Denbigh Castle
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Denbigh Castle and town walls ( ; ) were built to control the lordship of
Denbigh Denbigh ( ; ) is a market town and a community (Wales), community in Denbighshire, Wales. It was the original county town of the Denbighshire (historic), historic county of Denbighshire created in 1536. Denbigh's Welsh name () translates to ...
after the Conquest of Wales by Edward I of England in 1282. The lands were granted to Henry de Lacy,
Earl of Lincoln Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the peerage of England, most recently in 1572. The Hereditary peerage, earldom was held as a subsidiary title by the Duke of Newcastle, Dukes of Newcastle-under-Lyne, from 1768 to 1 ...
, who began to build a new walled town, colonised by immigrants from England, protected by a substantial
castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
and surrounded by deer parks for hunting. The work had not been completed by 1294, when the Welsh temporarily seized the castle during the Madog ap Llywelyn revolt. The defences continued to be improved, although the castle was not completely finished by the time of Henry's death in 1311. The castle passed between various owners in the first half of the 14th century, before coming under the control of the Mortimer family. Meanwhile, the walled town had proved impractical to live in, and a newer, much larger, settlement developed outside the defences. In 1400, the walled town was raided during the
Glyndŵr Rising Glyndŵr, also spelled Glyndwr, may refer to: * Owain Glyndŵr – Medieval Welsh prince and leader ** Glyndŵr rebellion – 15th century Welsh uprising * Glyndŵr (district) – District of Wales (1974–1996) ** Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr ( ...
, although the castle itself remained secure throughout the rebellion. During the
Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...
, Denbigh was attacked by Lancastrian forces; the walled town was attacked and burnt. In the aftermath, the old town was largely abandoned by its inhabitants, the walled area becoming an extension of the castle's defences. During the
First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. An estimated 15% to 20% of adult males in England and Wales served in the military at some point b ...
, Denbigh was held by the Royalists until it was captured by Parliamentarian forces in October 1646. The castle was seized by pro-Royalist soldiers in 1659, after which General George Monk ordered it to be slighted, with various parts of the walls and towers being demolished. The site deteriorated further over the years and the old walled town remained almost deserted. In the middle of the 19th century, the town created a committee to manage the ruins and carried out restoration work. The
Office of Works The Office of Works was an organisation responsible for structures and exterior spaces, first established as part of the English royal household in 1378 to oversee the building and maintenance of the royal castles and residences. In 1832 it be ...
assumed responsibility for the fortifications in 1914, with the site ultimately passing into the control of the Welsh
Cadw (, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage ...
heritage agency. Denbigh Castle is dominated by a triangle of three octagonal towers that forms its main entrance, considered by the historian John Goodall to be "the most architecturally sophisticated gatehouse of the thirteenth century". Eight mural towers protect the rest of its curtain wall, further protected by
barbican A barbican (from ) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe Medieval Europeans typically b ...
s and a
mantlet In medieval warfare a mantlet or was a portable wall or shelter used for stopping projectiles. Some versions used wheels for enhanced mobility. A mantlet could protect one or several soldiers. In the First World War (1914-1918) French soldier ...
of defensive terraces and walls. The castle connects to the town walls, which remain largely intact and stretch for around 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) around the old town. The town walls were once protected by four towers and two
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 ...
s, although only one of the gatehouses still survives. The castle and town's gatehouse were constructed of decorative stonework, intended to symbolise royal authority and civic pride.


