near the Welshpool railway station? In an old map in 1610 this mound
is lettered, “Domine Castell,” and a mill near it the Domen (Tomen,
Tumulus, Tump) Mill.
The Southern, commonly called the Western March, from its extension
in that direction, included the counties of Radnor, Hereford, and
Monmouth, the eastern part of Brecknock, much of Caermarthen and
Cardigan, Pembroke and the whole of Glamorgan; that is to say, the
country from the Teme to the Bristol Channel, and the whole seaboard
of South Wales from Chepstow to Aberystwith, all which territory was
thickly set with castles, the footprints of the Norman, and before him
to some extent of the Englishman.
Included in South Wales, but in a military point of view more
connected with Shropshire and the Middle March, was the county of
Radnor. This was a mountainous tract, very Welsh, and but a small
strip of which was on the English side of the dyke, but the imminence
of the danger seems to have led to great encroachments upon the Welsh
territory, and to the establishment of a considerable number of castles
along the lines specially exposed to attack.
Knighton, the chief castle of Radnor, and Knucklas, both upon the Teme
and bordering Shropshire, have been mentioned. South of Knighton was
Norton, and again south Old Radnor, Cruker or Pen-y-Craig destroyed by
Rhys ap Griffith in the reign of King John, and New Radnor, of which
there remains a large mound with concentric entrenchments, and parts of
the walls of the town are still to be seen. The castle is said to have
been founded by Harold in 1064. Pains Castle or Llanbedr, in Elvet,
near the southern border of the county, was so called from Pagan or
Payne de Cadurces, Cahors, or Chaworth, Lord of Kidwelly, who built
it about 1130, possibly to secure his passage into Caermarthenshire.
A few fragments of masonry still remain. Pains Castle was taken by
Rhys in 1196, and subsequently besieged by Gwenwynwyn, Prince of
Powis, in 1198. Near to Pains Castle, on the left bank of the Wye,
was Boughrood Castle, said to have been held by Eineon Clydd in 1140.
Fragments of its masonry long remained visible. The passage of the Wye
is commanded in this district by the strong castle of Builth. Just
outside the county and higher up the river, which here divides Radnor
from Brecknock, was Aberedw Castle, built by Ralph de Baskerville, one
of the Norman invaders, but speedily taken and held by the Welsh. Still
higher up is Rhyader-Gwy, founded it is said by Prince Rhys in the
twelfth century, but better known as a castle of the Mortimers. It was
taken by assault by the Welsh in the reign of Henry III. The outline of
the works may still be traced. Nearer the centre of the county, upon
the Ython and the Aran, were other castles. Moelynaidd and Castell
Colwyn or Mauds Castle, fortified by the Earl of Chester in 1143, were
on the former river, and near them was Cefn-Lys or Castell-glyn-Ython,
a rather celebrated Norman castle, but often taken by the Welsh. It was
held latterly by the Mortimers, and rebuilt by them in 1142. Dwybod
Timpath or Tilloedd, also on the Ython, was a place of great strength
of which many fragments of masonry remain. The name has been said to be
a corruption of Talbot. This castle was levelled by Llewellyn in 1260.
Cwm Aron, on the Aron river, was an early Norman castle, destroyed by
the Welsh and restored by Hugh Earl of Chester in 1143. This also came
to the Mortimers. There are considerable remains of the earthworks.
Near to Presteign were Warden and Stapleton Castles, the latter built
by Chandos the founder of Goldcliff Priory. There was also a castle at
Clyro, and one upon the Lug at Castell Haled or Vallet; and at Clâs Cwm
on the Arrow is some masonry said to represent Brynllys Castle.
The remaining parts of South and West Wales containing much open and
tolerably fertile land, and having a long and exposed frontier towards
the purely Welsh districts of Brecknock, Caermarthen and Cardigan,
were the scene of perpetual inbreaks from the Welsh, and required more
than usual strength in the defences. The castle of Gloucester, already
mentioned, was the base of all extended operations in South Wales. Here
the kings of England often held their court, and here their troops were
mustered. Brichtric had a castle at Gloucester, but his mound has long
been removed, and with it all traces of the Norman building.
