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Dolforwyn Castle

above the town of Dolforwyn, Powys, Mid Wales
SO 153 950

Map link for Dolforwyn Castle

Photographs copyright © 2002 by Jeffrey L. Thomas

Learn about the important excavation work at the castle from one of its participants!

Above: remains of the eastern tower viewed from near the (proposed) gateway to the castle.
Below: Dolforwyn viewed from the modern approach to the castle.

A visit to Dolforwyn Castle, 1996

Dolforwyn Castle is somewhat unique in Welsh history as it is claimed that it is the only native Welsh castle built entirely by Llywelyn ap Gruffydd (the Last). Llywelyn built the castle in the early 1270s which was taken by King Edward I as a direct threat to the nearby English castle at Montgomery. After being ordered by the king to cease construction at Dolforwyn, Llywelyn issued his famous reply saying that, as Prince of Wales, he did not need the king's permission to build a castle within his own territory. Some historians feel that Llywelyn's castle at Dolforwyn was the last straw in a chain of events that brought the last native Prince of Wales into a state of war with King Edward. Unfortunately, Llywelyn's hold on Dolforwyn did not last long, and the castle was captured by the English in 1277, only a few years after it was completed. Custody was first given to Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn but subsequently to Roger Mortimer along with the lands of Ceri and Cedewain. Following its fall, the castle design was modified by its new English overlords.

Until recently, this important Welsh castle lay all but forgotten, buried beneath the ground. Indeed, photographs of the site from the early 1980s show a series of grassy mounds interrupted by a single piece of forlorn masonry protruding from the ground. Fortunately the entire site was excavated and examined between 1981 and 2002 as a joint project between the University of Leeds, University of York, and Cadw. Over the course of three decades, students and Cadw employees spent three or four weeks each summer examining specific parts of the castle. The work was under the directorship of Dr Lawrence Butler. As a result, the transformation of the castle has been nothing short of amazing. I should mention that one of the contributors to the Castles of Wales website, Mr. Daniel Mersey, was part of the Dolforwyn excavation team for several seasons, and has provided a first-hand account of some of the activities he participated in. My wife and I were able to revisit the castle in 2002 when the excavations were near their completion, and see the transformation for ourselves. For this essay, however, I will focus on our 1996 visit when the excavations were in their mid-stages.

The castle was not exactly easy to find, but with the help of my trusty OS map (yet again) we found parking near the base a hill and began our ascent. We ascended via a steep path through the woods. The trail up the hill finally broke out into the open countryside and led to a mound on which we saw the remains of the castle. It was obvious that, although the castle was still fragmentary, a lot of excavation had already taken place; a lot of Dolforwyn had already been uncovered and was seeing the light of day for the first time in centuries. We saw long stretches of fairly tall curtain wall along with the remains of what were once impressive towers, including the low ruins of a trademark Welsh D-tower. We went through the gatehouse and entered the inner ward. Here we were very careful to not disturb areas being excavated and those that had been marked off for excavation. We watched were we were stepping. In the Courtyard we viewed the fairly substantial remains of the Keep and the fragmentary remains of the Round Tower at the opposite end of the castle. The Welsh D-Tower was being excavated and stood at a height of about 10 feet. The remains of the northern curtain wall were substantial rising to a height of about 15-20 feet. Like Montgomery, we saw the same outstanding views of the surrounding hills. Outside the castle were the wide open spaces of the bailey, and I seem to remember that Llywelyn also founded a town somewhere close to the castle. Although when we visited the castle the ruins were still slight, being able to see this much of Dolforwyn was special, especially after centuries of being buried underground.

The construction of Dolforwyn was a pivotal moment in the history of Welsh relations with King Edward I. The castle was Llywelyn's bold declaration that he was unwilling to subjugate himself to his would-be Norman overlord. It was both a bold and calculated move. Although the conflict the castle sparked ultimately resulted in Llywelyn's defeat, he was willing to risk everything in order to maintain control over his kingdom. Other Welsh princes had attempted to survive (most, unsuccessfully) by bowing to the dictates of English kings, but Llywelyn was likely aware of this history, and chose instead to make a stand rather than capitulate. I have always admired him for that. The cycle repeated itself during the Second Welsh War of Independence (1282-83) which unfortunately resulted in Llywelyn's death. His passing, which initiated the near total subjugation of Wales, in my opinion, represents one of the darkest moments in all of Welsh history. I always list Dolforwyn as one of my favorite Welsh castles, not because of its ruins or dramatic siting, but rather because of what the castle stood for.

