Europe · United Kingdom · Denbighshire
Denbigh Castle
The story
History of Denbigh Castle
Denbigh Castle and town walls ( DEN-bee; Welsh: Castell Dinbych a waliau tref [ˌkastɛɬ ˈdɪnbɨχ]) were built to control the lordship of Denbigh after the Conquest of Wales by Edward I of England in 1282.
United Kingdom · Denbighshire
- Built
- 14th century
- Era
- Medieval
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Region
- Denbighshire
- UNESCO
- —
- Coordinates
- 53.181, -3.421
In depth
The fuller history
Denbigh Castle was constructed within what was originally the Welsh patrimony of Perfeddwlad. The patrimony controlled the pastoral farming lands on the Denbigh Moors and formed a royal residence, llys, for the Welsh princes. Perfeddwlad was strategically located along the Welsh border but its ownership was disputed and the territory was fought over by the Normans and Welsh many times during the 11th and 12th centuries.
When the First English Civil War broke out in August 1642, North Wales was solidly Royalist, and Denbigh Castle was held by a garrison of 500 under Colonel William Salesbury, who made repairs to the defences. By late 1645, the war had turned against the Royalists, and Charles I spent three days at the castle after his defeat at Rowton Heath in September. The following month, a Royalist army under the command of Sir William Vaughan gathered at Denbigh Green, close to the ruins of Denbigh Friary, intending to march to Chester to relieve the forces under siege there.
Key dates
- 600£600,000 was invested by Cadw in the castle and walls during the mid-2010s, financing the construction of a new visitors' centre.
- 1294The work had not been completed by 1294, when the Welsh temporarily seized the castle during the Madog ap Llywelyn revolt.
- 1460After the Lancastrian victory at the Battle of Ludford Bridge, Jasper was able to force the garrison to surrender and finally took possession of the castle in 1460.
- 1563Robert Dudley, later made the Earl of Leicester, was granted a lease of the castle in 1563, partially because the Crown was trying to reduce the costs of maintaining the dilapidated property.
- 1659The castle was seized by pro-Royalist soldiers in 1659, after which General George Monk ordered it to be slighted, with various parts of the walls and towers being demolished.
- 2015The castle is open to visitors, receiving 10,154 in 2015 and parts of the extant walls are also open to visitors.
Historical summary drawn from Wikipedia. Read the full article.
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