Ewloe Castle

Ewloe Castle is a castle situated in Wepre Park, near the town of Ewloe about a mile northwest of Hawarden and southwest of Connah's Quay, in Flintshire, Wales.

Ewloe Castle rises northwest of the town of Hawarden, and is a relic of the brief triumph of the Welsh prince Llywelyn the Last, who began its construction in 1257 after his reconquest of this part of Wales. Of all the native castles in North Wales, Ewloe is the only one with an unspectacular setting. It stands on a promontory overlooking the junction of two streams, but is overwhelmed by higher ground at the south. Its position near the English border was strategic, controlling the road to Chester. It stood within the forest of Ewloe, surrounded by woods and in a great position for hunting.

The castle is not large, and its condition is now very poor. It is endowed of two courtyards, with a U-shaped keep inside the triangular upper ward. This layout suggest the former presence on the site of an earlier castle of the motte and bailey type. The curtain of the upper ward forms a sloping stone revetment for the motte. The outer curtain is for great part reduced to just its footings. At the western angle of the outer ward, the ruins of a circular tower, nearly full height in part, are perched on a rocky knoll. This can only been reached from the wall walk level.

No gate connects the courtyards; both were entered from the north side. Communication was only at parapet level. The two curtains are not bonded together: they are the result of successive building campaigns. Nothing stands of the inside buildings, which were of timber.

It is easy to date the keep, known as the Welsh Tower. It may be an earlier work of Llywelyn the Great, because of the first floor entrance typical of the first Norman keeps, but later Llywelyn built conservative old fashioned square keeps like that at Dolforwyn. The U-shaped towers like this usually project out from a curtain; it is unusual to find one standing alone in the middle of a walled enclosure. However, a similar keep was built at Castell y Bere to command the most vulnerable approach to the castle.

Most of the keep is collapsed, but the south front still stands to full height. The tower contained a single apartment above a storage chamber, reachable only through a trapdoor. The outer walls rose higher than the two storeys, to protect the roof from burning projectiles. On the parapet, slots for a hoarding are still visible.

The rampart at the south of the castle may be an English work, but Edward I built new castles nearby at Flint and Rhuddlan, that could be provisioned by sea, rather than using Ewloe which lies inland.

Nothing is written about Ewloe in the 1277 invasion chronicles.

Ghosts

There have been cases of ghostly encounters in the Castle and Wepre park. A ghost of a headless monk, and also the sound of a marching army including drums and screams, can be heard late at night coming from the castle. Another ghost was that of a nun, who had betrayed her faith and had recently given birth. She was running to hide the baby, when she tripped and dropped the baby. Thinking the baby was dead, the nun threw herself down the hill and fell into the large pond at the bottom and drowned. The baby was unharmed, and to this day the nun remains to haunt that area of the park.

External links

* [http://www.greatcastlesofwales.co.uk/ewloe.htm Great castles of Wales website]
* [http://www.castlewales.com/ewloe.html Illustrated description]
* [http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=53.200064~-3.066497&style=h&lvl=18&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000 Ewloe Castle - From the Sky!]
* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=2768220 www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Ewloe Castle]
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