History


13th century

Denbigh Castle was constructed within what was originally the Welsh patrimony of
Perfeddwlad Perfeddwlad or Y Berfeddwlad was an historic name for the territories in Wales lying between the River Conwy and the River Dee. comprising the cantrefi of Rhos, Rhufoniog, Dyffryn Clwyd and Tegeingl. Perfeddwlad thus was also known as the Fo ...
.; The patrimony controlled the
pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...
farming lands on the Denbigh Moors and formed a royal residence, llys, for the Welsh princes. Perfeddwlad was strategically located along the Welsh border but its ownership was disputed and the territory was fought over by the Normans and Welsh many times during the 11th and 12th centuries. In 1277, the Welsh prince Dafydd ap Gruffudd was granted Perfeddwlad by the English king,
Edward I 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 125 ...
, who at the time was allied with Dafydd in his struggle against his brother Prince Llywelyn. Dafydd rebuilt the existing residence, creating a substantial
castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
.; ; It is uncertain what form it took or exactly where on the current castle site it was located, but it included a
bakehouse A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based baked goods made in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, doughnuts, bagels, Pastry, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as Coffeehouse, cafés, servi ...
, buttery,
chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...
and a
hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and the Early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gre ...
, and it became Dafydd's main stronghold. The Welsh called the settlement Dinbych, an abbreviation of Dinas Fechan, meaning "little fortress". In 1282, Dafydd and Llywelyn rebelled against the King. Edward invaded North Wales with a huge army; after a month long siege, Dinbych fell to his forces in October 1282. The King created a new lordship to govern the district around Dinbych, which he renamed Denbigh and granted these lands to Henry de Lacy, the
Earl of Lincoln Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the peerage of England, most recently in 1572. The Hereditary peerage, earldom was held as a subsidiary title by the Duke of Newcastle, Dukes of Newcastle-under-Lyne, from 1768 to 1 ...
. With the help of James of St George, the King's master mason, Edward and Henry made plans for the construction of a new castle to govern the area, symbolically placed on top of the former llys. Edward continued into
Snowdonia Snowdonia, or Eryri (), is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales Welsh 3000s, over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (), which i ...
, leaving Henry to continue the work at Denbigh, using local labourers and possibly men brought from Henry's estates in England. The western and southern sides of the castle and the new town walls were built first, in order to protect the construction teams and by 1285, Henry gave the new town its first
charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...
. Work on the rest of the defences continued for several years. The castle and town formed part of a wider landscape controlled by de Lacey, including a nearby manor, a
dovecote A dovecote or dovecot , doocot (Scots Language, Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house Domestic pigeon, pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or b ...
, barn and fishponds, which were all important symbols of
lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...
ship during the period.; He similarly established three parks around the castle, stocked with deer from England. The town walls enclosed an area approximately in size and held 63 burgesses in 1285, each of which promised to provide an armed man to help protect the settlement. The townsfolk were English, many from Henry's estates in northern England and were reinforced by further English colonists who acquired large areas of rural land around the region. From the earliest days of the new settlement; the inhabitants began to spread out beyond the walls onto the flatter ground further down the hill, spurred on by the limited space and poor water supply in the inner town. This was unusual compared to the experience of other walled towns established in Wales at the time and within fifty years the external ''villa mercatoria'' had come to cover around . The building work on Denbigh Castle had not been completed by September 1294, when a Welsh revolt broke out, led by
Madog ap Llywelyn Madog ap Llywelyn (died after 1312) was the leader of the Welsh revolt of 1294–95 against English rule in Wales. The revolt was surpassed in longevity only by the revolt of Owain Glyndŵr in the 15th century. Madog belonged to a junior branch ...
. The castle was taken by Welsh forces, despite efforts by Henry to relieve it and the fortification was not recaptured until December. The castle's defences continued to be improved, although it was not completely finished, possibly because the project was disrupted by the death of Henry's eldest son in an accident at the castle.


