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Historic Buildings of Flintshire, Wales
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Image right - Rhuddlan Castle
See Table of Welsh Place names (Table listing where places are in Current [Post 1974/1996] Welsh Counties/Historic Counties
If you have information about any of the Buildings mentioned below please share it here. If you have ancestors linked to any of the places please add them to the project.
The object of this project is to provide information about historic buildings in the county of Flintshire, with links to sub-projects for specific buildings as appropriate. GENi profiles of people associated with those establishments can be linked to this project and/or to individual projects where they have been set up.
Castles, Baronial and Historic houses
... in alphabetical order
Including Castles, Abbeys, Manor Houses, Mansions, Stately Homes, Country houses, Estate houses, Courts, Halls, Parks and other listed buildings of historic interest
Bold links are to GENi projects and profiles; others are to external websites
A
B
● 
Basingwerk Abbey ❊, a Grade I listed ruined abbey near Holywell. The abbey, which was founded in the 12th century by Ranulf de Gernon, 4th Earl of Chester, who had already brought Benedictine monks from Savigny Abbey in southern Normandy, belonged to the Order of Cistercians. In 1157, Owain Gwynedd encamped his army at Basingwerk before facing the forces of Henry II at the Battle of Ewloe. The Welsh Prince stopped at the abbey because of its strategic importance. It blocked the route Henry II had to take to reach Twthill, Rhuddlan. In the fighting that followed, Owain Gwynedd split his army routing the English near Ewloe. By the 13th century, the abbey was under the patronage of Llywelyn the Great, Prince of Gwynedd. His son Dafydd ap Llywelyn gave St Winefride's Well to the abbey. The monks harnessed the power of the Holywell stream to run a corn mill and to treat the wool from their sheep. In 1433, the monks leased all of Glossopdale in Derbyshire to the Talbot family, the future Earls of Shrewsbury (1442).The abbey was abandoned and its assets sold following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536. The site is now managed by Cadw - the national Welsh heritage agency.
E
● Ewloe Castle a native Welsh castle near the town of Ewloe. The castle, which was one of the last fortifications to be built by the sovereign Princes of Wales, was abandoned at the beginning of the invasion of Wales by Edward I in 1277. Its construction, using locally quarried sandstone, appears to have continued piecemeal over many years and may have not been completed. On taking the castle, the English Crown gave it little military value and allowed it to fall into ruin.
F
● 
Flint Castle was the first of a series of castles built during King Edward I's campaign to conquer Wales. The site was chosen for its strategic position in North East Wales. The castle was only one day's march from Chester, supplies could be brought along the River Dee and there was by a ford across to England that could be used at low tide. Building work began in 1277 under Richard L'Engenour, who would later become Mayor of Chester in 1304. The castle and its earthworks were built by 1,800 labourers and masons using local Millstone Grit ashlar and sandstone. In November 1280, the Savoyard master mason James of Saint George began overseeing construction at Flint for Edward I, remaining at the castle for 17 months. James of Saint George then moved onto Rhuddlan to oversee its completion. In total expenditure, Edward I spent £6068.7.5d. creating the fortress and the town. In 1282 Welsh forces under the command of Dafydd ap Gruffydd, brother of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, besieged the castle in an attempted uprising against the English Crown. In 1294 Flint was attacked again during the revolt of Madog ap Llywelyn; this time the constable of the castle was forced to set fire to the fortress to prevent its capture by the Welsh. The castle was later repaired and partly rebuilt. With the conclusion to the Welsh Wars, English settlers and merchants were given property titles in the new town that was laid out in front of the castle. In 1399 Richard II of England was held by Henry Bolingbroke at Flint before being returned to London. During the English Civil War, Flint Castle was held by the Royalists. It was finally captured by the Parliamentarians in 1647 after a three-month siege. To prevent its reuse in the conflict, the castle was then slighted in accordance with Cromwell's destruction order. The ruins are what remain today. It has been managed as a public monument for 90 years, maintained by Cadw.
