- Longtown Castle
Longtown Castle is a ruin, originally a Norman Motte and Bailey castle and later stone
castle built to provide defence against the Welsh and protect the border ofHerefordshire .Location
It is located in
Longtown ,Herefordshire .The first castle in the district was at
Pont Hendre and was probably built by eitherWalter de Lacy or his sonRoger de Lacy . It was the scene of bitter fighting betweenRoger Fitzmiles, 2nd Earl of Hereford ,Gilbert Talbot and thede Lacy s in theAnarchy of 1136 to 1154, during the reign ofKing Stephen . Gilbert de Lacy won the contest and his second sonHugh de Lacy was recorded as holding this district in 1166.Hugh de Lacy was killed in Ireland in 1186 and the next year two castles were recorded in this district in the royal
Pipe Rolls . These were Pont Hendre and the recently built Longtown which was described as a new castle. In 1189 Hugh's sonWalter de Lacy was granted Longtown castle and he was probably responsible for much of the masonry that dominates the town. Walter died greatly in debt to the Crown in 1241 after a very active and varied career.East of the masonry castle is a rectangular enclosure which may well be the fortification made by
Harold Godwinson in 1056. Harold went on to become King Harold II who was killed at theBattle of Hastings in 1066.It is maintained today by
English Heritage .References
* Remfry, P.M., "Longtown Castle, 1048 to 1241" (ISBN 1-899376-29-1)
* Remfry, P.M., "The Castles of Ewias Lacy, 1048 to 1403" (ISBN 1-899376-37-2)External links
* [http://www.castlewales.com/longtown.html Longtown Castle]
* [http://www.castles99.ukprint.com/Essays/longtown.html Anglo-Norman Castles]
* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=3863148 Photos of Longtown Castle and surrounding area on geograph]
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