Ewloe Castle, Ewloe (North Wales)

A typically Welsh castle with a characteristic D-shaped tower.

Summary 13th century buildings (or older)

Introduction

A typically Welsh castle with a characteristic D-shaped tower, probably built by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd ('the Last') after 1257.  

History to the present day

Prince Llywelyn the Last had a brief triumph over the Anglo-Norman Marcher Lords, following his reconquest of part of Wales in the 13th century. He began construction on Ewloe in 1257 on the site adding to earlier work undertaken by Owain Gwynedd and Llywelyn the Great.

July 1277 saw the outbreak of the Welsh Wars and Edward I left Chester and established an advanced base at Flint, beginning building work immediately on Flint Castle but seemingly ignoring Ewloe Castle as it is not mentioned in the 1277 invasion chronicles. Edward I's castles at Flint and Rhuddlan could be provisioned by sea so Ewloe was never used by the English Crown.

The only contemporary reference to the Ewloe Castle is in the Chester Plea Rolls which mentions a report sent to Edward II in 1311. The site lay in ruins by the late medieval period and much of the castle's stone was taken away and used in later buildings around Flint, Mold and Connah's Quay.
 

Arrival information and how to find us

Address: Ewloe Castle, North Wales, , United Kingdom

Opening times:

 

Open site all year round.

 

Open sites are unstaffed and open to the public with no admission charge at all reasonable times, usually between 10.00 and 16.00 daily.

 

 

Photographs courtesy of CADW photographic library.