User Reviews
Hawarden Old Castle origins are indeterminate and the oldest fortifications on this site may date back to the Iron Age, later being used as a Norman Motte-and-bailey castle which was reportedly destroyed and replaced in a short period during the 13th century.
The castle played an important role during the Welsh struggle for independence in the 13th century. At Easter 1282, Dafydd ap Gruffudd attacked Hawarden Castle, thereby starting the final Welsh conflict with Norman England, in the course of which Welsh independence was lost. King Edward I's sense of outrage was such that he designed a punishment for Dafydd harsher than any previous form of capital punishment; Dafydd was hanged, drawn, and quartered in Shrewsbury in October 1283.
In 1294 the castle was captured during the revolt of Madog ap Llywelyn.
After the English Civil War in the 17th century the castle was slighted on the orders of Oliver Cromwell. Its ruins are on the New Hawarden Castle estate and are open to the public on some Sundays, typically the second and fourth Sundays in summertime.
References:The Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built. They were also the largest and strongest fortification in both the ancient and medieval world.
Initially built by Constantine the Great, the walls surrounded the new city on all sides, protecting it against attack from both sea and land. As the city grew, the famous double line of the Theodosian Walls was built in the 5th century. Although the other sections of the walls were less elaborate, they were, when well-manned, almost impregnable for any medieval besieger.