Caergwrle Castle

King Edward the 1st of England famously built a chain of castles through Wales. Known as the ring of iron, the castles were intended to subdue the Welsh as Edward strived to conquer the country of Wales and its Princes.
However, relations between the Welsh Princes and English royalty had not always been strained.
The last Prince of Wales, Dafydd ap Gruffydd had actually supported Edward and had fought against his fellow Welsh folks.
As a result, Edward gave some land to Dafydd and Dafydd started building a castle on the site of an ancient hillfort. Indeed, such was their friendship that Edward gave some financial support to Dafydd during the building of this castle.
Sadly, before the castle was completed, Dafydd and Edward had fallen out to such an extent that Dafydd was attacking Edward.
In response, Edward instructed Reginald de Grey to seize this castle. When Reginald arrived at Caerwgrle, Dafydd had already run away, leaving the castle in a state of disrepair.
After taking ownership of the castle, Edward instructed Reginald to make repairs.
Edward gifted the castle to his wife, Eleanor of Castile and made plans to establish a town at the base of the castle, for English residency only. Eleanor was granted the right to hold a weekly market in the town which we now call Caergwrle.
In 1283, work was still progressing on finishing the castle. Edward and Eleanor stayed over there. Unfortunately, there was an accidental fire. Edward and Eleanor had to flee from the castle which was destroyed such that it was left completely uninhabitable.
Caergwrle castle has never since been restored but is now an abandoned ruin which is very much worthy of a visit if you’re in the area.
Caergwrle Castle is currently in the stewardship of CADW.