Deganwy Castle
| Deganwy Castle | ||
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 The two mounds of Deganwy Castle |
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| Alternative name (s): | Degannwy Castle; Gannock Castle | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Place: | Conwy , UK | |
| Geographical location | 53 ° 17 '54.5 " N , 3 ° 49' 28.4" W | |
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Deganwy Castle is a ruined castle in Conwy , Wales . The ruin, classified as a Grade II * cultural monument and protected as a Scheduled Monument , was contested for several centuries, but today only a few remains bear witness to the once important complex.
location
The ruin is on two steep hills called The Fardre above the village of Deganwy and south of Llandudno on the east bank of the River Conwy . Due to its location on the River Conwy, which for centuries formed the border between the heartland of Gwynedd and the east bordering Perfeddwlad , the castle was of great strategic importance.
history
Presumably, a fortification was built on the higher western peak during the time of Roman rule . What is certain, however, is that after the Roman troops withdrew from Britain, the western mountaintop was fortified by the British in the 5th century, and allegedly it served as the residence of Prince Maelgwn of Gwynedd . In 822 the fortification is said to have been conquered by the Anglo-Saxon King Ceolwulf I of Mercien , who briefly brought Powys under his control.
In 1080 the Norman conqueror Robert of Rhuddlan built a castle on the peaks. It was conquered by the Welsh in the 12th century and destroyed in 1210 by Prince Llywelyn from Iorwerth so that it could not fall into the hands of the English during the war with England . After King John could not hold his conquests in Wales, Llywelyn started building the castle again from Iorwerth in 1213. In 1228 he used the castle as a prison for his son Gruffydd , who had protested against his bypassing the succession. After Llywelyn's death, the castle was again destroyed by the Welsh in 1241 to prevent it from being used by King Henry III's English troops. could be conquered. During their campaign against Gwynedd in 1245 , the English advanced to Deganwy, where they began to rebuild the castle. In 1246 the English general Nicholas de Moels reached Deganwy with an army from Carmarthen and thus proved that the hill country of Wales was not impassable for English troops.
After Perfeddwlad had fallen to England as far as the River Conwy in the Treaty of Woodstock in 1247, King Henry III turned. large sums of money to rebuild the castle. Together with the nearby Dyserth Castle , Deganwy Castle was supposed to protect the western border of Perfeddwlad against attacks from Gwynedd. Around the castle he founded Gannoc , a borough populated by English settlers , which he awarded a royal charter to in 1252 . Despite all efforts, however, the settlement did not gain great importance, because as early as 1254 the Welsh began again with attacks on the English territories. In 1256, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd , the prince of Gwynedd, captured Perfeddwlad in a new war against England . The two heavily fortified castles of Deganwy and Dyserth remained as isolated English fortresses and could only be supplied with supplies irregularly over the next few years. During the Anglo-Welsh War from 1262 onwards , the fortress was once again detained by an English army under Prince Edward in April 1263 , but in the summer of 1263 the Welsh were finally able to interrupt the supply lines. After a long siege, the starved crew finally surrendered in September 1263. The conquered castle was completely destroyed by the victorious Welsh.
During his campaigns to conquer Wales , Edward I reached the ruins of Deganwy in late August 1277 and in autumn 1283, but instead of the difficult to conquer, but equally difficult to maintain castle, he built Conwy Castle and the fortified city of Conwy at the mouth of the river from 1283 River. In contrast to Deganwy Castle, the new castle could be supplied by sea in the event of a siege. It is said that stones from Deganwy Castle were reused to build the walls of Conwy Town and Castle.
investment
From the installations of the 5th and 6th centuries, remains were discovered on the western summit during excavations carried out between 1961 and 1966. The oldest surviving structures are the remains of the earth walls built from 1213 under Llywelyn from Iorwerth.
From 1245 Heinrich III. a bailey between the two peaks. The outer bailey was protected on the north side by a rampart and moat, and the construction of a wall and a gate tower had begun, but these were never completed. The south side, however, was fortified by a stone wall with a gatehouse flanked by two D-shaped towers. Only small remains of the walls of these fortifications have survived. Remains of a chapel and a horse mill were discovered from the borough, which was built north of the outer bailey from 1250 .
From the main castle on the larger western hill, wall remains of the circular wall built from 1245 are still partially preserved. There was also a round tower and a hall on the summit. The inner castle was connected to the outer bailey by connecting walls. No remains are visible of the U-shaped tower called Mansell's Tower on the eastern summit.
literature
- Adrian Pettifer: Welsh Castles: A Guide by Counties . Boydell & Brewer, Woodbridge 2000. ISBN 978-0-85115-778-8 , p. 33
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ British listed Buildings: Deganwy Castle, Conwy. Retrieved October 14, 2014 .
- ^ Castles of Wales: Reconstructive Drawing & Site Plan of Degannwy Castle by John Northall. Retrieved October 14, 2014 .