Castle built under King Edward I, just outside Builth Wells, Powys, Wales
Builth Castle
Builth Castle (Welsh: Castell Llanfair-ym-Muallt) was a castle built under King Edward I, just outside Builth Wells, Powys, Wales. At one time it was an impressive stone-built castle but all the masonry has been removed over the years and all that remains are the mound on which it stood, the ditches and embankments.
History
Builth Castle was erected in 1277, the first castle to be built by
Builth had sprung up nearby. In 1260 the old castle was taken and largely destroyed by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. It is not clear how much of the original structure was still there when Edward I started building his stone castle.[1] Construction started in May 1277,[2] and continued until August 1282, when the castle was left unfinished for lack of money.[3] This was probably because Llywelyn ap Gruffudd had been killed and Edward had changed his priorities because he wanted to concentrate on his invasion of Gwynedd. As at Flint Castle begun at the same time, construction began with an enclosure of the site by a wooden palisade, in the case of Builth of some 270 yards in length.[4] Records show that the total cost of the castle was £1,666, a comparatively modest sum because the earthworks were already present on the site.[1]
The castle was besieged in 1294 during
the revolt of Madog ap Llywelyn. On 7 February 1301, Edward I gave Builth Castle to his son, Edward. Between 1310 and 1315, a local magnate - Roger Mortimer - served Edward as castellan of Builth.[5] When the latter Edward succeeded his father as king, he gifted the Castle to his wife, Isabella; in turn, with Edward's consent, Isabella rented the castle back to Roger Mortimer, for 170 marks per half-year (due at Michaelmas and Easter
). Mortimer, a man with an increasingly powerful hold over Isabella (who eventually became his lover), subsequently obtained an agreement that the castle would become his outright when Isabella died.
Isabella and Mortimer executed a coup against Edward, eventually resulting in Edward's ignominious death. In 1330, when Edward's son (
Alice de Lacy, and her second husband Eubulus le Strange; in reward, Edward granted them Builth Castle for life. Following Eubulus' death in 1335, and Alice's subsequent re-marriage, her new husband / rapist - Hugh de Freyne
- was acknowledged by the King as lord of Builth. Alice died childless in 1348.
King Edward granted Builth to his son,
Falstaff). It was repaired in 1409, the bill being £400.[6]
The rental arrangement was terminated during the
Henry VIII
, the castle burnt down, and over subsequent years the ruins were gradually raided by the local population to provide building material for their properties.
Nowadays,[when?] only the impressive mound, embankments and ditches remain but all the stonework has vanished (removed by the local populace to build their dwellings).[citation needed]