Next to Gloucester in strength and importance and far more exposed
came Hereford, strongly posted on the Wye, and surrounded by a very
fertile territory. Unlike most other cities Hereford is of purely
English foundation, though by whom founded is not precisely clear. It
was fortified by Harold, and probably received the Norman additions
to its castle from Osborne soon after the Conquest. The castle was
attacked by Edric the Wild in 1067. Part of the defences of the city
remain, and of those of the castle an immense bank and deep wet ditch,
now in part being filled up, and formerly communicating with the river
Wye. The keep stood upon a large mound now levelled. Herefordshire
contained many castles, mostly, however, intended for the protection
of private estates, and placed accordingly. Goderich on the Wye is one
of the chief. It is large, well built, protected by the river, and has
a small but early rectangular keep. It was long held by the Talbots.
Ewias Harold and Kilpeck commanded from either side the valley of
Irchenfield. Both were strong and had shell keeps built upon mounds of
large size. Of Kilpeck parts of the wall remain, and a small Norman
church. In 1134 Hugh, son of William Norman, gave to Gloucester Abbey
the church of St. David at Kilpeck and the chapel of St. Mary in the
castle. Ewias was a stronger place, but nearly all the masonry is now
gone. The Harold from whom it derives its distinctive name was an
English proprietor before the Conquest. Of the lesser castles were
Croft, for centuries the seat of a still extant family of that name;
Lingen, an early castle built by Turstine de Wigmore; Lyonshall, an
early D’Evereux castle; Kingston, of which no trace remains; Almley,
reduced to its original mound; Kingsland, reputed a Saxon seat;
Weobley, a De Lacy castle in the reign of Stephen; Castle Frome, also
built by the Lacys, and now a mound only. Asperton, a Grandison castle
built on the edge of the Roman way, is now destroyed, as are Ellington
and Mortimer’s Castle at Much Marcle. Of Huntingdon, on the Radnor
border, a De Braose castle, the mound remains, as of Eardisley, called
in “Domesday” a “domus defensabilis.” Cubbington was a castle of the De
la Fields, and Bredwardine of a family of that name who gave place to
the Baskervilles. Whitney Castle stood on the Wye, as a little higher
up did Clifford, of which the masonry was the work of Ralph de Todeni
and his successor Fitz Pons, ancestor of the great house of Clifford,
who hence derived their name. The Castelry of Clifford was held at
“Domesday” by Roger de Lacy. Wilton Castle on the Wye, the seat of a
well-known barony, was built by Longchamp in the reign of Henry I.,
and of that age were Pembridge and probably Tretire, a Fitz Warine
castle now destroyed. Besides these there are others of which less
is known; Longtown or Ewias Lacy, built in part of Roman material;
Snodhill, probably Norman; Twyford, and Urishay in Peterchurch, a De
la Hay work; Eccleswall and Castle Comfort reduced to their mounds;
the bank and ditches of the latter seen on a hill-side half a mile
from Leominster, are the reputed remains of the palace of Werewald,
King of Mercia, late in the seventh century. Mention is also made of
Mouse Castle, near Hay; Dorston, a Soler’s castle; Cusop, a mere tower;
Bransil, on the Worcestershire border, now a ruin; Kinnersley; Eaton
Tregoz, a Baskerville seat in 1251; Moccas, of which the moat remains;
and Penyard, probably Norman. It is to be remembered that most of the
castles in masonry in Hereford and Radnor were built upon earthworks of
far earlier date.
Brecknock, though a wild and mountainous and therefore strongly Welsh
county, is penetrated both by the Usk and in some measure by the
Wye, of which Bernard Newmarch and his invading followers well knew
how to take advantage. The castles on the Wye being common to Radnor
and Brecknock, have duly been enumerated. The strongest of them all,
Builth, which played an important part in the local wars, was held by
the Barons de Braose, the successors of Newmarch. Of masonry there
remains but little, but the mound and annexed ditches and platforms
are of a very formidable character, and justify the reputation of the
fortress for strength.
