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.

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With the reign of Henry II. may be said to close the principal castle-building period of English history. Coeur 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.

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