Published
Booklets
on Gwynedd Castles
Castell
Dinas Emrys, Gwynedd (ISBN
1-899376-08-9) [1995]
includes a discussion of the early Norman Conquest of North Wales
during the reign of William
the Conqueror and the campaigns of
Gruffydd ap Cynan which led to the eventual liberation of Gwynedd
in the reign of Henry I. From this a conclusion is reached that
the castle may have been the work of either Robert Rhuddlan or
the earl of Chester in the late eleventh century rather than a
later Welsh foundation. The castle remains are examined in detail
and the results of the two excavations which occurred on the site
this century are analysed. Also examined are some of the prehistoric
defences which included a long causeway entrance. The shattered
ruins of the keep set on a spur beneath Snowdon is shown opposite.
Available for £4.95.
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A
Brief Report on Pen y Bryn and Aber, Gwynedd (1-899376-87-9)
[2012].
Both a castle and a palace stood
near the ancient settlement of Aber. The history of the sites
have yet to be studied in detail, but the evidence strongly suggests
that the first major inhabitation stood on the ridge of Garth Celyn.
Celyn would appear to have been a Welsh leader of the fifth
or
sixth centuries. Many years after his death the Norman
invaders
came and Robert Rhuddlan (d.1093) was probably responsible for building
the castle in the valley at the river crossing. In the late
eleventh century the river at Aber probably had a wider more sluggish
course at this crossing point, which was probably near the site of the
ancient Roman road. After Robert's killing on 3 July his
cousin,
Earl Hugh of Chester, took over the castles of North Wales, but he
failed to stop the Welsh from overwhelming his garrisons. It
was
probably at this time the castle fell. The next we hear of
Aber
is in the thirteenth century when the princes of Gwynedd were
established at the llys. There has been much argument over
where
this llys stood. A royal repair document of 1304 seems to
clearly
place the site at Peny y Bryn on top of Garth Celyn.
Certainly in
1282 Prince Llywelyn and Gruffydd and his brother Dafydd, together with
the descendants of many of the princes of Wales, met at Garth Kelyn
and debated with Archbishop John Peckham of Canterbury on how
to
end the current Welsh war. In this they failed and within the
month Llywelyn
was killed.
The palace of the princes of Gwynedd
was maintained by his successors, the kings of England and their first
born sons, who were created princes of Wales. By the mid
fifteenth century the palace had fallen into ruins, but between 1553
and 1586 it was rebuilt by the Thomas family, who
claimed descent
from the princes of Rhwng
Gwy a Hafren.
The current house of Pen y Bryn,
standing upon Garth Celyn, contains many interesting fragments from its
turbulent past and this book makes an iniitial attempt to sort them all
out. The book is entitled 'a brief report', but it
stretches
to 114 A4 pages and includes many photographs and plans to explain the
site, as well as castles and llysoedd in North Wales.
The book may be purchased for
£29.95 through the Paypal symbol below.
Harlech
Castle and its True Origins
This book contains groundbreaking research that will revolutionise
Edwardian castle studies.
Harlech
has always been a favourite destination for tourists as well
enthusiasts of our medieval history. To me Harlech has always
been a strangely sterile and cold castle and it was with reluctance
that I was persuaded to visit and reappraise this Edwardian fortress
after thirty years researching original history. What I
thought would be a rather mundane trip down well trodden paths, in fact
turned out to be exhilarating and exciting - since the re-examination
showed that the path was not so well trodden after all.
Again and again in castle studies the
mantra must be repeated - what do the original sources say and do they
agree with the ‘history' that has accrued around the
site? Further, if original evidence is at variance with
received wisdom, then surely it is time to throw out the so-called
‘wisdom' and replace it with a more authentic
account. To facilitate this, much time has to be spent
examining original Welsh, Latin and French material and explaining its
meaning in the modern world. This involves trying not to
allow later accounts to sully the purity of the original
evidence. To this end the historiography of Harlech castle is
examined to see how some of the more ill-conceived legends about the
site grew up.
Comparison with the records concerning
King Edward I's other North Welsh castles shows that the ‘old
walls' of Harlech castle, on which the Edwardian castle was built
between 1286 and 1289, could not have been built in the period 1283 to
1285 as is repeatedly asserted. This book shows conclusively
that Harlech castle began life as a Welsh llys, progressed to be a
major castle of Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffydd and finally was modified
into the fortress we have today by kings Edward I and Edward II of
England.
At Harlech, under the austere modern
rebuildings, we have a living fortress that was begun some time in the
lost mysterious past of the Mabinogion. This evolved through
the age of the princes, maturing into what could have been a great
castle of Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffydd. However that plan was
cut short by the collapse of the principality of Wales in 1283 and
Harlech became a major and largely irrelevant stronghold of King Edward
I and his descendants, guarding a wild and sparsely populated country
which not even a military king like Edward IV could find the time to
properly conquer due to its isolation.
This is the
true Harlech castle.
Harlech Castle and its True Origins consists of 305
pages of A4 with 259 figures, diagrams and photographs.
It covers not only the
development of Harlech and its environs,
but attempts to sort out the itinerary of Giraldus Cambrensis around
Meirionydd in 1188 and explains the mystery of Castell Deudraeth and
the so-called Castell Aber Ia.
The book may be purchased for £39.95 by
clicking on the PayPal 'Add to
Cart' symbol below.