Painscastle Castle is a

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 ...

in the village of

Painscastle Painscastle () is a village and community in Powys (formerly Radnorshire), Wales which takes its name from the castle at its heart. It lies between Builth and Hay-on-Wye, approximately 3 miles from the Wales-England border today. The communi ...

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 ...

, Wales. 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.

Early history

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 ...

. The site was probably what remained of a much earlier

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 ...

fort, so naturally defensible. The ground plan is rectangular and

artifacts have been found at the site. Pain fitzJohn was killed by a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

raiding party in 1137 and

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 ...

in which Painscastle stands, was taken over by the native Welsh ruler,

Madog ab Idnerth Madoc ab Owain Gwynedd (also spelled Madog) was, according to folklore, a Welsh prince who sailed to the Americas in 1170, over 300 years before Christopher Columbus's voyage in 1492. According to the story, Madoc was a son of Owain Gwynedd w ...

Recapture & Refortification

The castle remained in Welsh hands until about 1195 when the area was captured by

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 ...

, who refortified the castle. His formidable wife

Maud de Braose Maud de Braose, Lady of Bramber (c. 1155 – 1210) was an English noble, the spouse of William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber, a powerful marcher baron and court favourite of King John of England. She would later incur the wrath and enmity of ...

, also known as Matilda, held Painscastle against the Welsh for a few months.

Welsh sieges

In 1196

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 ...

defeated the

Marcher Lords A marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in France ...

in a battle at Radnor 8 miles to the north and also besieged Painscastle, but did not actually take it as terms were agreed. In 1198

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 ...

raised a large army to besiege the castle, but was heavily defeated by an army led by the Justiciar,

Geoffrey fitz Peter Geoffrey Fitz Peter, Earl of Essex (c. 1162–1213) was a prominent member of the government of England during the reigns of Richard I and John. The patronymic is sometimes rendered Fitz Piers, for he was the son of Piers de Lutegareshale (born ...

. This English army formed at nearby

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

Baronial conflict

William de Braose fell out with 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 ...

in 1208 and was forced to flee the kingdom. King John held his lands and castles until Painscastle was apparently occupied by Iorwerth Clud, a Welsh de Braose ally, in 1215. He submitted to King John in 1216 and was granted the Lordship of

until his death in 1222. The Welsh then transferred their allegiance back to

Llywelyn ap 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 ...

and the castle was attacked and destroyed by the Welsh.

Campaign against Llywelyn the Great

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 ...

and

Hubert de Burgh Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent ( , ; – before 5 May 1243) was an English nobleman who served as Chief Justiciar of England (1215–1232) and Justiciar of Ireland (1232) during the reigns of King John and his son and successor King Henry I ...

as part of a campaign against

Llywelyn the Great 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 ...

. In 1233 the castle was claimed by Ralph Tosny, whose family held it until the castle was taken 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 ...

from Roger Tosny in 1265. Another Ralph Tosny was able to recover and rebuild it in 1276. It later passed to the Beauchamp dynasty's hands, Earls of Warwick.

Owain Glyndŵr

Painscastle 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 while under the Beauchamps for the King, Henry IV.

Today

Little now remains of the castle other than the massive earthworks.

External links

Painscastle on castlewales.com
{{coord, 52, 06, N, 3, 13, W, region:GB_type:city, display=title Castles in Powys Castle ruins in Wales Kingdom of Gwynedd Gothic architecture in Wales