Bryn Amlwg Castle (, ) was an

enclosure castle An enclosure castle is a fortified residence or stronghold, in which defence is facilitated by walls and towers. Such fortifications were usually composed of wood or stone, but there are later examples built of brick. Features In enclosure castl ...

near

Anchor, Shropshire Anchor is a remote hamlet in southwest Shropshire, England. The hamlet is the most westerly place in Shropshire. Geography Anchor lies only 400 yards away from the border with Wales. The B4368 road runs through the hamlet on its way between the ...

, abutting the

England–Wales border The England–Wales border, sometimes referred to as the Wales–England border or the Anglo-Welsh border, runs for from the Dee estuary, in the north, to the Severn estuary in the south, separating England and Wales. It has followed broadly ...

. It is a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

, listed in 1930. This was an enclosure castle of the 12th and 13th centuries, and had towers and a

gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the most ...

. Only earthworks now remain. In 1963 the site was excavated by archaeologists, determining that much of the original ringwork wall structure was composed of wood, and was later replaced largely with stone. The castle's adjacency to the England–Wales border and the former stone fortification shows its historical strategic significance as a border fortification. Its builder is unknown, but its resemblance to

Dolforwyn Castle Dolforwyn Castle () is a Welsh medieval castle above the village of Abermule, Powys. The fortification was established by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Gwynedd in the late 13th century. It is sited on a wooded ridge commanding excellent ...

may suggest that

Llywelyn ap Gruffudd Llywelyn ap Gruffudd ( – 11 December 1282), also known as Llywelyn II and Llywelyn the Last (), was List of rulers of Gwynedd, Prince of Gwynedd, and later was recognised as the Prince of Wales (; ) from 1258 until his death at Cilmeri in 128 ...

erected the castle, perhaps in the late 1260s. Archaeological evidence of burning suggests the castle fell or was

slighted Slighting is the deliberate damage of high-status buildings to reduce their value as military, administrative, or social structures. This destruction of property is sometimes extended to the contents of buildings and the surrounding landscape. It ...

during the Anglo-Welsh war of 1276-77. The

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

of Shropshire,

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire ( ) was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery, which in turn was named after ...

and

Radnorshire Radnorshire () was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974, later becoming a Districts of Wales, district of Powys from 1974 to 1996. It covered a sparsely populat ...

is very close by, located at the confluence of the Nant Rhydyfedw and the Nant Rhuddwr valley.

References

Castles in Shropshire {{England-castle-stub

See also

References