Castell Dinas Brân

Dinas Brân may have been a fortification in the Kingdom of Powys. When its last Prince, Gruffydd Maelor, died in 1191, his kingdom was divided into Powys Fadog in the north and Powys Wenwynwyn in the south. His son, Madog ap Gruffydd Maelor, the lord of Powys Fadog, who founded Valle Crucis Abbey at Llantysilio in 1201 might have ruled from Dinas Brân. Whatever structure existed at this site, it would have been a wooden fortification probably consisting of a wooden palisade surrounding a hall and other buildings. Early records attest to this early castle being destroyed by fire.

When the war restarted in 1282, the history of the castle is not recorded. It may have been recaptured by the Welsh like many other castles in the early months of the war, but ultimately it fell to the English. After Madoc died: the three surviving brothers all fought for Llywelyn. Following the end of the war in October 1282 and the death of Llywelyn, most of Powys Fadog including the castle was granted to John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey. Rather than rebuild Dinas Brân, De Warenne choose instead to build a new castle by the River Dee at Holt on the Flintshire-Cheshire border.

Castell Dinas Brân has also been a source of inspiration for artists in more recent centuries, such as J. M. W. Turner and Richard Wilson, both of whom strove to capture the castle and its surroundings through their paintings. The first archaeological investigation at the castle was carried out in 2017. The Castle Studies Trust funded Denbighshire County Council to carry out geophysical surveys at the site, encompassing the medieval and Iron Age features.