Builth was placed near the junction of the Yrfon with the Wye, and thus
commanded the entrance of an important pass leading into Caermarthen.
It was, however, by the Usk that Bernard Newmarch marched in 1096
against Bleddyn ap Maenarch, and it was at Brecknock, not far from
the Roman Bannium, that he established the strong and spacious castle
of which the earlier mound and much of the masonry can still be seen.
The possession of Brecknock, Builth, and Abergavenny castles secured
the district, which Newmarch parcelled out among about fifteen of his
chief followers, some of whom built castles which they continued to
hold under his son-in-law, Milo Earl of Hereford, and their successors
the Barons de Braose and Cantelupe. Next above Abergavenny was
Crickhowell, of which the mound, ditches, and a tower remain. This
was the castle of the Turbervilles. Near it is Tretower, an early and
very curious structure, where a rectangular keep has been gutted and
an early English round tower erected in its centre. Tretower stands in
the marshes of the Rhiangol, higher up which stream is Dinas, a hill
castle now in ruins, in form much resembling Morlais in Glamorgan, and
commanding the pass from Abergavenny to Talgarth and the Wye. Higher up
the Wye, upon a pass by which the road cuts off an inaccessible bend of
the river, was Blaenllyfni, a large and strong castle usually held by
the chief lord himself. Near it towards Brecknock was Pencelli Castle.
At Devynock was the tower of Rhyd-yr-Briew, and some miles above
Brecknock, near the head of the Usk, a tower at Trecastle, of which the
mound remains, was placed at the summit of the regular road between
Brecknock and Caermarthen. On the Honddu above Brecknock was Castell
Madoc, probably a Welsh fortress, and on the Llyfni between Brecknock
and Hereford the Peel of Talgarth and the very remarkable cylindrical
tower of Bronllys. The remains of the castle of Hay stand upon the Wye
at the north-eastern angle of the county. It was built by Sir Philip
Walwyn, destroyed by Henry III. in 1231, and probably rebuilt soon
afterwards. A part of it is still standing. The town was walled and had
three gates.
Besides these were Scethrog, the tower of Sir Miles Pichard; Burghill,
built by Sir Humphrey of that name; Langoed and some others, fortified
houses rather than castles, and of which in most cases nothing remains
but the moated mounds, only a few of which have been occupied by the
Normans.
Monmouthshire, though exposed to occasional inbreaks, was, in the
eleventh century, and especially after Harold’s Welsh war of 1063,
as completely a part of England as Hereford or the contiguous parts
of Gloucester. Its western border was the Rhymny, but by much its
more important part lay between two very deep and rapid rivers, the
Wye and the Usk, and upon each were posted formidable castles; those
of Monmouth and Chepstow upon the one river, and those of Newport,
Usk, and Abergavenny upon the other. Chepstow is placed upon a cliff
on the western or right bank of the river, evidently, like Newport,
intended as a “tête du pont” to cover the passage of troops, the river
not being there fordable. As the name imports, the settlement is of
English origin, though its Domesday designation, Estrighoil, corrupted
into Striguil, is Welsh. The castle is divided from the town by a
deep ravine, and is altogether outside the wall, which was unusual.
The keep, of Norman masonry, may be the work of William Fitz Osborne,
Earl of Hereford, or at latest of Roger de Britolio, his son and
successor. As early as in the reign of Henry I., Chepstow had come into
the possession of the De Clares of the Strongbow line, often called
Earls of Striguil. Its possession enabled the Mareschals, successors
to the De Clares, to hold their earldom against Henry III. Monmouth
Castle occupied the top of a promontory of rock between the Wye and the
Monnow, and was long held by a line of border barons to whom it gave a
name.
