Adullam Baptist Chapel Painscastle - geograph

Painscastle () is a village and

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

(formerly

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 ...

), Wales which takes its name from the castle at its heart. It lies between

Builth Builth Wells (; ) is a market town and community in the county of Powys and historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire), mid Wales, lying at the confluence of rivers Wye and Irfon, in the Welsh (or upper) part of the Wye Valley. In 20 ...

and

Hay-on-Wye Hay-on-Wye, or simply Hay (; or simply ), is a market town and community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales. With over twenty bookshops, it is often described as a book town, "town of books"; it is both the National Book Town of Wales and the s ...

, approximately 3 miles from the Wales-England border today. The community also includes the villages and settlements of

Rhosgoch Rhosgoch (; meaning: 'red moor') is a small village in the north of the island of Anglesey, Wales, about to the south-west of Amlwch. It is in the community of Rhosybol. A short distance to the west of the village is the small lake Llyn Hafod ...

, Bryngwyn, Llandeilo Graban and

Llanbedr Llanbedr () is a village and Community (Wales), community south of Harlech. Administratively, it lies in the Ardudwy area, formerly Meirionnydd, of the county of Gwynedd, Wales. In 2011 the community had a population of 645. History Ancient ...

. The population as of the

2011 UK Census A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for National ...

was 524. It is represented by the Painscastle and Rhosgoch Community Council, which comprises eight community councillors.Community – Council Members
Painscastle and Rhosgoch Community website. Retrieved 26 January 2018. It is included in the

Glasbury Glasbury (), also known as Glasbury-on-Wye, is a village and community in Powys, Wales. The village lies at an important crossing point on the River Wye, connecting the historic counties of Brecknockshire and Radnorshire, and is located just outs ...

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

for

Powys County Council Powys County Council () is the local authority for Powys, one of the 22 principal areas of Wales. The council is based at County Hall in Llandrindod Wells. History The county of Powys was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act ...

elections. The southern boundary of the community runs through

the Begwns The Begwns, or sometimes The Begwyns, form a small upland area in eastern Powys, Wales. They sit within the community (Wales), communities of Painscastle, Glasbury and Clyro, to the north of a great bend in the course of the River Wye, Wye val ...

, the larger part of which range of hills are within the community. The village itself sits in the broad valley of the

Bachawy The Bachawy () (or Bach Howey on Early Ordnance Survey maps.) is a minor river in Powys, Wales. It rises in the hills north of Painscastle, flowing initially to the southeast before turning to the southwest at Rhos-goch, assuming a more westerly ...

a small left-bank tributary of the

River Wye The River Wye (; ) is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, fourth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn Estuary. The lower reaches of the river forms part of Wales-England bor ...

which runs westwards to the south of it. To the north the community extends to include Red Hill, Llanbedr Hill and Bryngwyn Hill.

Castle

Little now remains of the castle that gives the village its name, other than the massive earthworks. The first castle would appear to have been built by

Pain fitzJohn Pain fitzJohn (before 110010 July 1137) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and administrator, one of King Henry I of England's " new men", who owed their positions and wealth to the king. Pain's family originated in Normandy, but there is little to ...

and probably destroyed after his death in 1137. The castle was rebuilt and in the hands of

William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber William de Braose, (or William de Briouze), 4th Lord of Bramber (1144/1153 – 9 August 1211), court favourite of King John of England, at the peak of his power, was also Lord of Gower, Abergavenny, Brecknock, Builth, Radnor, Kington, Li ...

by 1195, subsequently attacked by

Rhys ap Gruffudd Rhys ap Gruffydd or ap Gruffudd (often anglicised to "Griffith"; c. 1132 – 28 April 1197) was the ruler of the kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales from 1155 to 1197. Today, he is commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in Welsh ''Yr Arglwydd Rhys' ...

Deheubarth Deheubarth (; , thus 'the South') was a regional name for the Welsh kingdoms, realms of south Wales, particularly as opposed to kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd (Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under ...

and

Gwenwynwyn ab Owain Gwenwynwyn ab Owain Cyfeiliog (died c. 1216) was the last major ruler of mid Wales before the completion of the Norman English invasion. He was one of few native rulers to represent a real threat to the rule of Llywelyn the Great. Lineage Gwenwy ...

during the late 1190s.Painscastle Castle
CastleWales.com. Retrieved 26 January 2018. After being briefly in the hands of King

John of England John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...

it was captured by Gwalter ab Einion Clud in 1215. He was granted the Lordship of

Elfael Elfael was one of a number of Welsh cantrefi occupying the region between the River Wye and river Severn, known as Rhwng Gwy a Hafren, in the early Middle Ages. It was divided into two commotes, Is Mynydd and Uwch Mynydd, separated by the chai ...

until his death in 1222 and after this date the castle was destroyed by the Welsh. In 1231 the castle was rebuilt in stone by 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 ...

. It was again destroyed by the Welsh in 1265 and rebuilt by Ralph Tosny 1277. It was refortified yet again at the time of the Welsh rebellion led by

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 ...

in 1401.

References

External links

Painscastle and Rhosgoch Community website
{{authority control Communities in Powys Villages in Powys