Six bloody stories behind Welsh castles that make Game of Thrones look tame

Wales may be a small country but it’s often said we have the most castles per square mile in the world.

There’s been so many that nobody is quite sure how many have ever been built.

From huge castles with moated defences and imposing gatehouses to castles that were designed to be luxurious homes, each holds an interesting story to tell. You can read more about why Wales has quite so many castles here.

And although castles are often associated with romantic love stories or fairytales, some in Wales saw action more often seen in Game of Thrones.

Here are just six gruesome stories that wouldn’t look out of place in the hit TV show:

1) Abergavenny Castle

The Monmouthshire castle was the scene of one of the most barbaric acts in Medieval Europe on Christmas Day 1175.

After years of warfare between the Normans and the Welsh, the Norman Baron, William de Braose sent invites to the castle to Welsh Chiefs.

Sytsylt ap Dyferwald and his fellow Welsh Lords attended, seeing it as a peace offering.

Suddenly, the doors were suddenly locked and the massacre began. Sytsylt and all his allies were butchered in the castle, including his own son.

The mass murders were bloody and brutal with dozens of unarmed Welsh chiefs being cut down by de Braose’s soldiers.

Writer William Camden described Abergavenny castle as “has been oftener stained with the infamy of treachery than any other castle in Wales.”

2) Beaumaris Castle

The castle was built in Beaumaris, Anglesey, by 2,600 men, as part of Edward I’s campaign to conquer North Wales after 1282.

In March 1592, a priest called William Davies was imprisoned in a dungeon in the castle.

He had secretly produced a religious book known as Y Drych Christianogawl (said to be the first book printed in Wales.) This was a time when heavy restrictions were placed on Catholics.

Despite local opinion pleading to set him free, he was eventually hanged, drawn and quartered there a year later.

When the day came of his execution, no one from Anglesey would carry out the execution because of their sympathies towards him. Men from Chester were then hired to carry out the gruesome sentence.

He was killed in his Christian coat, known as a cassock. When it was bought by his companions who had been separated from him since his arrest, the whole gown was covered in blood.

3) Cardiff Castle

There’s more to the 2,000-year-old castle than being one of Cardiff’s biggest tourist attractions.

In 1306, the castle passed to Britain’s Despenser family who owned it for almost 100 years. The Despenser family were known to love conflict – and not just with the Welsh.

In 1317, Llywelyn Bren was imprisoned at Cardiff Castle after planning a revolt against the English lords.

He suffered what the Despenser’s called a ‘traitor’s death’ and was hanged, without the King’s direction or a proper trial.

He had his body dragged through the streets of Cardiff. Parts of his body have been buried in the Grey Friars at Cardiff.

The Despensers didn’t get away with it and were slowly violently executed over time.

In 1400, Owain Glyndwr broke through the west gate and set fire to the castle and the town. This was in revenge against the murder of Llywelyn and the only place spared was Grey Friars where he was buried.

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4) Cardigan Castle

During the Noman invasion, six thousand Welsh soldiers and two thousand horsemen came to the castle ready to battle in 1136.

Some soldiers were slain, burnt or trampled under horses’ feet. Others were carried into captivity or drowned in rivers.

The Welsh failed to capture the castle but tried again in 1231. The castle was ravaged and burnt completely up to the castle gate. Everyone found in the castle was also killed brutally.

The same men went a second time to Cardigan and set fire to the castle. After a few days, they attacked it with catapults until the remaining people of the castle were forced to surrender.

The castle remained uninhabited and damaged until the nineteenth century.

5) Raglan Castle

During the English Civil War in 1642, tension rose between local Protestant people and the Roman Catholic Marquess who owned the castle, who was called Lord Herbert.

Expecting the castle to be burnt down, Lord Herbert ordered eight hundred soldiers to guard the castle and for the trees and buildings around the site to be destroyed to stop them from being used by other forces.

The first army arrived in early June and attacks didn’t stop until August 19.

Men began to dig trenches towards the castle and used these to move mortars forward, which launched explosive shells to the castle.

After surrendering, Lord Herbert was taken to Windsor Castle to be killed and buried there.

6) Criccieth Castle

Built on a rocky headland overlooking Tremadog Bay, Criccieth Castle was built as a statement of power – although it was set on fire on several occasions.

The castle was built by Llewelyn ‘the Great’ who wanted to establish his sole power over Gwynedd.

In 1239, he imprisoned his son and grandson at the castle, who were found 40 years after and moved to the Tower of London after English forces took over the castle.

The castle was transformed into a ‘party place’ full of hospitality, but unknown to many, hidden wards in the castle were used as a prison, housing prisoners from a Scottish war.

They were kept here until Welsh forces recaptured the castle in 1404

They tore down its walls and set the castle on fire. Some stonework still shows the scorch marks.

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