Rhuddlan Castle

We were based in Rhuddlan so could walk out in the evenings from our hotel to the small nature reserve across the road.  There was a lovely view from there across the fields to the castle which you can also see as you drive into the small town.

We walked into the town a few times over the footbridge across the River Clwyd.  

The parish church of St Mary taken from the footbridge.  We didn't walk up there but it looks an interesting church.

View of the castle from the footbridge,  We walked up to the castle from the town centre.

 

The impressive West gatehouse which was a show of strength and power.  The castle was one of the first commissioned by Edward I following the first Welsh war.  The building work was overseen by master mason James of St George.  Completed in 1282 it cost around £9,000 which must have been millions in those days.

The castle withstood many attacks from the outside world including during the Welsh rising in 1294 and from Owain Glyndwr in 1400.  It was finally breached by Parliamentarian troops in 1646 at the height of the civil war.  It was partially demolished in 1648 to prevent further use.

The castle has a unique diamond shaped layout and is protected on three sides by the moat and by the river on the fourth side.

The stairs lead up to the top of the East gatehouse.  Paul went up to the top, I stayed firmly at ground level.  

Footbridge across the castle moat.

The information board (a bit faded by sun the sun) shows how the moat was accessed from the river.  The River Clywd was diverted and canalised for a distance of two miles so that it would flow by the castle and the town. 

It meant that goods and supplies could be brought up the river from the sea.  Gillot's Tower (above) was a lookout tower and protected ships dropping off goods at the dock.

Before we went into the stone castle we walked a short distance to find an earlier motte and baily castle. 

 

In 1063 Rhuddlan was the royal seat of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn who was forced to flee there by King Harold I the last Saxon king before he was killed, three years later, at the Battle of Hastings.  It was at the orders of the new King William I (the Conquerer) that the motte and bailey castle was built c.1073 by Robert of Rhuddlan, a former squire at the court of Edward the Confessor.  The new castle was built on or near the site of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn's palace.

The mound can be accessed by following a footpath which runs at the back of the present castle.

 

What a lot of history in one place. I'll be back with bluebells in our local woods.

More about Bolingbroke Castle

 It was a warm, sunny afternoon when we visited.  The site was deserted so we had the place to ourselves.  The castle seemed hard to find.  We passed through Old Bolingbroke twice but then discovered we had missed a sign in the centre of the village and eventually, down a very narrow lane, we found the entrance by the lovely old cottage below.

The site is maintained by English Heritage.

The plan below shows the layout of the castle.  Most of the information boards were faded and hard to photograph.

The plan is based on discoveries made during excavations carried out between 1965 and 1973.  The great hall and kitchens have since been re-buried to protect them.

Above the view across the castle mound from the entrance we used. 

 The castle was built c. 1220 for Ranulf de Blundeville , Earl of Chester and Lincoln after his return from the Crusades.  It was one of three castles built for him the others being Beeston Castle in Cheshire and Chartley in Staffordshire.

Remains of the Auditor's Tower.

As I mentioned in my last post the castle was eventually inherited through his first marriage  by John of Gaunt the third son of Edward III.  He married Blanche, the daughter of Henry of Grosmont, the first Duke of Lancaster.  Blanche and her sister Maud were born at Bolingbroke Castle. 

Site of the Kitchen Tower

Henry of Bolingbroke later King Henry IV, the son of John of Gaunt and his wife Blanche was born at the castle in 1367.

During the 15th and 16th centuries the castle was used as an administrative centre for the estates of the Duchy of Lancaster.  Hence there being an Auditor's Tower and a Receiver's Tower.

The gatehouse towers by the main entrance to the castle.  These towers contained rooms for the guards and storerooms below.  These storerooms were later used as holding cells for prisoners awaiting trial at Bolingbroke Court house.

Again, as I also mentioned in my previous post, in the 17th century, during the Civil War, the castle was besieged and later destroyed by Parliamentarian troops. Below part of the castle moat.
 

When first built the castle was an enclosure castle, a typical 13th century castle, which had a courtyard within the curtain walls where there would have been timber framed structures including a Great Hall and service buildings as seen in the illustration below.

 

Below is a view from the Auditor's tower of the Rout Yard apparently there are several earthworks in the field and also the fishpond.
 

All for now. I hope you have enjoyed this little tour.  