Upon the Usk, the old castle of Newport has long been replaced by a
later structure, but parts of Usk Castle, some miles higher up, are
old, and Abergavenny, which descended from De Braose through Cantelupe
and Hastings to the Nevilles, is still held by the chief of that
family, though little remains of it save the original mound. It was
at Abergavenny Castle that William de Braose slaughtered, in 1175, a
number of unarmed Welshmen, in revenge for the murder of his uncle,
Henry of Hereford. Caerleon, between Newport and Usk, though founded by
a Norman upon an earlier English site connected with very celebrated
Roman remains, was the heritage of a Welsh family, and continued long
in their occupation. Between the Usk and the Wye the ground, in itself
strong, was strongly occupied.
Upon the Monnow were placed Scenfrith and Grosmont, which with
Whitecastle formed the famous trilateral, so important in the war
between Henry III. and the Earl of Pembroke. The keep of Scenfrith is a
round tower of early date placed within a right-lined enclosure. Though
small, it was very strong, and its remains are tolerably perfect.
Grosmont, also of early date, is somewhat larger, and its remains are
also considerable. White Castle is an enormous shell of lofty walls and
mural towers placed within a most formidable ditch, beyond which are
very extensive outworks both of masonry and earth. It stands very high,
commands a most extensive view, and its defences are wholly artificial.
All these three castles are reported to have been originally Welsh
seats; but their earthworks have an English aspect. They were obviously
intended for the general defence of the country, and, as usual, were
always in the hands of the great Lords or of the Crown; there were
besides several smaller castles or fortified houses, the centre of
private estates. Of these were the castles bordering the chase of
Wentwood: Dinham, long since a ruin; Penhow, the cradle of the House
of Seymour; Pencoed, which still retains some early masonry; Llanvair,
built by the Pain or Pagan family; and Castroggy, where is seen a part
of the hall and some other masonry. Upon the Ebbw, west of Newport,
stood the small castles of Greenfield and Rogeston, and at Castleton
is a mound, said at one time to have been accompanied by masonry. On
the hill above Ruperra is a very large and very perfect moated mound,
but without any trace or tradition of masonry. Llangibby is an old
Monmouthshire castle.
The occupation by the Normans of the valleys of the Wye and the Usk
no doubt served to protect the exposed flank of Monmouthshire, but
beyond the Rhymny in Glamorgan this protection ceased, and the hill
territory of Glamorgan contained a native population ever ready to
assist their countrymen, who frequently invaded that Lordship from the
north-west. The Norman settlers all dwelt in the strip of open and
more fertile land from six to twelve miles in breadth that intervened,
like the Concan of Western India, between the mountains and the
sea, where the remains of their castles are placed so near together
as to raise a question as to whence the inhabitants derived their
means of subsistence. The chief castle of the Lordship was that of
Cardiff on the Taff; but the lord also held castles at Dinas Powis,
Llantrissant, Kenfig, and by an early acquisition, at Neath, all which
may be presumed to have been intended for the general protection.
Cardiff, upon the “via maritima” of the Romans, is a very remarkable
fortification. It is rectangular, protected on three sides by a very
high bank and ditch, and on the fourth, towards the river, by a very
strong wall. In one corner at the river end is a large moated mound
still bearing the Norman keep, and which stood upon the line of a
second wall now destroyed, by which that end of the area was cut off
and protected from the rest. The analogy of this work with those of
Tamworth, Wareham, and Wallingford, and in some degree with Leicester,
is remarkable. It also has some points of resemblance to Hereford.
Dinas Powis is a small oblong enclosure of the type of Dinas Brân and
Dolforwin, probably of Norman date. It occupies the top of a rock in
the gorge of a deep valley, and must have been strong against any mere
assault. Llantrissant Castle was of rather larger dimensions. It stood,
and indeed a fragment of it still stands, in a notch in the hill high
above the plain and many miles from the sea. Kenfig, which stood upon
a brook near the sea coast, has been completely swallowed up by blown
sand, “consumptum per sabulonem,” and only a fragment is now visible.
Neath, the most exposed castle in the whole county, was founded by De
Granville, said to be the brother of Robert Fitz Hamon. Save those of
the Lord the only castle in the Lordship held by a public functionary
was that of the Bishop at Llandaff, which seems to have been always
a place of strength, though the gatehouse and enclosing wall still
remaining are probably as late as the reign of Henry III. or Edward I.