14th – 16th centuries

Henry de Lacy's daughter,
Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...
, inherited Denbigh Castle on his death in 1311. Alice was the wife of
Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...
, the
Earl of Lancaster The title of Earl of Lancaster was created in the Peerage of England in 1267. It was succeeded by the title Duke of Lancaster in 1351, which expired in 1361. (The most recent creation of the ducal title merged with the Crown in 1413.) King Henry ...
, and the castle continued to be developed until Thomas was executed for treason in 1322. The following years were politically unstable and the castle was passed between several, short-lived, owners - Hugh Despenser, the Earl of Winchester and then Roger Mortimer, the Earl of March - before being held for a period by William Montagu. Work on the castle and the town walls continued throughout this period. The Mortimer family reacquired the lordship in 1355 and carried out repairs over the next fifty years to the castle's stonework and timber. In 1400,
Owain Glyndŵr Owain ap Gruffydd (28 May 135420 September 1415), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr (Glyn Dŵr, , anglicised as Owen Glendower) was a Welsh people, Welsh leader, soldier and military commander in the Wales in the late Middle Ages, late Middle ...
led a
revolt Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...
against the Crown and raided the town of Denbigh. Since Edmund Mortimer was only eight years old, King Henry IV placed Henry Percy in charge of Denbigh, until Percy defected to the rebels in 1403. Despite being isolated, Denbigh remained in royal hands through to the end of the rebellion in 1407. Edmund continued to hold the castle until he died, childless, in 1425, when ownership passed to
Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...
, the
Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...
. During the
Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...
, Denbigh was fought over by the rival Lancastrian and
Yorkist The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, th ...
factions.
Jasper Tudor Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford (c. November 143121 December 1495) was the uncle of King Henry VII of England and a leading architect of his nephew's successful accession to the throne in 1485. He was a member of the Tudor family of Penmynydd. ...
, the
Earl of Pembroke Earl of Pembroke is a title in the Peerage of England that was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title, which is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, has been recreated ten times from its origin ...
and a Lancastrian supporter, was declared the constable of the castle by Henry VI in 1457 but the fortification remained in the hands of the Yorkists. After the Lancastrian victory at the Battle of Ludford Bridge, Jasper was able to force the garrison to surrender and finally took possession of the castle in 1460. The war then turned in favour of the Yorkists and despite the castle's new garrison holding out for several months under Roger Puleston, it was recaptured by Sir Richard Herbert in late 1461. The new Yorkist regime made William Herbert, Jasper's rival to the title of Earl of Pembroke, the constable and steward of Denbigh in 1467. Jasper returned to Denbigh in 1468 and although he could not take the castle, he burnt the interior of the walled town. The attack spurred an exodus from the walled town to the newer suburbs. By the end of 16th century the inner area had been largely abandoned, coming to form part of the external defences of the castle and the Burgess Gate on the town walls became the town
gaol A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various cri ...
. In 1586, the
antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic si ...
William Camden William Camden (2 May 1551 – 9 November 1623) was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of ''Britannia'', the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland that relates la ...
could observe that the "old town is now deserted". Much of the castle had fallen into decline by 1530 but six years later the castle became the centre for administrating the new
county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
of
Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, Flintshire to the east, Wrexham to the southeast, Powys to the south, and Gwynedd and Conwy to the west. Rhyl is the largest town, and Ruthi ...
, with the great gatehouse and nearby towers being used as a courthouse, prison and associated buildings by the county authorities. The remainder of the castle had fallen into ruin by 1561. Robert Dudley, later made the
Earl of Leicester Earl of Leicester is a title that has been created seven times. The first title was granted during the 12th century in the Peerage of England. The current title is in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and was created in 1837. History Earl ...
, was granted a lease of the castle in 1563, partially because
the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...
was trying to reduce the costs of maintaining the dilapidated property. During Dudley's tenure, Denbigh Castle was used as a place of imprisonment for those considered traitors by the officials of the Crown, including many
dissidents A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 2 ...
towards the
Elizabethan religious settlement The Elizabethan Religious Settlement is the name given to the religious and political arrangements made for England during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603). The settlement, implemented from 1559 to 1563, marked the end of the English Ref ...
. The most famous such prisoner was the Welsh poet and underground Catholic schoolmaster
Richard Gwyn Richard Gwyn (ca. 1537 – 15 October 1584), also known by his anglicized name, Richard White, was a Welsh teacher at illegal and underground schools and a bard who wrote both Christian and satirical poetry in the Welsh language. A Roman C ...
, who was imprisoned at Denbigh Castle from September 1581 to the Spring of 1582. After Gwyn's execution on 15 October 1584, his head and one of his quarters were spiked upon Denbigh Castle. The other three quarters were similarly displayed at
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...
, Ruthin Castle, and Holt Castle. On 25 October 1970
Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...
presided over the
canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon ca ...
ceremony in Rome for St. Richard Gwyn, as one of the
Forty Martyrs of England and Wales The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales or Cuthbert Mayne and Thirty-Nine Companion Martyrs are a group of Catholic Church, Catholic, lay and religious, men and women, executed between 1535 and 1679 for treason and related offences under variou ...
. The
Catholic Church in England The Catholic Church in England and Wales (; ) is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See. Its origins date from the 6th century, when Pope Gregory I through a Roman missionary and Benedictine monk, Augustine, ...
commemorates Gwyn with a
feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...
together with all the 284 canonized and beatified martyrs of the
English Reformation The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...
on 4 May.National Calendar for England
Liturgy Office for England and Wales, accessed 31 July 2011
The Catholic Church in Wales commemorates him on the
feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...
of the Six Welsh Martyrs:
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
s Philip Evans and John Lloyd, John Jones, David Lewis,
John Roberts John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American jurist serving since 2005 as the 17th chief justice of the United States. He has been described as having a Moderate conservatism, moderate conservative judicial philosophy, thoug ...
, the layman Richard Gwyn, and their companions, every year on 25 October.National Calendar for Wales
Liturgy Office for England and Wales, accessed 31 July 2011
During his rule, Dudley also built a large Anglican parish church in the walled town, possibly intending it to become a cathedral and carried out some minor repairs to the castle but little other work was completed before his death in 1588.


