Nov 16, 2023
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In the green by Tony
When puppies don’t like bridges by Tony Via Flickr: Walking up to Ewloe Castle
Ewloe Castle by Tony Via Flickr: Ewloe Castle, was built around 1257, is a relic of a brief triumph that the Welsh prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd had over the English Crown and the Anglo-Norman Marcher Lords in the mid 13th century. Until then, this part of north-east Wales had been the starting point for repeated Norman invasions of Gwynedd for more than 150 years. But beginning in the early 1230s, the Princes of Gwynedd had started to gain the upper hand against the Anglo-Normans and Plantagenets who had taken territory in North Wales. Eventually by the late 1250s, the Welsh had reached Ewloe retaking lands up to the England–Wales border. A fortification had existed on or near the site since the Battle of Ewloe (Welsh: Brwydr Cwnsyllt) in 1157, when the Welsh successfully ambushed an English force under the command of Henry II (as they marched to Twthill at Rhuddlan). The English king only narrowly avoiding being killed himself having been rescued by Roger, Earl of Hertford.
Ewloe Castle by Tony Via Flickr: a native Welsh castle built by the Kingdom of Gwynedd near the town of Ewloe in Flintshire, Wales. The castle, which was one of the last fortifications to be built by the native Princes of Wales, was abandoned at the beginning of the invasion of Wales by Edward I in 1277. Its construction, using locally quarried sandstone, appears to have continued piecemeal over many years and may have not been completed. On taking the castle, the English Crown gave it little military value and allowed it to fall into ruin.
Ewloe Castle - 13th Century
Castles are usually built to be defendable, a dwelling, or both, yet Ewloe seems to be neither.
Built in the 13th century by Llewelyn ap Griffudd because of near-constant border disputes in the area, one would assume that this castle would be in a good defendable location given its intended purpose, yet Ewloe castle is surrounded on all sides by hills that are even higher than the castle's walls, which even an amateur like myself can tell is easy to attack.
Probably because of it's location, Ewloe Castle was abandoned shortly after Edward I's conquest of Wales in 1284.