Proceeding westward, the nearest castles to Cardiff were Sully and
Barry, held by families from whom the manors derived their names, as
did Bonvileston or Tre-Simon and its castle from Sir Simon de Bonville.
Penmark was the seat of the Umfravilles; Fonmon, with its rectangular
keep, of the St. Johns; Wrinston, of the De Reignys and Raleighs;
Wenvoe, of Le Fleming; and St. Fagan’s, of the Le Sore family. Of
Peterston and St. George’s there remain fragments of masonry. East
Orchard, the seat of the Berkerolles family, and Beaupré, of the
Bassets, probably were originally castles; but the one shows the ruins
of a fortified house, the other of a manor-house of the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries. Part of Castleton Castle is old; of Liege
Castle there remains a light earthwork only. Llandough was built by
the Welsh family, and Llanquian, a round tower, by the De Wintons.
Llanblethian Castle was the seat of the St. Quintins, Talavan of the
Siwards: at Penlline is a part of a rectangular keep with herring-bone
masonry, built by the Norrises. Cowbridge town was an appanage of the
chief Lord, and was walled and strongly fortified. St. Donat’s, in its
present form, is very late, and it is doubtful whether the Haweys, the
early lords, had a castle in this county. Part of Dunraven is old. It
was built by the Butlers, who held it under Ogmore. Ogmore, the chief
seat in this lordship of the De Londres, lords of Kidwelly, has a
square keep. It stands on the river whence it is named. Near it are the
remains of a small castle of the Cantelupes, known as Cantelupe’s-ton
or Cantleston. At Bridgend is a late Norman gateway, the entrance to
a small walled enclosure, also probably Norman. It bears the name of
Newcastle. Near it is Coyty, a famous Welsh seat, but built or rebuilt
by the Turbervilles. The buildings are considerable and tolerably
perfect. The adjacent priory of Ewenny was fortified. The Welsh Barons
of Avan had a castle upon the Avon river at Aberavan.
The Lordship of Cilvae extends from near the Neath to the Tawe,
upon which is posted the castle of Abertawe or Swansea, a structure
remarkable for its open parapet with a rampart wall above the arches,
the work of Bishop Gower. Swansea was the “caput” of Gower under
the Earls of Warwick and the De Braoses, and subsidiary to it were
the castles of Oystermouth, still standing, and Lwchwr on the Burry
river, called the keys of Gower. Lwchwr is now but a small square
tower standing upon a small mound connected with a large Roman camp.
Within the peninsula are Penrice, an early castle of that family with
a good round keep, and in the same parish, and near the church, a
moated mound; Oxwich, a late building of the Mansels, a good example
of the transition from the castle to the fortified house; Pennard, a
quadrangular castle of the Edwardian type; Weobley and Llanrhidian.
At Scurlage and Llandewi were castles, and at Llandimor. Mr. Freeman
has remarked that twelve of the sixteen churches of Gower have towers
evidently built for defence. The exterior doors, where they occur,
are usually insertions. The low country beyond the Burry is protected
by Kidwelly, a tolerably perfect early castle built by the De Londres
family, and inherited from them by the Chaworths. It stands upon the
Gwendreath, and to its north is the strong castle of Carreg-Cennen.
But the real defence of Caermarthen is the river Towy, strengthened by
the four castles on its banks, Llanstephan, Caermarthen, Dynevor, and
Drysllwyn, to which may be added Laugharne, upon an adjacent inlet of
the sea, and the tower at Llangattock, which commanded the end of the
pass from Brecknock. Near to Llandeilo was Llanymdhyfri, which in 1113
belonged to Richard de Pons. Most of these castles seem to have been
established by the De Clares of the Strongbow line, but strong as they
were, and usually well defended, they had to bear the brunt of the
border war, and were often taken and retaken by and from the Welsh, who
at times permanently occupied them.