     


Cadw 1990; Butler 1990; Pounds 1991

Dolforwyn stands on a wooded hill overlooking the fertile Severn valley, a scene so peaceful today that it is hard to picture it as one of political animosity or military action. It was built between 1273-77 by Llywelyn the Last as a forward position in his territory, and overlooking the English lordship of Montgomery. This rectangular castle crowns a ridge along the Severn valley, and was obviously designed to act as a sentinel over Llywelyn's south-eastern frontier. Its initial construction led Edward I to write to Prince Llywelyn in 1273, forbidding him to build the castle. The prince replied, with a masterpiece of ironic politeness, that he did not require the king's permission to raise a stronghold in his own principality. Dolforwyn was, however, taken by Roger Mortimer after a fortnight's siege in 1277, and given to the Mortimers, a powerful marcher family. The castle was kept in repair for some years, but was ruinous by 1398. Llywelyn's fledgling town on the ridge to the west of the castle was suppressed under the English, who did not welcome competition with Montgomery. Instead, Roger Mortimer founded Newtown in 1279 on a more suitable site nearby.

The site occupies the crest of a steep-sided ridge running north-east to south-west above the Severn Valley. It enjoys wide views except to the east. The castle stands on a rock platform up to 6m above the bases of the ditches which define its north-east and south-west ends. The north-east ditch, 30m wide and 3m below the natural ground level, has a bank 1.5m high outside it, while that to the south-west is narrower. A drawbridge led from the town across the south-western ditch to a simple gate in the curtain wall. The modern track up passes some slight platforms which may mark the site of buildings in the Welsh town. A temporary entrance ramp has been constructed over the fragmentary northern castle wall to facilitate excavation and consolidation.

The plan of the castle, mostly recovered since 1980, consists of a rectangular curtain wall enclosing, at its western end, a large rectangular keep, and at its eastern end, a round tower. Both these features are integrated into its circuit, the keep by its south wall where the latrine shafts are situated. The main ward lay between the keep and a round tower at the opposite end of the castle, but the keep was set in a small courtyard on to which the main entrance opened. The building seems to have had the usual first floor entrance most keeps have for reasons of security, but with a ground floor door added later. A rock-cut ditch runs across the castle court from north to south.

The excavations showed that repair work had been carried out to the masonry of the keep and it had been divided internally. These may have been the repairs recorded after the castle was captured by the English, since some of the materials used can be traced to sources in English hands. Excavations also indicate that ranges of buildings lay along the southern and northern sides of the courtyard. Stone balls, which may have been fires from English siege engines in 1277, have been found scattered at the site.

The irregularity of plan of the native Welsh castles has often been commented upon, the terrain in which they were built being an obvious influence. Several of the 13th-century Welsh castles lack the systematic arrangement of carefully planned and distributed mural towers and gatehouses found in English castles of the same date. Dolforwyn falls into this native Welsh tradition, for there is no gatehouse, simply a gate protected by the keep, admittedly an arrangement also found in Norman castles of south Wales. There is also only one certain mural tower. A rectangular keep is also an unusual feature for a late 13th-century castle in Britain. The Welsh castle of Dinas Bran, situated high above Llangollen, and possibly built in the 1260s, is very similar in plan to Dolforwyn. It also has a rectangular keep, although the entrance which it overlooks takes the form of a twin-towered gatehouse.

Below: view of the western entrance to the keep.

Below: general view of the interior of Dolforwyn from the west.

Below: exterior view of the southwest curtain wall at Dolforwyn Castle.

Below: site of the unexcavated town at Dolforwyn to the west of the castle.

 

Additional photographs of Dolforwyn Castle

 

Interior view of the recently excavated D-tower at Dolforwyn.

 

Interior view of the northeastern range of bulidings at Dolforwyn.

 

View of the northern curtain wall at Dolforwyn.

 

 

 

 

Jeffrey & Parthene Thomas at Dolforwyn Castle, April 2002.

 

Even more photos of Dolforwyn Castle!
Learn more about the Edwardian Conquest of Wales


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Copyright © 2009 by Jeffrey L. Thomas