Ewloe Castle
Encyclopedia
Ewloe Castle is a native Welsh castle
near the town of Ewloe
in Flintshire
, Wales
. It was one of the last fortifications built by the Princes of Wales
before the invasion of Wales by Edward I
.
and commanding the lands of North East Wales
(Welsh
Perfeddwlad). It stands on a steeply-sloped promontory
within the forest of Ewloe overlooking the junction of two streams; but there is higher ground to the south.
The castle was built from local stone
. The work continued over many years and may have not been completed before the castle was captured by Edward I
in 1277.
castle. It has two courtyards with a D-shaped keep
inside the triangular upper ward with a curtain wall that forms a sloping stone revetment
around the motte. At the western end of the outer ward is the ruin of a circular tower
on a rocky knoll
.
There are no gateways connecting the castle courtyards. Access was by ramps up to the parapet
s. The two curtain walls are not joined together. The inner buildings were made of timber
. An outer rampart
defends the higher ground that lies to the south of the castle.
keeps. But its D-shaped tower is unusual. Usually they project out from a curtain wall but at Ewloe it stands isolated in the middle of the upper ward surrounded by a curtain wall. However, a similar keep was built by Llywelyn the Great
at Castell y Bere
.
Most of the keep is in ruins but the front still stands to full height. The tower contained a single apartment above a lower chamber. The outer walls rose higher than the top storey's pitched roof, to protect the roof from projectiles. Slots for storage are still visible in the roof spaces.
had over the Anglo-Norman
Marcher Lords. It followed his reconquest of this part of Wales after the Norman invasion of Gwynedd
in the late 11th century.
The area, which had been fought over by the Princes of Gwynedd
and the Earls of Chester
, was now at relative peace. Llywelyn the Last began construction in 1257 on the site adding to earlier work undertaken by Owain Gwynedd and Llywelyn the Great.
In July 1277, at the outbreak of the Welsh Wars, Edward I left Chester
and established an advanced base at Flint
, where building work immediately began on Flint Castle
. But Ewloe Castle is not mentioned in the 1277 invasion chronicles. It was likely that Welsh forces had retreated to a stronger defensive line further west.
As Edward I's castles at Flint and Rhuddlan
could be provisioned by sea, Ewloe was never used by the English Crown
.
The only contemporary reference to the Ewloe Castle is in the Chester
Plea Rolls which mentions a report sent to Edward II
in 1311. The Justice of Chester
wrote to the King regarding the history of the manor at Ewloe from the middle of the 12th century. The rolls records that by 1257 Llywelyn the Last had regained Ewloe from the English and built a castle in the wood; noting in 1311 that much of the castle was still standing.
By the late medieval period, the site was in ruins. Much of the castle's stone was taken away and used in later buildings around Flint
, Mold
and Connah's Quay
. It is open to the public. There is free access.
The site is under the care of CADW
- the Welsh heritage agency. In November 2009, the castle with 16 acres (64,749.8 m²) of pasture and 8.5 acres (34,398.3 m²) of woodland.were put up for auction. Flintshire County Council
said Ewloe and the site it occupies are protected from any development.
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...
near the town of Ewloe
Ewloe
Ewloe is a small town in North Wales, contiguous with Hawarden and Buckley and near to Queensferry and Shotton. Situated close to the Flintshire/Cheshire sector of the Wales-England border, Ewloe forms part of Deeside. The A55 expressway passes through the town and its most notable landmark is...
in Flintshire
Flintshire
Flintshire is a county in north-east Wales. It borders Denbighshire, Wrexham and the English county of Cheshire. It is named after the historic county of Flintshire, which had notably different borders...
, Wales
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...
. It was one of the last fortifications built by the Princes of Wales
Kingdom of Gwynedd
Gwynedd was one petty kingdom of several Welsh successor states which emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages, and later evolved into a principality during the High Middle Ages. It was based on the former Brythonic tribal lands of the Ordovices, Gangani, and the...
before the invasion of Wales by Edward I
Edward 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...
.
Construction
Ewloe's position near the English border was strategic, controlling the road to ChesterChester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
and commanding the lands of North East Wales
Perfeddwlad
Perfeddwlad, , , was a name adopted during the twelfth century for the territories in north-east Wales lying between the rivers Conwy and Dee, and comprised the cantrefi of Rhos, Rhufoniog, Dyffryn Clwyd and Tegeingl...
(Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
Perfeddwlad). It stands on a steeply-sloped promontory
Promontory
Promontory may refer to:*Promontory, a prominent mass of land which overlooks lower lying land or a body of water*Promontory, Utah, the location where the United States first Transcontinental Railroad was completed...
within the forest of Ewloe overlooking the junction of two streams; but there is higher ground to the south.
The castle was built from local stone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
. The work continued over many years and may have not been completed before the castle was captured by Edward I
Edward 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...
in 1277.
Design
Ewloe Castle has the appearance of a motte-and-baileyMotte-and-bailey
A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle, with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade...
castle. It has two courtyards with a D-shaped keep
Keep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...
inside the triangular upper ward with a curtain wall that forms a sloping stone revetment
Revetment
Revetments, or revêtements , have a variety of meanings in architecture, engineering and art history. In stream restoration, river engineering or coastal management, they are sloping structures placed on banks or cliffs in such a way as to absorb the energy of incoming water...
around the motte. At the western end of the outer ward is the ruin of a circular tower
Tower
A tower is a tall structure, usually taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires....
on a rocky knoll
Hillock
A hillock or knoll is a small hill, usually separated from a larger group of hills such as a range. Hillocks are similar in their distribution and size to small mesas or buttes. The term is largely a British one...
.