This was much or even more the case with the castles of Cardigan,
which, though usually small, and with two or three exceptions not
individually of great importance, were very numerous, and collectively
served sufficiently well for the ordinary defence of the territory.
They were almost all founded by the De Clares and their followers early
in the twelfth century. At the head of them and exceptionally strong
stood Aberystwith near the north of the county, upon the shore of
Cardigan Bay, and partly covered by the junction of the Ystwith with
the Rheidol. Its position on the sea and in the rear of the strongest
parts of South Wales made it particularly obnoxious to the Welsh; it
was exposed to the full fury of the attacks from both North and South
Wales, and strong as it was both by art and nature, was often taken and
retaken, destroyed and rebuilt. Between it and the extreme limit of the
county, the Dyfy, were the lesser castles of Geneur-glyn and Glan-Dyfi,
and near it was Stradpythyll Castle, built by Ralph, steward to Earl
Gilbert. It was besieged in 1122. Cardigan is traversed obliquely by
the Teivi, and near the head of that stream was the great castle of
Ystrad-Meyric founded by Gilbert de Clare, of which the ruins remain.
Tregaron was lower down, as were a number of other strong places,
such as Llanllwyni, Llanfihangel, Llandissul, Llangollen, of which it
is difficult to say whether they were castles of the de Clare period
or earlier residences. Blaen-porth-gwythian Castle was built by Earl
Gilbert before 1112. At Newcastle was a strong castle also on the
Teivi, and nearer to the mouth of the river, on the Cardigan bank, the
castle of the town of Cardigan. Besides these there occur in local
histories the names of Castell-Gwynionydd or Coedvon near Llampeter;
Castell Abereinon; Humphrey’s Castle in Llandissil; Blaen Porth near
Cardigan; Iscoed, where the mound seems to have had a keep in masonry;
Llanven; Llampeter, where the mound remains but the masonry has been
removed; Dinerth, the mound of which is called Danish, but where Roger
de Clare founded a castle in 1135; Castel Rhos in Llanyrysted, built in
1158; Caerwedro, taken by the Welsh in 1135; and Llanyondri.
Pembroke, far less exposed than Cardigan to the common enemy, is
divided by the Haven of Milford, owing to which the southern part of
the county, partially peopled by a colony of Flemings, was completely
sheltered from the Welsh incursions, and became in fact a purely
English territory. It was protected but also dominated by the grand
castle of Pembroke, founded by Arnulph de Montgomery, the first Norman
invader, but better known as the seat of Strongbow and the Mareschals,
who thence took the title of their earldom. Pembroke Castle, though a
ruin, retains much of its ancient magnificence. The hall, gatehouse,
curtain wall, and mural towers still remain, and the grand round keep
continues to give mass and character to the whole group. The town also
was strongly walled, the castle forming part of the circuit. At the
other end of the root of the peninsula, on the sea, was the Castle of
Tenby, also attached to the earldom, strong in its position, and also,
as its remains show, well fortified. The town of Tenby was walled, and
still retains a portion of the wall and one of its gates. Near Tenby
was Manorbeer, an early castle, though in its present form probably
of the date of Henry III. There is no keep, and the hall is vaulted.
The gatehouse remains. The ruins show it to have been strong. It is
celebrated as the birthplace of Giraldus Cambrensis or de Barri.
Carew Castle no doubt represents an early fortress, and hence sprung,
as is supposed, the families of Fitz-Gerald and Windsor, and most
certainly that of Carew. Lamphey was a castle of the Bishops of St.
