Ewyas Harold Castle

Ewyas Harold Castle was in the village of Ewyas Harold which is in the Golden Valley in Herefordshire near to the Welsh border with present day Monmouthshire, about half way between the towns of Abergavenny and Hereford (gbmapping|SO385287).

Pre Norman Castle

The first castle on this site is believed to be one of the very few which were built before the Norman conquest under the Saxons, probably in 1048 [http://homepage.mac.com/philipdavis/English%20sites/1384.html Ewyas Harold Castle at "The Gatehouse" accessed May 2007] ] , on the site of an earlier fortification, possibly by Osbern Pentecost. It was a motte and bailey castle overlooking the Dulas Brook. In 1052 the original castle was destroyed either on the orders of Earl Godwin or by the Welsh in a raid.

Norman Refortification

Following the Norman conquest and invasion of the area the castle was rebuilt by William Fitz Osbern, Earl of Hereford. In 1086, the Domesday Book recorded:

In the jurisdiction of the castle of Ewyas Harold, Roger holds of Henry three churches and a priest and 32 acres of land and they render two sesters of honey. In the castle he has two messuages"Domesday Book: A Complete Transliteration". London: Penguin, 2003. ISBN 0-14-143994-7 p.511] .

In 1100 a priory was founded within the bailey of the castle.

Owain Glyndwr Rebellion

The castle fell into partial decay until the early 15th century. It was then in the possession of William Beauchamp, Lord Abergavenny, who refortified it in the face of the threat from Owain Glyndŵr. There is no record of it being attacked at this time. Owain and his various forces focused their attention on strategies and opportunities elsewhere.

English Civil War

Subsequently it then fell into ruin again by 1645.

Today

Today only earthworks remain on the edge of the village to mark where it once stood [http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/308216] .

References

*Fry, Plantagenet Somerset, "The David & Charles Book of Castles", David & Charles, 1980. ISBN 0-7153-7976-3