Holt Castle, Holt, United Kingdom

Holt castle was started by Edward I on a sandstone base next to the River Dee soon after the invasion of North Wales in 1277. In 1282 Edward presented the Welsh lands of Bromfield and Yale in which Holt was situated to loyal lord John de Warrene, who was also given the task of completing the castle. By 1311 the castle had been finished and a planned town laid out next to it for the use of English settlers.

A century later, Welsh forces burned down the town in 1400 during the uprising of Owain Glyndŵr; although the castle was not taken. By the 16th century Holt Castle had fallen into disuse and ruin.

For most of the First English Civil War, Holt was garrisoned by Royalists troops. It was captured by the Parliamentarians in 1643 but retaken by the Royalists in spring of 1644. After they had surrendered, thirteen of the Parliamentarian garrison were put to the sword and their bodies were thrown into the moat. In January 1647, after a siege that lasted for nine months the Royalist governor, Sir Richard Lloyd, surrendered Holt to Thomas Mytton (the commander of the besieging Parliamentarians).

Between 1675 and 1683 much of the castle was taken away by Sir Thomas Grosvenor, 3rd Baronet of Eaton, who used barges to carry the stonework downstream to rebuild Eaton Hall after the English Civil War.

In the 18th century all that remained of Holt Castle was part of a tower and a rectangular building.

The only sizeable part of Holt Castle that remains is perched on its sandstone base. Some masonry features are still visible, including the lower walls of the inner keep, the postern gate, a buttress, a chute exit and the foundations of the outer gate's square tower.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Paul Owens (2 years ago)
On the surface there appears to be very little left to see at these ruins but once you have taken a little bit of time to have a look around there are plenty of fantastic little details remaining the setting is nothing special but the castle itself is fantastic. A real treat for those visitors that are willing to put a bit of effort in.

The Ravello Channel (T.R.R.C) (2 years ago)
Stop off on my way to wild camp and grabbed a sandwich here. It was a pretty lovely and tasty ham and cheese sandwich. Lovely location setting, friendly staff and clean environment. My only issue is with there pricing structure. I order a sandwich on the menu that said it was about £3.50, and a can of Fanta for £1.50 but was charged about £7.75 for the total. I mean it was an okay sandwich in the middle of no where so I can understand the high price but they could at least make it clear what the real price to customer is. So I felt that their pricing was dishonest. I was ordering based on the amount of change I grabbed from the car, I was thinking that the £7.50 I walked with would've been enough for the order I placed but I of course had to go back to the car to get 25p more

Mathew Kerfoot (2 years ago)
Unfortunately not a lot to see, parking is an issue and all the information boards dotted around the ruins had been broken/defaced. Seems to be of more interest for somewhere for the local teens to hang out, pleasant surroundings with a walk along the river Dee but I doubt I'd visit again.

Danny (2 years ago)
Not much left of the castle itself now, but you can still climb up on top of the remains. Thankfully there are some excellent information boards, recreating the castle and surrounding area as it would have looked. Beautiful setting and very unusual castle and construction. Definitely worth visiting this castle and taking in Holt village too.

Naomi (3 years ago)
Wish I hadn't been drawn to this place by the rave Google reviews! For me, it was not worth travelling to for a visit. But if you are into castles and passing, it might be worth a stop. Interesting history, just not much left of it to look at (most of it was dismantled to be used for a manor house in Chester). It says something that the Welsh clearly weren't bothered about maintaining it. (It's looked after by English Heritage). All the protective fencing around the top of it, though for health and safety, makes the ruins look like an eye sore. They could have used wooden fencing / steps to blend into the environment and stop it from looking like it's under construction. Popular dog walking area for the locals, so visiting on a hot summers day meant the place smelt unpleasant! ??

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