David’s and has an arcaded parapet, a poor imitation of that of Bishop
Gower at Swansea; and Castle Martin was the residence of the Barons
Martin. At Nangle was a fortified house of the Sherbornes, and it is
very probable that Stackpole Court was preceded by an early castle
built by the founder of the family of that name. North of the Haven,
that great fiord which gives its distinctive feature to the name of
Haverford, is the strong rectangular keep of Haverford-West, the
present state of which reflects utter discredit on the county. It was
the work probably of Gilbert de Clare early in the twelfth century,
and around it, scattered over the whole face of the county, are an
unusually great number of small castles and strong houses, built and
inhabited by the Norman knights who followed Arnulph and Strongbow,
and whose descendants continued to hold them by military service under
the succeeding earls. Such was Upton, the castle of the Malefaunts, of
which remain the chapel and the gatehouse; Dale, placed on the root of
the peninsula of St. Ann’s Head, belonged to the De Vales; Narberth
was founded by the Perrotts; Lawhaden was the chief seat of the Bishop
of St. David’s and the “caput” of the Episcopal Barony (of it there
remain a fine gateway and some other buildings); Wiston, the castle of
Sir Philip Gwys, and afterwards of the Wogans, is mentioned as taken
by the Welsh in 1146; Picton is thought to have been founded in the
reign of Rufus. Besides these are Wallwyn’s Castle, of which only the
mound remains; Castle Byth; Little Newcastle; Castell Hendre or Henry’s
Moat; Roche Castle, a square keep perched upon a rugged rock, and
built by Adam de Rupe, founder of the De la Roche family; Cilgerran, on
the Teivi, a very considerable castle, of which much remains: it was
held by the chief lords; Nevern, the chief castle of the old barony
of Cemaes, afterwards replaced by Newport, of which the remains are
considerable. Mention is also made of Benton Castle; of Castle Coning,
near St. Dogmell’s; Castleton, built by the family of Castle; and Punch
or Poyntz Castle, a grange of the bishops of St. David’s, where there
is a large moated mound. Probably there are many other castellets
and fortified houses in the northern and more exposed half of
Pembrokeshire, the sites of which are confounded with the earlier Raths
and circular earthworks of a period preceding the Norman Conquest. The
term Rath, and the pattern of the fortification also, are probably
imported from Ireland, where a circular bank and ditch surrounded the
dwelling-place of almost every landed proprietor, differing from that
in use in England and Normandy by the absence of the mound. The Irish
enclosure was little if at all raised above the exterior ground, and
therefore, though perhaps more convenient, certainly less strong than
the moated mound. Of these Raths there are several in Pembrokeshire.
Here also is another rather peculiar feature. Many of the church
towers, as in Gower, are evidently constructed for defence, intended no
doubt as a ready refuge against a sudden and temporary incursion of the
Welsh, or a descent upon the coast by the Scandinavian pirates. Such a
post, like the Irish round towers, could be held safely for a few hours
until the alarm brought relief.
The castles of the Welsh border have not been critically examined,
and it is, therefore, difficult to give a list of them that shall at
all approach accuracy; it may, however, be stated roughly that there
were in Wales at the close of the reign of Henry II. 251 castles and
castellets, of which 21 had rectangular keeps, and 20 shell keeps. Of
castles of which little is accurately known, or which do not admit of
classification, there were about 220.
According to the preceding enumeration, there were at the close of the
reign of Henry II. in England and upon the Marches of Wales about 657
castles, of which 55 had rectangular and 96 shell keeps, while of 506
little is known, or else they do not come under one or the other of the
regular Norman types. Considering the difficulties which stand in the
way of accuracy in obtaining these figures, the above total does not
differ very widely from Moore, the only authority on the subject, who
gives a list of about 568 of the earlier castles, including therein
those of the reign of Henry III. and the three Edwards.
• • • • •
With the reign of Henry II. may be said to close the principal
castle-building period of English history. Cœur de Lion was scarcely
an English sovereign. He designed, it is said, and certainly built,
the great fortress of Château Gaillard upon the Seine; but he built
no castle in England, nor does any castle of consequence appear to
have been founded in his reign. John, his successor, was always moving
from one castle to another, exercising in a very unpopular degree
the royal prerogative of purveyance. He introduced the Writ known as
“Commissimus,” by which castellans were appointed to the royal castles,
and he showed his distrust even of his supporters, by continually
transferring these officers from one castle to another, lest they
should establish any local interest. The siege of Rochester Castle was
the great military engineering operation of the reign, in which the
outer wall was undermined near one angle, and the gallery carried on
beneath the keep, which stood but a few feet within the enclosure. The
result was to bring down the wall and the lower part of one angle of
the keep, and the place and extent of the mischief may still be traced,
owing to the angle having been rebuilt with very indifferent masonry.