17th century

When the
First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. An estimated 15% to 20% of adult males in England and Wales served in the military at some point b ...
broke out in August 1642,
North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...
was solidly
Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...
, and Denbigh Castle was held by a garrison of 500 under Colonel
William Salesbury William Salesbury, also Salusbury, (c. 1520 – c. 1584) was the leading Welsh language, Welsh scholar of the Renaissance and the principal translator of the 1567 Welsh New Testament. Early life Salesbury was born some time before 1520 (poss ...
, who made repairs to the defences. By late 1645, the war had turned against the Royalists, and Charles I spent three days at the castle after his defeat at Rowton Heath in September. The following month, a Royalist army under the command of Sir William Vaughan gathered at Denbigh Green, close to the ruins of Denbigh Friary, intending to march to
Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
to relieve the forces under siege there. Before this, Vaughan was attacked and defeated by a force commanded by Sir Thomas Mytton, and some of the Royalist soldiers retreated into the castle in the aftermath. Mytton took the outer parts of Denbigh but could not break into the walled town or the castle. Mytton returned the next year with additional equipment and placed the castle and the walled town under a close siege in April 1646, erecting earthwork
bastion A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...
s for his guns along the eastern site of Denbigh. The Goblin Tower along the town walls, which contained the garrison's main well, was bombarded with artillery and Mytton placed more guns on nearby Galch Hill to attack the south-western side of the walls. With only one artillery piece of his own and no Royalist reinforcements likely, Salesbury's position appeared hopeless but he held on, arguing that he had given assurances to the King that he would not surrender the castle. Finally, Charles I sent Salebsury a message, personally ordering him to give up Denbigh; after negotiations, Salesbury agreed to surrender on good terms on 26 October. After Salesbury departed, Parliament installed a small garrison in the castle, under the command of Colonel George Twistleton, the new governor. It was used as a prison for
political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...
s, including David Pennant, the
High Sheriff of Flintshire This is a list of High Sheriffs of Flintshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly, the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county, but over the centuries most of the responsibilities ...
and there was an abortive Royalist attempt in 1648 to break into the castle to rescue the inmates. In 1659, Sir George Booth led an uprising of Royalist and Presbyterian leaders against the Commonwealth government. A group of Royalist soldiers seized Denbigh Castle in August and took the garrison prisoner. After Booth's defeat at the
Battle of Winnington Bridge The Battle of Winnington Bridge, often described as the last battle of the English Civil War, took place on 19 August 1659 during Booth's Uprising, a Royalist rebellion in north-west England and Wales. During the battle a Parliamentary army of ar ...
a few weeks later, the rebels surrendered and the government retook the castle. General
George Monck George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle (6 December 1608 3 January 1670) was an English military officer and politician who fought on both sides during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A prominent military figure under the Commonwealth, his support ...
then ordered it to be
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 ...
, put beyond military use. The republican politician John Carter demolished parts of the curtain walls and two towers over the course of six weeks. The site fell further into ruin over the remainder of the century, with its stone being reused to build houses in the town. When granted briefly in 1696 to William Bentinck, the
Earl of Portland Earl of Portland is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England, firstly in 1633 and secondly in 1689. What proved to be a long co-held title, Duke of Portland, was created in 1716 and became extinct in 1990 upon the death of t ...
, complaints were made in Parliament and it reverted to the Crown.


