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Thursday 5 April 2012

Eerie Ewloe Castle

A-Z Challenge 2012 - E

Eerie Ewloe Castle

Ewloe Castle stands on a promontory in North-East Wales near the town of Harwarden, Flintshire. Its position near the English border gave it a strategic control of the road to Chester. Today its ruins are under the control of the Welsh heritage agency (Cadw – pronounced ‘kadu’.)

Ewloe Castle - 2008
The area had earned its place in history even before the castle was built as in 1157 Welshmen led by Owain Gwynedd, the then King of North Wales, nearly killed the English King Henry II at the battle of Ewloe.

Llywelyn the Last began the castle’s construction in 1257, adding to work undertaken by Owain Gwynedd and Llywelyn the Great.

At the outbreak of the Welsh Wars in 1277, Edward I left Chester and established a base at Flint. Although Ewloe may have been occupied by Edward, Flint and Rhuddlan castles were preferred; they could be restocked by sea and that’s why Ewloe went into decline.

Ewloe Castle - East Wing 2005
Stories of ghosts abound at Ewloe. A glowing spectre strolling the ramparts once so startled a dog that it never recovered from the shock and died two days later. Legends say that marching soldiers can be heard in the surrounding woodland. During thunderstorms the singing of a phantom crooner drifts down from the ramparts, loud enough to be audible above the storms.

Hilary Melton-Butchers Castle for D - Dover Castle

Image attribution:
  • Ewloe Castle – 2008; by Brian Jorgensen; Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.
  • Ewloe Castle (east wing) – 2007; by Peter Craine; Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.
  • Images from the Geograph project collection.

13 comments:

Sue said...

I love these old castles and the information you've shared about them Bob. It'd be great to get over there and visit more, but I suspect this is the closest I'll come. Wonderful structures! Fascinating history. Thanks
Sue: An A-Z of Climate Matters

David Robinson said...

I know the Harwarden area well, Bob, but I didn't know about this place. Must brush up on my geography :)

Another intriguing post.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Bob - well we're different again .. I must say I'm learning about Welsh history here .. and spectres .. it so interesting to read the story behind the Castle - and what if - Henry II had been killed ...

Fascinating to read the people within the walls .. what an amazing ruin - and its location - I too need to brush up on my geography and history ...

Great post - thanks Bob .. fun read - Hilary

Sherry Gloag said...

Thanks for a very interesting post. The photo really drew me in and then I was hooked by your info. Thanks.

Little Nell said...

I wonder why the dog lingered so long!

Guilie Castillo said...

Bob, this gets better and better. I'm learning so much about British history, places I'd never heard of with magical spelling. Thank you!

Jo said...

Another interesting castle - You do pick up some ghost stories. Frightened a dog to death, hmmmm!!!

Robyn Campbell said...

I love these, Bob. I missed this one yesterday. I so love learning about British history. Thank you, thank you! That poor doggie.

Robyn Campbell said...

Okay. I know this was today not yesterday. Sheesh. I slept in. Coffee anyone??

Mary E Campbell said...

It's interesting to be able to see how thick the walls are.

PR said...

Oh that poor dog. I'd love to go visit the castle and scare myself hehe :)

Universal Gibberish

TL Conway said...

The pictures sparked my curiosity and the story behind them sold me. Thanks for providing us with these beautiful places and captivating stories!

Beth Camp said...

I never get tired of these photographs of old castles. It's more fun, of course, to walk around them -- in Edinburgh, we found ancient walls everywhere, sometimes with a plaque. And your library photos were fun as well, especially the 1842 drawing of only men using the library. Times have changed!