There are no gateways connecting the castle courtyards. Access was by ramps up to the parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
s. The two curtain walls are not joined together. The inner buildings were made of timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
. An outer rampart
Earthworks (engineering)
Earthworks are engineering works created through the moving or processing of quantities of soil or unformed rock.- Civil engineering use :Typical earthworks include roads, railway beds, causeways, dams, levees, canals, and berms...
defends the higher ground that lies to the south of the castle.
Welsh Keep
The first floor entrance is typical of NormanNorman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
keeps. But its D-shaped tower is unusual. Usually they project out from a curtain wall but at Ewloe it stands isolated in the middle of the upper ward surrounded by a curtain wall. However, a similar keep was built by Llywelyn the Great
Llywelyn the Great
Llywelyn the Great , full name Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, was a Prince of Gwynedd in north Wales and eventually de facto ruler over most of Wales...
at Castell y Bere
Castell y Bere
Castell 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...
.
Most of the keep is in ruins but the front still stands to full height. The tower contained a single apartment above a lower chamber. The outer walls rose higher than the top storey's pitched roof, to protect the roof from projectiles. Slots for storage are still visible in the roof spaces.
History
Ewloe Castle is a relic of the brief triumph that the Welsh prince Llywelyn the LastLlywelyn the Last
Llywelyn ap Gruffydd or Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf , sometimes rendered as Llywelyn II, was the last prince of an independent Wales before its conquest by Edward I of England....
had over the Anglo-Norman
Anglo-Norman
The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the Norman conquest by William the Conqueror in 1066. A small number of Normans were already settled in England prior to the conquest...
Marcher Lords. It followed his reconquest of this part of Wales after the Norman invasion of Gwynedd
Norman invasion of Wales
The Norman invasion of Wales began shortly after the Norman conquest of England under William the Conqueror, who believed England to be his birthright...
in the late 11th century.
The area, which had been fought over by the Princes of Gwynedd
Kingdom of Gwynedd
Gwynedd was one petty kingdom of several Welsh successor states which emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages, and later evolved into a principality during the High Middle Ages. It was based on the former Brythonic tribal lands of the Ordovices, Gangani, and the...
and the Earls of Chester
Earl of Chester
The Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs-apparent to the English throne, and from the late 14th century it has been given only in conjunction with that of Prince of Wales.- Honour of Chester :The...
, was now at relative peace. Llywelyn the Last began construction in 1257 on the site adding to earlier work undertaken by Owain Gwynedd and Llywelyn the Great.
In July 1277, at the outbreak of the Welsh Wars, Edward I left Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
and established an advanced base at Flint
Flint, Flintshire
Flint is a town in Flintshire, North Wales, lying on the estuary of the River Dee. It was the county town of the historic county of Flintshire and today is the third largest town in Flintshire. According to the 2001 Census the population of the community of Flint was 12,804...
, where building work immediately began on Flint Castle
Flint Castle
Flint Castle located in Flint, Flintshire, was the first of a series of castles built during King Edward I's campaign to conquer Wales.The site was chosen for its strategic position in North East Wales...
. But Ewloe Castle is not mentioned in the 1277 invasion chronicles. It was likely that Welsh forces had retreated to a stronger defensive line further west.
As Edward I's castles at Flint and Rhuddlan
Rhuddlan Castle
Rhuddlan Castle is a castle located in Rhuddlan, Denbighshire, Wales. It was erected by Edward I in 1277 following the First Welsh War.-Construction:Rhuddlan was planned as a concentric castle...
could be provisioned by sea, Ewloe was never used by the English Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
.
The only contemporary reference to the Ewloe Castle is in the Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
Plea Rolls which mentions a report sent to Edward II
Edward II of England
Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...
in 1311. The Justice of Chester
Justice of Chester
The Justice of Chester was the chief judicial authority for the County Palatine of Chester, from the establishment of the county until the abolition of the Great Sessions in Wales and the palatine judicature in 1830....
wrote to the King regarding the history of the manor at Ewloe from the middle of the 12th century. The rolls records that by 1257 Llywelyn the Last had regained Ewloe from the English and built a castle in the wood; noting in 1311 that much of the castle was still standing.
By the late medieval period, the site was in ruins. Much of the castle's stone was taken away and used in later buildings around Flint
Flint, Flintshire
Flint is a town in Flintshire, North Wales, lying on the estuary of the River Dee. It was the county town of the historic county of Flintshire and today is the third largest town in Flintshire. According to the 2001 Census the population of the community of Flint was 12,804...
, Mold
Mold, Flintshire
Mold is a town in Flintshire, North Wales, on the River Alyn. It is the administrative seat of Flintshire County Council, and was also the county town of Clwyd from 1974 to 1996...
and Connah's Quay
Connah's Quay
Connah's Quay is the largest town in Flintshire, North Wales, lying on the River Dee, near the border with England. It can be accessed by road from the A550, by rail from the nearby Shotton station and also lies on the National Cycle Network Route 5. It is situated near the region's industrial...
Present day
Ewloe Castle now stands within Wepre ParkWepre Park
Wepre Park is a medium sized country park with playing fields, in Britain. It is situated near Connah's Quay in north Wales.It also features Ewloe Castle, a 30 Minute forest walk, and a small river with waterfall.-External links:* *...
. It is open to the public. There is free access.
The site is under the care of 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...
- the Welsh heritage agency. In November 2009, the castle with 16 acres (64,749.8 m²) of pasture and 8.5 acres (34,398.3 m²) of woodland.were put up for auction. Flintshire County Council
Flintshire County Council
Flintshire County Council is the governing body of the principal area of Flintshire , one of the administrative subdivisions of Wales.-Political makeup:...
said Ewloe and the site it occupies are protected from any development.