Llandovery Castle
| Llandovery Castle | ||
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 The moth from Llandovery Castle |
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| Creation time : | 12th Century | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Geographical location | 51 ° 59 '32.6 " N , 3 ° 47' 42.7" W | |
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Llandovery Castle ( Welsh Castell Llanmyddyfri ) is a ruined castle in the Welsh town of Llandovery in Carmarthenshire . The ruin, classified as a Grade II * cultural monument and protected as a Scheduled Monument, was of great strategic importance in the 12th and 13th centuries due to its location in the upper valley of the Tywi and was often contested.
history
The castle was probably built as an Anglo-Norman moth at the beginning of the 12th century by Richard FitzPons, the founder of the Clifford family. Richard FitzPons came to Wales as a follower of Bernard de Neufmarché and after the conquest of Brecon was allowed to found his own small rule in Cantref Bychan. The castle was attacked by Gruffydd ap Rhys as early as 1116 , but the attackers could only burn down the outer castle while the Welsh constable of the castle was able to hold the moth. In 1158 the castle was conquered by Rhys ap Gruffydd , the prince of Deheubarth . After a campaign by King Henry II against Wales , he had to hand the castle back to Richard FitzPon's son Walter de Clifford, but in 1162 he was able to recapture the castle. The castle remained in the possession of the Welsh for over 100 years, but it was fiercely contested between Owain ap Gruffydd , Rhys Gryg and Maelgwn ap Rhys during the Wars of Succession after the death of Lord Rhys and changed over within four years at the beginning of the 13th century alone five times the owner. In the Aberdyfi Agreement in 1216 the castle was finally awarded to Rhys Gryg, who had to leave it to his son Rhys Mechyll in 1227 .
During the campaign of Edward I against Wales in 1277 , the castle was conquered by John Giffard in 1277 , who expanded it as a stone castle. Since Giffard had the much larger Carreg Cennen Castle expanded at the same time , the expansion of the small Llandovery Castle was of secondary importance to him. In 1282 the castle was briefly captured by the Welsh during the Second War between Edward I and Llywelyn ap Gruffydd and in 1287 during the revolt by Rhys ap Maredudd , who massacred the English constable and most of the crew. However, the castle was quickly recaptured by the English. In 1299 it fell to the Audley family and in the 14th century with the barony of Cemais to the Touchet family. In the 14th century the castle lost its military importance, but during the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr it was garrison again in 1401 and besieged by Owain Glyndŵr in 1403 in vain . The castle fell into disrepair in the 15th century until it was finally burned down during a revolt in 1532. In the following centuries the ruins were used as a quarry.
Today the ruin is located directly at the central parking lot on the southern edge of the city of Llandovery and is freely accessible.
investment
The ruins of the castle are located on a strategically favorable summit on the northern bank of the Brân river, just before its confluence with the Tywi . The castle hill, built over a rock in the 12th century, slopes steeply to the east and west; on the western edge of its summit is the ruin of the D-shaped keep, which was built after 1277. The castle hill was surrounded by a stone curtain wall, of which only remains are left. From the outer bailey to the northeast of the castle hill, only the ruins of a double-towered gate and the foundations of the farm buildings remain. The outer bailey was probably never fortified with a stone wall, but only with a rampart, moat and palisade. Since 2001 there has been a steel monument to Llywelyn ap Gruffudd Fychan on the grounds of the outer bailey. The Welsh nobleman Llywelyn had deliberately misled Henry IV's troops during the Owain Glyndŵr uprising, thereby allowing the Welsh troops to escape. Henry IV therefore had Llywelyn executed in front of the castle in 1401 as a traitor by hanging, eviscerating and quartering .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ British Listed Buildings: Llandovery Castle, Llandovery. Retrieved September 15, 2013 .
- ↑ Ancient Monuments: Llandovery Castle. Retrieved September 15, 2013 .
- ^ Castles of Wales: Dryslwyn Castle. Retrieved September 15, 2013 .
- ↑ Thomas Lloyd u. a .: Buildings of Wales - Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion. Yale University Press, New Haven 2006. ISBN 978-0-300-10179-9 , p. 256
- ^ Community Website for Llandovery: History. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 10, 2016 ; Retrieved September 15, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Adrian Pettifer: Welsh Castles: A Guide by Counties. Boydell & Brewer, Woodbridge 2000. ISBN 978-0-85115-778-8 , p. 54
