Historic Places in Powys

Brecon Castle is a ruined Norman castle in the centre of Brecon, the market town and principal settlement of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Powys. Founded by Bernard de Neufmarché around 1093 following his conquest of the Welsh kingdom of Brycheiniog, the castle occupies a commanding position above the River Usk at the confluence with the Honddu. The substantial remains of the round tower and curtain walls are incorporated into the grounds of the Castle of Brecon Hotel, which surrounds and overlooks the castle ruins. The town of Brecon is the natural gateway to the Brecon Beacons National Park and contains several significant heritage buildings including Brecon Cathedral, one of the finest medieval churches in Wales. The castle's commanding position above the rivers provides views over the town and the mountain backdrop of the Beacons to the south.

Sturdy stone tower with a turbulent history First built as a basic ‘motte-and-bailey’ castle in the late 11th or early 12th century, Castell Bronllys' surviving stone tower dates from the 13th century. You can still climb the tower’s three floors, where far-reaching views from the highest levels give a good idea of the site’s strategic importance – its location in disputed Marches border territory saw the castle pass from English to Welsh hands several times over the centuries. It was repaired in the early 15th century in response to the native uprising led by Owain Glyndŵr before falling into ruin. Alongside the tower, remnants of walls and the deep fosse (or dry moat) can still be seen.

Castell Crugerydd near Llanfihangel-nant-Melan in Powys is a ruined twelfth-century motte-and-bailey castle in the remote upland landscape of mid-Wales, representing the Norman penetration of this mountainous border country between the Welsh kingdoms of Maelienydd and Elfael. The earthwork castle was part of the network of Norman fortifications attempting to control the Welsh uplands in the twelfth century, a process of repeated advance and retreat as the native Welsh princes resisted colonisation. The remote setting in the upland hills south of Radnor Forest gives the site an atmospheric quality typical of the lesser-known castle earthworks of mid-Wales, where the sparse population and undeveloped landscape preserve medieval earthworks in a condition unusual in more intensively farmed parts of Britain. The surrounding landscape of the Radnorshire hills and the Wye valley provides quiet walking country in one of the least visited but most scenically rewarding parts of Wales.

Crickhowell Castle is the ruined remains of a Norman motte-and-bailey castle later converted to stone in the medieval period, standing in the market town of Crickhowell in Powys at the edge of the Black Mountains and the Brecon Beacons National Park. The castle was originally a Turberville family stronghold associated with the conquest of the Welsh kingdom of Brycheiniog and played a role in the medieval history of this contested border zone between English-controlled south Wales and the upland Welsh territories. The remaining round tower and moated earthworks are freely accessible in the town centre. Crickhowell is one of the most attractive small towns in the Brecon Beacons, celebrated for its independent shops, restaurants and the remarkable Table Mountain hill rising directly above the town, providing a demanding but rewarding short walk from the town centre with spectacular views over the Usk valley.

Ruined symbol of Welsh defiance Built by Welsh lord Llywelyn ap Gruffydd (Llywelyn the Last) in 1273 on hill above the Severn Valley, Castell Dolforwyn was a flashpoint in Anglo-Welsh relations from the very beginning. When word reached King Edward I about the castle, he wrote to Llewelyn forbidding him to continue with the construction. Llewelyn responded that he did not need the king’s permission to build on his own land and carried on regardless. Unfortunately, Llywelyn’s defiance was to be short-lived. Marcher lord Roger Mortimer took Dolforwyn in 1277 after a two-week siege. The castle was abandoned in the 14th century, falling into disrepair until comparatively recent excavations uncovered its crumbling remains.

Hay Castle at Hay-on-Wye in Powys is a fortified medieval castle and later house that has been the subject of a major community restoration project, following decades of ownership by Richard Booth, the self-proclaimed King of Hay who established the town's famous second-hand book trade and transformed it into the book capital of the world. The castle complex combines Norman earthworks, medieval masonry and a seventeenth-century mansion house in various stages of restoration. Hay-on-Wye sits on the English-Welsh border in the Black Mountains foothills and is internationally famous for the Hay Festival of Literature and Arts, one of the world's most prestigious literary festivals held annually in the town. The castle's ongoing restoration and the vibrant book-town culture of Hay combine to create one of the most distinctive and culturally rich heritage destinations in Wales.

More than the sum of its parts Montgomery is one of those castles that, even in ruin, retain a powerful atmosphere and presence that transcend its state of preservation. Perhaps it’s something to do with its location, on a steep crag above a pretty Georgian town with all-seeing views across the Welsh border. Commenced around 1223 on the orders of Henry III in response to the growing power of Welsh native prince Llywelyn ap Iorwerth (Llywelyn the Great), Montgomery’s stone castle replaced a nearby wooden fort known as Hen Domen. Perched on its rocky ridge, this new fortress was significantly sturdier and more sophisticated, with a stone inner ward, well, deep defensive ditches crossed by drawbridges and walled town. The castle remained in use for centuries, surviving attacks by Llywelyn in 1228 and 1231 and Llywelyn’s son Dafydd in 1245. The castle’s ultimate end came during the Civil War, when it fell to the Parliamentarians and was demolished in 1649, leaving just the crumbling towers and low walls that stand today.

Powis Castle near Welshpool in Powys is one of the most magnificent castles in Wales and home to one of the finest formal gardens in Britain, a medieval castle remodelled as a country house across several centuries and now managed by the National Trust. The medieval red sandstone castle dates from the thirteenth century when it was the seat of the Welsh princes of Powys, and was subsequently developed into a comfortable aristocratic residence by the Herbert earls of Powys. The terraced gardens, created in the late seventeenth century in the Italian and French formal style and never subsequently destroyed or redesigned, are internationally recognised as among the best surviving examples of formal baroque garden design in Britain. The castle interior contains exceptional collections of treasures accumulated over centuries, including outstanding items from Clive of India's time in Bengal. Open throughout the season, Powis is consistently rated among the finest National Trust properties in Wales.

Tretower Castle and Court near Crickhowell in Powys is a medieval heritage site of exceptional quality combining a twelfth-century Norman shell keep and later round tower with a remarkably complete fourteenth and fifteenth-century manor house, Tretower Court, that represents one of the finest examples of late medieval domestic architecture in Wales. The Court, developed by the Vaughan family in the fifteenth century, preserves an unusual completeness of its timber-framed gallery, great hall, chapel and domestic ranges that gives a vivid impression of comfortable late medieval country house life. The castle round tower and the adjacent Court together span four centuries of architectural development from Norman military fortification to refined fifteenth-century domesticity. Managed by Cadw and open to visitors, Tretower provides one of the most complete and educational medieval heritage experiences in Wales, set in the attractive agricultural landscape of the Usk valley in the Brecon Beacons National Park.