Dolforwyn Castle - Castell Dolforwyn

Mid Wales

15 Sept

Written By carrianne Lloyd-Ralph

Quick Info

Region: Gwynedd

Built: 1273 Llewelyn ap Gruffudd

In the Care of: CADW

Dogs Allowed: Yes

Admission: Free!

Postcode: Y15 6JJ

Opening Times: 10am - 4pm Daily.

Closing Times: 24th, 25th, 26th December, 1st January

History

Here is what Paul R. Davies has to say about Dolforwyn Castle in his book Castles of the Welsh Princes…

Dolforwyn (‘maiden’s meadow’) was constructed in 1273 by Llewelyn ap Gruffudd as much of a snub to royal authority as a border stronghold of his expanded dominions. The prince needed to consolidate his hold on southern Powys in order to demonstrate his authority over the untrustworthy Gruffudd ap Gwenwynwyn, and check the growing strength of the Marcher Lord Roger Mortimer. He even established a small town beside the castle to bring some measure of economic stability to the area. The newly crowned King Edward I had yet to return to England from the crusades, and in his absence officials attempted to ease fears among the neighbouring lords by forbidding Llewelyn to continue with his scheme. In a haughty reply, Llewelyn wrote that the rights of his principality were entirely separate from those of the king’s realm, and that the Welsh had the right to build castles in their own lands without obstruction from anyone.

But the new castle’s threat to the royal power base at nearby Montgomery could not be ignored from long. When the English moved against Llewelyn in the war of 1276, Dolforwyn was swiftly beseiged by Mortimer and the earl of lincoln, Henry de Lacy. After the garrison surrendered Mortimer placed the King’s Anglophile ally, Gruffudd ap Gwenwynwyn in charge of the site. The castle remained occupied for some years, but the breezy hilltop location was never conducive to urban growth and Mortimer encouraged the development of a new settlement (unsurprisingly called Newtown) on the banks of the Severn a few kilometres away. Dolforwyn was neglected and left to decay, and by the end of the fourteenth century it was said to be ruinous.

What Can You See?

The plan consists of a long rectangular enclosure with a large oblong keep at the front end, a round tower at the opposite end, and an epsidal tower jutting out of the flanking wall on one side. Rock-cut ditches ar either end of the ridge isolated the castle site from attack. There were two typically feeble Welsh gateways, and several buildings ranged against the inner walls (although must belong to the period of English occupation). The basement of an early hall block can be identified in the Northern corner, with a central mass of masonry that once supported a hearth warming the first floor chamber. The inner courtyard was divided in two by another ditch crossed by a stone arched bridge, and there is a deep well beside the apsidal tower.

According to a survey drawn up in 1322 the buildings within the castle included a chapel, hall, Lady’s Chamber, kitchen, granaries, brewery and bakehouse. Not all of these can be identified with the existing ruins, but the latter must be the building alongside the keep with a cluster of domed ovens in the corner. On the hilltop beyond the outer ditch can be seen low earthworks that mark the site of Llewelyn’s ill-fated town.

Dolforwyn displays a number of archaic features typical of native building styles, particularly the basic gateways and awkward corners susceptible to undermining. Indeed, in such a late castle, it is very simple affair and indicates how little things had progressed among the Welsh architects. Llewelyn would certainly have seen the effective new fortifications being built by his enemies (particularly Gilbert de Clare, who relied on water filled moats, round towers and multiple lines of defence to defend his new castle at Caerphilly, which Llewelyn had attacked only a few years previously). Here at Dolforwyn the main strength of the castle is its location on a steep, and relatively inaccessible hilltop. One interesting fact revealed by excavation is that the keep and round tower were not bonded into the curtain walls, indicating they were built first as freestanding structures. The English complain ts of 1273 forbid Llewelyn to ‘repair and construct’ the castle, which might suggest that there was already something standing here, perhaps an unfinished fortress started at an earlier date by the rulers of Powys. There is also a rounded knoll on the ridge beyond the round tower, which looks very much like a worn-down motte, although it could alternatively be a temporary earthwork constructed during the siege of 1276-77.

Accessibility

Access to the castle from the car park is via a steep incline for approx. 300 metres on a track path; the walk can take up to 20 minutes and visitors are advised to keep to the right-hand side of the path.