H
● 
Hawarden Castle - a Grade I listed medieval castle near Hawarden which played an important role during the Welsh struggle for independence in the 13th century. At Easter 1282, Dafydd ap Gruffudd attacked Hawarden Castle, thereby starting the final Welsh conflict with Norman England, in the course of which Welsh independence was lost. King Edward I's sense of outrage was such that he designed a punishment for Dafydd harsher than any previous form of capital punishment; Dafydd was hanged, drawn, and quartered in Shrewsbury in October 1283. In 1294 the castle was captured during the revolt of Madog ap Llywelyn. After the English Civil War in the 17th century the castle was slighted on the orders of Oliver Cromwell. Its ruins are on the New Hawarden Castle estate and are open to the public on some Sundays.
R
● 
Rhuddlan Castle was erected by Edward I in 1277 following the First Welsh War. It was planned as a concentric castle. It has a unique 'diamond' layout as the gatehouses are positioned at the corners of the square baileys instead of along the sides. Before the Norman occupation of lower Gwynedd, Rhuddlan was at the heart of a Welsh cantref. The Lords of Rhuddlan commanded the lands of North East Wales (Welsh Perfeddwlad) from there on behalf of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn (1007 – August 5, 1063), the last ruler of all Wales. In the late 11th century, the Normans invaded Gwynedd. Rhuddlan was fought over by the Princes of Gwynedd and the Earls of Chester. The remains of a Norman castle at Twthill, built in 1086, is just to the south of the current castle. In July 1277, at the outbreak of the Welsh Wars, Edward I left Chester and established an advance base at Flint, where building work immediately began on Flint Castle. With naval assistance from 25 ships of the Cinque Ports fleet, the army pushed along the coast. By August Edward had moved his forces onto Rhuddlan. Three months later it was ceded to the English Crown following the Treaty of Aberconwy between Llywelyn ap Gruffudd and Edward I. Work on Rhuddlan Castle began immediately under the control of Master Bertram, a Gascon engineer, but construction was soon handed over to Savoyard master mason, James of St George who remained in charge until labour ceased in 1282. Edward I also created a new borough, north of his castle, away from the pre-existing Norman town and Dominican Friary. Elizabeth the eighth daughter of Edward I was born at Rhuddlan in 1282, the same year work at the castle was completed. Two years later the Statute of Rhuddlan was signed at the castle following the defeat of Llewellyn the Last. It ceded all the lands of the former Welsh Princes to the English Crown and introduced English common law. Edward I could now appoint Royal officials, (sheriffs, constables, and bailiffs), to collect taxes and enforce English law throughout Wales. Following Rhuddlan, the counties of north western North Wales were placed under the control of the Justiciar of North Wales. Although the statute brought in English legislation, Welsh law continued to be practised at local level after the conquest of the Wales. This remained the case until 1536 when Rhuddlan's statute was repealed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542 that made English common law the exclusive judicial system in Wales. In 1294 the castle was attacked during the Welsh rising of Madog ap Llywelyn but was not taken. It was attacked again by forces of Owain Glyndŵr in 1400. This time the town was badly damaged but the castle held out. In the latter 15th and early 16th centuries the castle's condition deteriorated as its strategic and administrative importance waned. Rhuddlan Castle was again garrisoned by Royalist troops during the English Civil War. It was taken by Parliamentary forces after a siege in 1646. Two years later Parliamentarians partially demolished the castle to prevent any further military use. Today Rhuddlan Castle is managed by Cadw
● 
Talacre Hall
References and Sources
Flintshire Specific
General
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_monastic_houses_in_Wales
- http://www.castlewales.com/listings.html
- http://www.scottishcastlesassociation.com/
- http://www.stravaiging.com/history/castles
- http://www.secretscotland.org.uk/index.php/Main/HomePage
- http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk
- http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/
- http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/
- http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_country_houses_in_the_United_K...
- http://www.britainsfinest.co.uk/historichouses/
- http://www.britainexpress.com/Where_to_go_in_Britain/historic_house...
- http://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/
- Historic Houses Association - represents 1,500 houses in the UK
- Hudson's Historic Houses and Gardens - UK - guidebook of over 2,000 houses open to the public
- The DiCamillo Companion to British & Irish Country Houses - database of over 7,000 houses
- Lost Heritage - A Memorial to the Lost Country Houses of England - list of over 1,700 houses
- National Trust for Historic Preservation - online database of historic houses in the United State
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historic_Houses_Association - http://www.hha.org.uk/
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Houses_of_England
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