18th – 21st centuries

Denbigh Castle remained ruined, although a new
grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...
was built in the walled town in 1726 and a
bowling green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...
was established around 1769. Castle House, a large private dwelling, was also constructed there in either the second quarter or the middle of the century, using stone taken from the castle ruins and Leicester's church. In the middle of the 19th century, the historian John Williams observed that the walled town remained otherwise deserted, with only three irregular rows of cottages, holding a total of 163 inhabitants; these dwellings attracted complaint from the writer Samuel Lewis, who argued that they "materially diminished the interest excited by the ruins". The western tower of the Burgess Gate was then being used as a private house, as had the eastern tower until a few years before. In the middle of the 19th century, the town created a "Castle Committee" to maintain the ruins; the Crown leased the committee control of the castle and in 1879 lent them £300 to fund repairs to the ruins. The Crown reclaimed control of the Burgess Gate from its occupants and carried out conservation work, before then leasing the gatehouse to the committee in 1908. In 1914, the central government's
Office of Works The Office of Works was an organisation responsible for structures and exterior spaces, first established as part of the English royal household in 1378 to oversee the building and maintenance of the royal castles and residences. In 1832 it be ...
took over responsibility for the site and during the late 1950s, its successor organisation, the Ministry of Works, first bought and then demolished various later buildings along the walls to clear the area for research and visitors. In the 21st century, Denbigh Castle and the town walls are maintained by the Welsh heritage agency
Cadw (, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage ...
. The castle is open to visitors, receiving 10,154 in 2015 and parts of the extant walls are also open to visitors. £600,000 was invested by Cadw in the castle and walls during the mid-2010s, financing the construction of a new visitors' centre. The site is protected under UK law as a
scheduled ancient 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 ...
and the castle as a grade I
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
.