Almost the last event of his reign was the siege of Dover by Louis of
France, who set up a “malvoisin” to overtop the walls, but failed to
take the place, though before it for four months. John died at Newark,
which, if not the finest castle of the Midlands, contains certainly the
grandest Norman gatehouse in England. From his accession in May, 1199,
to his death in June, 1207, John dated public instruments from 131
castles in different parts of England, and must have visited a great
many more.
Henry III. found his realm over-built with castles, and amongst the
vigorous exertions by which William Marshall and Hubert de Burgh
restored the royal authority should specially be recorded the sieges
of Biham and Bedford castles, two very strong places. The Close Rolls
show the extent of the preparations for these sieges. The sheriffs of
the whole Midland and westward to the Forest of Dean are directed to
provide and forward materials and munitions of war. Carpenters, smiths,
quarrymen to dress stone bullets, miners and engineers, are placed
under requisition, and from all sides are ordered timber, stone, lead,
cord, cable, chain, iron bars, balistæ, catapults, mangonels, crossbows
of wood and horn, targets, quarrels, arrows, slings, hides to cover
the malvoisins, and mining tools. Both castles were stiffly defended,
and both were taken. Of Biham no trace remains; of Bedford a fragment
of wall and a mound, reduced almost to a mole-hill, still shows that
Henry’s work was not done negligently. Towards the end of the reign
occurred a still more famous siege, that of Kenilworth. Here, as on
the former occasion, Henry commanded in person, and the celebrated
“Ban of Kenilworth” shows how complete was his victory. Henry also
conducted a campaign in South Wales in which the castles of Monmouth,
Usk, Chepstow, Caerleon, and Cardiff played important parts—castles
calculated to prove a sharp thorn in the side of an English prince, and
to render a uniform and just government impracticable. Henry is not
certainly known as the founder of any important English castle, but he
added to and restored very many. Skenfrith near Monmouth dates from a
little before his time; but Grosmont and White Castle, the two other
members of the great border trilateral, may be of that reign. Henry, no
doubt, was a great builder, and very princely in his operations; but
his works as regards castles were chiefly shown in building, repairing,
and adorning the walls and windows of the royal lodgings, halls, and
chapels in the royal castles, works which were in all cases carried on
outside the keep, within the middle or outer wards, and which in most
cases have long since been swept away. Henry found his castles built to
his hands, and had no opportunity of introducing any specific style or
type of military work. White Castle is a mere pen or enclosure, with
high walls and mural towers, though its earthworks, probably of earlier
date, are on a great scale.
Castles of the type known as Edwardian or concentric, though taking
their name from Edward I., were, as a chronological fact, introduced in
the reign of his father, and Caerphilly, one of the earliest, probably
the very earliest, of the concentric type, and curiously enough one of
the most complete, was constructed by the Lord of Glamorgan in the very
last year of Henry’s reign. Caerphilly is second only to Windsor in
extent, and second to no mediæval fortress whatever in the skill with
which it is laid out, and the natural features of the ground turned to
advantage. It was executed, and probably planned, with great rapidity.
Its cost must have been enormous, and must have taxed to the utmost
the resources of even so wealthy a noble as the Earl of Gloucester and
Hertford.
The type thus introduced was adopted by Edward I., and is exemplified
in the castles of Harlech and Beaumaris. Conway and Caernarvon,
though superior in magnificence to these and less symmetrical, are
chiefly remarkable because they form a part of the defences of the
towns attached to them, the whole being of one date and parts of one
plan. The reign of Edward much diminished the value of English castles.
Even the fortresses erected by him in North Wales, when their end was
attained and the province reduced to subjection, ceased to be of value
and gradually fell into decay, and in England when once his rule was
established and his power realised, the lords even of the strongest
castles did not venture to garrison them against him.