Deganwy Castle (;'' s:la:Annales Cambriae'' (B Text), 13th century . ; Modern ) was an early stronghold of

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

Deganwy Deganwy is a town and electoral ward in the community of Conwy in Conwy County Borough in Wales. It lies in the Creuddyn Peninsula alongside Llandudno (to the north) and Rhos-on-Sea (to its east). Historically part of Caernarfonshire, the peni ...

, at the mouth of the

River Conwy The River Conwy (; ) is a river in north Wales. From its source to its discharge in Conwy Bay it is long and drains an area of 678 square km. "Conwy" was formerly anglicised as "Conway." The name 'Conwy' derives from the old Welsh words ''c ...

, now in

Conwy county borough Conwy County Borough () is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the north Wales, north of Wales. It borders Gwynedd to the west and south and Denbighshire to the east. The largest settlement is Colwyn Bay, and Conwy is the administrativ ...

, north

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. It sits at an elevation of 110 m (361 ft) on a

volcanic plug A volcanic plug, also called a volcanic neck or lava neck, is a volcano, volcanic object created when magma hardens within a Volcanic vent, vent on an active volcano. When present, a plug can cause an extreme build-up of high gas pressure if risi ...

in an area of limestone known as the Vardre.

Before the castle

The

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

fortress, which is now little more than ditches and mounds, was constructed of wood on a massive rock outcrop in what is now the suburbs of

Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community (Wales), community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 UK census, the community � ...

. Traditionally, it was the headquarters of

Maelgwn Gwynedd Maelgwn Gwynedd (; died c. 547)Based on Phillimore's (1888) reconstruction of the dating of the '' Annales Cambriae'' (A Text). was King of Gwynedd during the early 6th century. Surviving records suggest he held a pre-eminent position among t ...

, King of Gwynedd (fl. c. 520–547). There are several places nearby associated with him, including a hill called Bryn Maelgwyn. A

hoard A hoard or "wealth deposit" is an archaeological term for a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground, in which case it is sometimes also known as a cache. This would usually be with the intention of ...

of 204 silver

Cnut Cnut ( ; ; – 12 November 1035), also known as Canute and with the epithet the Great, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rul ...

pennies was found on Bryn Maelgwyn in July 1979. Ruins of Din Gonwy

Deganwy was probably first occupied during the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

period, but was popular in the years following their departure because it was safe from Irish raids. The area beneath the rocky stronghold may have been the site of a settlement of serfs. The stronghold was burned down in 812 when it was struck by lightning..

Castle

In the second half of the 11th century, north Wales was part of the

Kingdom of Gwynedd The Kingdom of Gwynedd (Medieval Latin: ; Middle Welsh: ) was a Wales in the Early Middle Ages, Welsh kingdom and a Roman Empire Succession of states, successor state that emerged in sub-Roman Britain in the 5th century during the Anglo-Saxon ...

. After the Norman invasion of England in 1066, William the Conqueror installed his followers as earls in the English counties bordering Wales, each making advances into Wales at various points.

Hugh d'Avranches Hugh d'Avranches ( 1047 – 27 July 1101), nicknamed ''le Gros'' (the Large) or ''Lupus'' (the Wolf), was from 1071 the second Norman Earl of Chester and one of the great magnates of early Norman England. Early life and career Hugh d'Avra ...

was made Earl of Chester, and his nephew

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

led a campaign in north Wales. This resulted in Robert establishing a castle at Rhuddlan, and according to

Orderic Vitalis Orderic Vitalis (; 16 February 1075 – ) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England.Hollister ''Henry I'' p. 6 Working out of ...

at Degannwy. This would have been 1073 at the earliest. The precise location of the castle on the hilltop and its layout are uncertain. Robert was killed in 1093, and the following year the Welsh pushed the Normans out of Gwynedd. The history of the castle in the 12th century is unknown. By the 13th century, Deganwy was fortified by the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

Llywelyn ab Iorwerth Llywelyn ab Iorwerth (, – 11 April 1240), also known as Llywelyn the Great (, ; ), was a medieval Welsh ruler. He succeeded his uncle, Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd, as King of Gwynedd in 1195. By a combination of war and diplomacy, he dominate ...

. It was captured by the

Earl of Chester The Earldom of Chester () was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England, extending principally over the counties of Cheshire and Flintshire. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs apparent to the English throne, ...

in 1210, but recaptured shortly afterward by Llywelyn, who had it refortified in stone. The ''

Brut y Tywysogion ''Brut y Tywysogion'' () is one of the most important primary sources for Welsh history. It is an annalistic chronicle that serves as a continuation of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. ''Brut y Tywysogion'' has survived ...

'' recorded that "the earl of Chester again built the castle of Degannwy, which Llywelyn ap Iorwerth had destroyed for fear of the king." Ownership of the castle descended to his son,

Dafydd ap Llywelyn Dafydd ap Llywelyn (c. March 1212 – 25 February 1246) was List of rulers of Gwynedd, King of Gwynedd from 1240 to 1246. Birth and descent Though birth years of 1208, 1206, and 1215 have been put forward for Dafydd, it has recently been p ...

; in 1241 Dafydd had the castle destroyed ahead of an English advance into the region. The destruction is recorded in the ''

Annales Cambriae The (Latin for ''Annals of Wales'') is the title given to a complex of Latin chronicles compiled or derived from diverse sources at St David's in Dyfed, Wales. The earliest is a 12th-century presumed copy of a mid-10th-century original; later ...

''. King

Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of John, King of England, King John and Isabella of Ang ...

subsequently took control of the castle and embarked on an extensive building programme; the building work cost more than £2,200. The castle was destroyed by

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 ...

in 1263. In 1283, King

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...

had

Conwy Castle Conwy Castle (; ) is a fortification in Conwy, located in North Wales. It was built by Edward I of England, Edward I, during his Conquest of Wales by Edward I, conquest of Wales, between 1283 and 1287. Constructed as part of a wider project to ...

constructed just across the estuary, but left Deganwy Castle in ruins.

Excavation and investigation

Between 1961 and 1966

Leslie Alcock Leslie Alcock (24 April 1925 – 6 June 2006) was Professor of Archaeology at the University of Glasgow, and one of the leading archaeologists of Early Medieval Britain. His major excavations included Dinas Powys hill fort in Wales, Cadbury Ca ...

led excavations at Deganwy Castle. The programme of work was planned by the University of Wales and funded by the Board of Celtic Studies and the Caernarvonshire Historical Society. During the excavations a dozen sherds of early medieval pottery which had been imported from the Mediterranean were discovered, indicating the far-reaching contacts of Gwynedd's royal dynasty. In 2009, the

Gwynedd Archaeological Trust The Gwynedd Archaeological Trust () was an archaeological organisation established in 1974, until its dissolution in 2024 as the four Welsh Archaeological Trusts merged as Heneb. Overview The organisation was one of four Welsh Archaeologica ...

carried out a geophysical survey of the bailey between the two hills and land immediately north and south of the castle.

Gallery

Castell Deganwy Castle - geograph.org.uk - 221851.jpg, The east end of the saddle at the summit of the hill where Mansell's Tower used to stand Castell Degannwy 01.JPG, The castle seen from the west across the River Conwy Degannwy_castle.jpg Castell Degannwy Deganwy Castle Sir Ddinbych Wales 68.JPG View of Conwy Castle from ruins of Deganwy castle.jpg, The view south towards Conwy Castle Deganwy town and castle.jpg, The castle as seen from Conwy Castle

References

Notes Bibliography * * * * * *

External links