Architecture


Castle

Denbigh Castle is located on a naturally defensible, rocky outcrop above the Clywd valley, with the walled town just beneath it to the north. The castle comprises a large gatehouse, with a curtain wall and mural towers encircling an inner area approximately across. The historian John Goodall considers the fortification to be "one of the outstanding architectural creations of the Welsh conquest". The Great Gatehouse is formed by a triangle of octagonal towers around a central octagonal hall, protected by a barbican. The gatehouse was built using decorative bands of masonry in different colours, intended to symbolise Edward I's royal authority and displayed a statue, probably of
Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also known as Edward of Caernarfon or Caernarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne follo ...
, over the main entrance. The complex was defended with a wide ditch, a
drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable b ...
,
murder hole A murder hole or meurtrière is a hole in the ceiling of a gateway or passageway in a fortification through which the defenders could shoot, throw or pour harmful substances or objects such as rocks, arrows, scalding water, hot sand, quicklime, ...
s and a
portcullis A portcullis () is a heavy, vertically closing gate typically found in medieval fortifications. It consists of a latticed Grille (architecture), grille made of wood and/or metal, which slides down grooves inset within each jamb of the gateway. ...
. The three towers making up the gatehouse have individual names: the Porter's Lodge and Prison towers face outwards and the Badnes Tower, possibly named after an early constable of the castle, lies to the rear. Goodall considers the building to be "the most architecturally sophisticated gatehouse of the thirteenth century" and notes that the architectural ideas were later "reworked to brilliant effect" at
Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish on the River Nidd in North Yorkshire, England. It is east of Harrogate and was in the Borough of Harrogate until April 2023. History The Knaresborough Hoard, the largest hoard of ...
. To the east of the gatehouse is the site of the Queen's Chapel, since destroyed and the castle well, which is over deep. The hexagonal, three-storey Great Kitchen Tower and the White Chamber Tower, which was slighted after the English Civil War, flank the foundations of the Great Hall. Further south is the Pitcher House Tower, probably used for storing water during the summer months and the Green Chambers, so called because of the colour of their Gwespyr stonework. The chambers have basements specially designed for the storage of meat and wine and the upper storeys originally contained exceptionally fine accommodation. At the southern end of the castle, the Postern Tower, originally three storeys high, links the castle to one end of the town walls. The adjacent Upper Gate and the Postern Gate formed a rear entrance to the castle, protected by another barbican, drawbridges and a steep passageway. A
mantlet In medieval warfare a mantlet or was a portable wall or shelter used for stopping projectiles. Some versions used wheels for enhanced mobility. A mantlet could protect one or several soldiers. In the First World War (1914-1918) French soldier ...
of defensive terraces and cross-walls stretches around the south and eastern sides of the castle and originally prevented the undermining of the mural towers and thinnest stretches of the curtain wall. This side of the castle was protected by the Treasure House Tower, which held the Treasure House; the Tower-next-Treasure House; the Bishop's Tower, containing a sally port and the octagonal Red Tower, named after the
red sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains, cemented together by another mineral. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed o ...
used in its construction, which linked to the other end of the town wall circuit. Stables, a blacksmith's workshop and storehouses once ran along the inside of the south-western corner of the castle.


Town walls

The town walls stretch for around from the north edge of the castle to its southeastern tip and mostly remain intact. The walls were built in the 13th century and originally protected by four mural towers, positioned in a disorderly pattern; the two gatehouses and the defences along the eastern salient were added in the 14th century. Only the foundations of the Exchequer Gate on the western side of the walls remain but the gatehouse would originally have been protected by two circular towers, with a rectangular talus base to prevent undermining. The walls between the Exchequer and Burgess Gate at the north-west corner of the circuit are intact. The Burgess Gate has two circular towers protecting a vaulted passage way, again with a distinctive talus base. The gatehouse is built from white
limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
and yellow sandstone, with the stonework forming a chequered design; this was a common decorative approach at the time and would have symbolised local civic pride. Although the top courses have been lost, the gatehouse might originally have stood up to tall. The section of the walls to the east of the Burgess Gate has been lost. The walled circuit recommences in the north-east corner of the town, where the walls survive up to high, further protected by the two-storey tall North-Eastern Tower. On the eastern side of the walls, the original defences had been set back from the edge of a rocky salient (geography), salient, protected by the Countess Tower, an angular, two-storey building with two towers.; The defences were adapted to follow the outer edge of the salient, with the Goblin Tower built on the outermost point, overlooking the edge of the cliffs. The Goblin Tower is a hexagonal, two-storey tower, protecting a deep well that formed the only reliable source of water for the defences during the summer. The walled circuit continues south, meeting the Bastion Tower in the south-east corner. The Bastion Tower was originally three storeys tall and was decorated with chequered sandstone and limestone in a similar fashion to the Burgess Gate.


See also

* Castles in Great Britain and Ireland * List of castles in Wales


References


Bibliography

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External links


Cadw visitors' information page
{{Portal bar , Wales , United Kingdom , History 1322 establishments in Wales Buildings and structures completed in 1322 14th-century fortifications Castles in Denbighshire Castle ruins in Wales Denbigh Grade I listed castles in Wales Grade I listed buildings in Denbighshire Grade I listed ruins in Wales Scheduled monuments in Denbighshire Edward I of England Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York