 

Scenes from earlier this week

We managed to grab a couple of days away for Paul's birthday.  I coped with the journey and the walking which was good as I wanted to test what I could and couldn't do.

 

 

Sutton on Sea - yes I did take off my shoes and paddle, avoiding the many jellyfish stranded on the damp sand.  It rained, we got wet, we laughed and shared a late lunch of a bag of chips in the car.

Gunby Hall Gardens (NT)

 

The summer bedding was wonderful.  We had tea and cake as an afternoon treat.

Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, East Kirby

The Avro Lancaster NX611 'Just Jane' taxied around the airfield for about 30 minutes.

Bolingbroke Castle at Old Bolingbroke,  The remains of the castle include part of the moat.  It was a hexagonal castle, built in the 13th century. 

 

The castle was inherited through marriage by John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster.  He and his first wife Blanche lived at the castle in the 1360s and their son Henry, later King Henry IV, was born there in 1367. The castle was besieged and destroyed in 1643 by Parliamentarian troops during the Civil War.  Parts of the church below were also destroyed at this time.

 

St Peter and St Paul, Old Bolingbroke 

 

I would have liked to have visited a friend who lives further south in Lincolnshire but there just wasn't time on this very short trip.  Next time, if you are reading this.

 

It was good to be somewhere else for a while before I find out what the next stage of my treatment may be. 

 

All for now.

Five Castles

To help keep my mind active during these strange times I've gone back to the Open University.  I studied for a degree with them from 1980 to 1986, something I could do whilst still working and most of my courses were in History and History of Art.  I later went back and did a creative writing course with them.  At the moment they have lots of free courses with OpenLearn and I've enroled for 'Welsh History and its Sources.'  At the moment I'm immersed in the 13th century and the Edwardian conquest of Wales. Details of Edward I building his castles around the coast and the well documented stories of the Welsh leaders like Llywelyn ap Grufford.

I'm lucky to have visited many of these beautiful castles so here are photos of five of them.

 Beaumaris

 Caernarvon

 Conwy

 Criccieth

Harlech

Have a good weekend everyone, stay safe and well.

At Beaumaris Castle

Returning to Wales and our short break a couple of weeks ago.  We visited the little town of Beaumaris on our first full day on Anglesey.

It was raining and quite windy as we parked on a muddy field not far from the castle.  It was about 9.30a.m. and the castle was due to open then but we had a little walk along the front first.

I spotted some Eider ducks in the water.

Our first view of the castle from the car park.

 A view of the castle from the little public park at the side of it.

 Beaumaris Castle is known as 'the greatest castle never built'.  It was the last of the 'iron ring' of castles built in Wales by King Edward I and is considered his unfinished masterpiece, built with the help of his architect  James of St George.  

 The castle is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Lack of money caused work to cease on the building and its unique squat shape tells its own tale of a dream castle of perfect symmetry which never quite materialised.

We had a little wander around the lovely buildings opposite and into a little square before making our way to the castle gates.

At this time it was still wet underfoot and damp in the air but the heavy rain had stopped.

 We entered the castle and apart from a couple of other people we had it mostly to ourselves for a good half hour.

 The lady above was sweeping up conkers, which had fallen from the horse chestnut tree, so that people didn't slip or turn an ankle on one.  She also told us that she knows of several people who collect the conkers to place around the house at 'spider time' apparently the spiders don't like the smell.

 We watched a little film about the history of the castle and by the time we came out and went up onto the walls grey skies had disappeared and the sun was shining brightly.

 The town looked lovely in the sunshine.

Along the inside of one of the wall passages was the chapel.  Above it was a room which overlooked it.  This is where the King could watch the services in private.

In several corners there were sculptures to be discovered.  I must admit I had a play with this one and enjoyed making it sound through the empty 'rooms' of the castle.

It was getting warmer.  Raincoats came off and sun hats put on.

The views from the castle walls were spectacular.

More photos above of the castle interior.

 From the castle we wandered back into the town.

Across the road from the castle we found Castle Gardens.

A delightful little haven of peace and quiet away from the main street which had become rather busy whilst we were in the castle.

Containing lovely plants and flowers, metal and wood garden sculptures and a gorgeous resident cat.

We rather liked this woodpecker.

and the puffins too.

Below some more photos of the town

I'd like to return one day as there was plenty more to discover but it was time to move on further up the coast.