Builth Castle

History

Builth Castle was erected in 1277, the first castle to be built by King Edward I in Wales. The site chosen was a pre-existing motte-and-bailey castle that had already changed hands several times as Normans and Welsh fought for supremacy. In 1260 the old castle was taken and largely destroyed by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. Construction of Edward's stone castle started in May 1277 and continued until August 1282, when it was left unfinished for lack of money, probably because Llywelyn ap Gruffudd had been killed and Edward changed his priorities to concentrate on his invasion of Gwynedd.

As at Flint Castle begun at the same time, construction began with a wooden palisade of some 270 yards in length. The total cost was £1,666, a comparatively modest sum because the earthworks were already present. 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, Roger Mortimer served as castellan. When the younger Edward succeeded his father as king, he gifted the castle to his wife Isabella; with Edward's consent, Isabella rented it back to Mortimer for 170 marks per half-year, due at Michaelmas and Easter. Mortimer, who held an increasingly powerful hold over Isabella and eventually became her lover, subsequently obtained an agreement that the castle would become his outright when Isabella died.

In 1330, Edward III had Mortimer executed for treason and seized his property; Buellt was taken by Gilbert Talbot, 1st Baron Talbot. Edward III granted Builth Castle for life to Alice de Lacy and her second husband Eubulus le Strange for their help in the counter-coup. After Eubulus' death in 1335 and Alice's re-marriage, her new husband Hugh de Freyne was acknowledged as lord of Builth. Alice died childless in 1348.

King Edward granted Builth to his son, the Black Prince. In 1359, the Prince re-established the rental arrangement at 170 marks per half-year with the Mortimer family. When attacked by Owain Glyndŵr's forces in the early 15th century, the garrison was under Sir John Oldcastle. It was repaired in 1409 at a cost of £400.

The rental arrangement ended during the War of the Roses. In November 1493, Buellt was re-established as a Marcher Lordship for Arthur, son of Henry VII, but Arthur died childless in 1502. During the reign of Henry VIII, the castle burnt down, and over subsequent years the ruins were gradually raided for building material. Nowadays, only the impressive mound, embankments and ditches remain.