Montgomery Castle ( cy, Castell Trefaldwyn) is a stone-built castle looking over the town of Montgomery in

Powys Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. Geog ...

, Mid Wales. It is one of many Norman castles on the border between Wales and England. Its strategic importance in the Welsh Marches meant it was destroyed and rebuilt a number of times until the early 14th century, when the area was largely pacified. During the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. They include the Bishops' Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Second English Civil War, the Anglo ...

, it was the site of the largest battle in Wales on 17 September 1644; the walls were

slighted Slighting is the deliberate damage of high-status buildings to reduce their value as military, administrative or social structures. This destruction of property sometimes extended to the contents of buildings and the surrounding landscape. It is ...

after the

Second English Civil War The Second English Civil War took place between February to August 1648 in Kingdom of England, England and Wales. It forms part of the series of conflicts known collectively as the 1639-1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which include the 1641� ...

in 1649 to prevent the castle being used again.

Motte and bailey castle

The original motte and bailey is now known as

Hen Domen Hen Domen Welsh, meaning "old mound", is the site of a medieval timber motte-and-bailey castle in Powys, Wales. It is the site of the original Montgomery Castle, and was built by Roger de Montgomery in 1070. From 1105 the castle was the home of t ...

and was built at the order of

Roger de Montgomery Roger de Montgomery (died 1094), also known as Roger the Great, was the first Earl of Shrewsbury, and Earl of Arundel, in Sussex. His father was Roger de Montgomery, seigneur of Montgomery, a member of the House of Montgomerie, and was probably ...

Earl of Shrewsbury Earl of Shrewsbury () is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the Peerage of England. The second earldom dates to 1442. The holder of the Earldom of Shrewsbury also holds the title of Earl of Waterford (1446) in the Peerage of Ireland ...

, sometime between 1071 and 1074. After the rebellion of his son Robert of Belleme in 1102, the castle was given to Baldwin de Boulers, the derivation of its Welsh name, "Trefaldwyn" or "Baldwin's town". The de Boulers (later known as Bowdler) family held the castle until 1214, when it was destroyed by Prince

Llywelyn ab Iorwerth Llywelyn the Great ( cy, Llywelyn Fawr, ; full name Llywelyn mab Iorwerth; c. 117311 April 1240) was a King of Gwynedd in north Wales and eventually " Prince of the Welsh" (in 1228) and "Prince of Wales" (in 1240). By a combination of war and d ...

of the Royal House of Aberffraw.

Stone castle

The rebuilding of Montgomery Castle in stone was commenced in the late summer of 1223 on the 16th birthday of

Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry a ...

, a mile to the south-east of the original site. Its architect was

Hubert de Burgh Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent (; ; ; c.1170 – before 5 May 1243) was an English nobleman who served as Chief Justiciar of England and Ireland during the reigns of King John and of his son and successor King Henry III and, as a consequenc ...

, who also rebuilt

Skenfrith Castle Skenfrith Castle ( cy, Castell Ynysgynwraidd) is a ruined castle in the village of Skenfrith in Monmouthshire, Wales. The fortification was established by the Normans in the wake of the invasion of England in 1066, to protect the route from Wa ...

Grosmont Castle Grosmont Castle is a ruined castle in the village of Grosmont, Monmouthshire, Wales. The fortification was established by the Normans in the wake of the invasion of England in 1066, to protect the route from Wales to Hereford. Possibly com ...

and White Castle in the Welsh Marches. From 1223 until 1228 masons worked solidly building the entire inner ward, or donjon as it was then known, on a great rock above the later town of Montgomery. This work consisted of the

gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the mo ...

, two D-shaped towers and the apartments which crowded around the curtain wall of the inner ward. After an unsuccessful attack by Prince

in 1228, the middle and outer wards were added; another attack in 1233 resulted in damage to the well tower, which had to be subsequently repaired and re-roofed. Montgomery was granted a

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but s ...

in 1227, making it the oldest

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

in Wales, and in 1267 hosted negotiations for the

Treaty of Montgomery The Treaty of Montgomery was an Anglo-Welsh treaty signed on 29 September 1267 in Montgomeryshire by which Llywelyn ap Gruffudd was acknowledged as Prince of Wales by King Henry III of England (r. 1216–1272). It was the only time an English ...

, where Henry III granted

Llywelyn ap Gruffudd Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (c. 1223 – 11 December 1282), sometimes written as Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, also known as Llywelyn the Last ( cy, Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf, lit=Llywelyn, Our Last Leader), was the native Prince of Wales ( la, Princeps Wall ...

the title of

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

. In December 1282, the castle garrison formed part of the army that defeated and killed Llywelyn at the

Battle of Orewin Bridge The Battle of Orewin Bridge (also known as the Battle of Irfon Bridge) was fought between English (led by the Marcher Lords) and Welsh armies on 11 December 1282 near Builth Wells in mid-Wales. It was a decisive defeat for the Welsh because ...

Owain Glyndŵr

The

walled town The following cities have, or historically had, defensive walls. Africa Algeria * Algiers * Ghardaïa * Timimoun Egypt * Al-Fustat * Cairo * Damietta See List of Egypt castles, forts, fortifications and city walls. Ethiopia * Harar Libya *A ...

of Montgomery was attacked by the forces of Owain Glyndŵr in 1402 and sacked and burned. The local forces successfully defended the castle and the town remain a ruin until the early 17th century.

Wars of the Three Kingdoms

When the

began in August 1642, Mid Wales was largely

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...

and the castle held for Charles I by the elderly Lord Herbert of Cherbury. In September 1644, he surrendered to Parliamentarian troops commanded by Sir Thomas Myddelton and Thomas Mytton. On 18 September, a Royalist attempt to retake the castle was repulsed in what was the biggest battle of the war in Wales and a major victory for

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

. However, the new Parliamentarian governor Sir John Pryce, a Royalist defector, switched sides again in May 1645. Much of Wales rose again in the 1648

and the castle walls were demolished by Parliament in June 1649, despite opposition from the 2nd Lord Herbert, who succeeded his father in 1648. This policy was followed throughout England and Wales to prevent them being used again, reducing the number and cost of garrisons required. He was the last to use the castle as a residence and was buried at Montgomery in 1655.

Finds and exhibition

There are permanent exhibitions relating to the medieval

and Norman Montgomery Castles and their archaeological excavations with scale models of both in The Old Bell Museum, Montgomery, Powys.

In popular culture

Hungarian poet Janos Arany's

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

The Bards of Wales ''The Bards of Wales'' ( hu, A walesi bárdok) is a ballad by the Hungarians, Hungarian poet János Arany, written in 1857. Alongside the Toldi trilogy, it is one of his best known works, published anonymously to evade censorship. Background Ara ...

'', written in 1857, retells the legend of the 500 Welsh bards allegedly

burned at the stake Death by burning (also known as immolation) is an execution and murder method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment f ...

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...

for refusing to sing his praises during a banquet at Montgomery Castle, following the

Edwardian conquest of Wales The conquest of Wales by Edward I took place between 1277 and 1283. It is sometimes referred to as the Edwardian Conquest of Wales,Examples of historians using the term include Professor J. E. Lloyd, regarded as the founder of the modern academi ...

.The Bards of Wales, translated by Watson Kirkconnell
/ref>

References

Sources

* * *

External links

* from Cadw
3D interactive model by www.dragonuav.co.uk
via Sketchfab {{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in 1228 Castles in Powys Castle ruins in Wales Grade I listed castles in Wales Grade I listed buildings in Powys Montgomery, Powys Clan Montgomery