The Remains of Ruthin Castle

The original name of Ruthin Castle granted to De Grey was Castlell c´ch yn Gwern-f´r, so called from the red colour of its exterior masonry; and it is observable that a portion of land contiguous is still called Gwern-f´r, implying a tradition that it was once covered by the sea. The name of Ruthin is, probably, Rhudden, Red Earth, which is quite descriptive of its soil, and not Rhudd-ddinas, as sometimes asserted. Llanrhudd, the name of the parish, is the church of this red tract of land. More properly it should be Llanrhudden.

On investigating the present ruins, much of which have been lately brought to light, at the expense of their present possessor, it is no difficult matter to conjecture what must have been the appearance of this Castle in the days of its grandeur. It consisted, as its present appearance shows, of a larger and smaller court, standing east and west of each other, and separated by a deep dry Foss cut through the red stone rock. Old Churchyard begins his description as follows: "This Castle stands on a rock much like red brick,   "The Dykes are cut with tools thro' stonye cragge." Over this dry ditch was a wooden bridge of communication, by means of which the garrison commanded a retreat if either court were surprised, on which emergency this bridge could readily be cut away. The larger or Entrance court, usually called the Ballium, was pentagonal. or five sided, and contains an area of about 300 feet.                                                       The Wooden Bridge Today The Eastern part of this court had two sides meeting in an angle. The remaining three sides were at right angles to each other. In the south-eastern side of this projection was the great gate of entrance, flanked by two towers of a round form to the exterior and square to the court within. Under these, and extending to the north-east, are vaults and long passages, which were used for prisons and cellars. Probably more would be found if an excavation were made.                                                                    Dungeon Entrance                                                            To The Dungeons                                                               The Whipping Pit                                                                 Old Staircase On the north side was the Baronial Hall, where the Lordship Court might have been held. Here too, the Lord of the Castle sat occasionally, decreeing summary justice, or for the mere acceptable purpose of feasting his superior officers and inferior retainers. This hall we may imagine decorated with banners, coatarmour, casques, battleaxis, spears, bows and arrows, suspended in trophies on its walls. In later times, we may imagine pictures of martial chiefs, and fire arms, to be added.                                                                                                                                                                                                         Site of Long Hall The western extremity may have been furnished with a huge oaken table raised on a dais, where the Baron himself sat at the board with a select few, while inferior persons regaled themselves at the tables in the lower part of the hall. Adjoining to this end of the hall, and communicating with the chapel on the west side of the court, were rooms, or parlours, to which he retired, and, with their apartments above, were his usual residence. In short, the arrangements, divested of their military look, were similar to those of our colleges in the Universities, as they exist to this day. The foundation stones of these rooms lately appeared on clearing away the soil. There were five great embattled round towers in this court, besides the smaller ones at the gate of entrance, one at each angle, which were connected by a gallery running between a double wall, above and below, on which the guards plied their work of keeping watch, or assaulting the enemy outside, with arrows and other missiles, through the loopholes or over the battlements. "It shews within, by double walls and wales, "A deep devise did first erect the same." (Written by Churchyard) Sloping down towards the court from this running platform or way, were the roofs of sheds and buildings which the inferior soldiers inhabited, and were used in part for other purposes of economy. Such was the eastern court, or ballium. The western court before-mentioned, as connected with this by the wooden draw-bridge, was used for inferior purposes. A fragment of an ancient MS. among the papers of the late eminent ancient British Antiquary the Rev. John Lloyd, of Caerwys, which describes the Castle in its later days, harmonizes with the present appearance of the ruins.It calls it: "A faire lardge rome castel-like, encompassed with a strong wale, having a great towre wherein ys a gate, the waye beinge oute thereof to the ulter mote, in which rome are two greate and lardge howses, sometymes used for barnes and stables, built with tymber and covered with slattes, and underneath the one of them a rome for twenty greate horses with bayes made of stones, these romes beinge beneathe and under grownde. The same romes servith for the ulter warde of the Castle, beinge far gone in dekaye, the Castle being built of redde asheler stones the same beinge imbattled, the walle mowche in dekaye."                                                              Gate To Inner Ward The forest is described as spreading over certain mountains "wherein sometyme doth lie both redde and fallow deere, over which mountaines doth growe by estimation thousands of oaks, worth to be sold a hundred marks sterling. There are also within the said lordship certain pastures and tillage grounds called Parkes, which are farmed to divers people at yearly rents." It proceeds to say, that the Lords of the Castle had the tolls of faires held in Ruthin on the feasts of Saint Matthew, Pentecost and Allhallows, and of the markets held every Monday and Friday, worth yearly twenty marks. As it is conjectured that a fortified post stood here before the Norman Castle was built on its site, so is it as possible there was also a Town adjoining, some centuries before the arrival of Lord Grey; for ancient accounts speak of a feat of the renowned King Arthur performed in Ruthin, where a rude block of lime-stone, called Maen Huail, is still shewn, on which that Prince beheaded a rival of the name of Huail, son of Caw of Edernion, and brother of Gildas the historian. Perhaps the former inhabitants were displaced to make way for the English retainers of the Castle, a tyranny of which its founder was fully capable. He either made an addition to the Town immediately contiguous to his Castle, which he surrounded with a wall, or threw that fence round the ancient one for the protection of his followers, to whom he himself granted, or obtained from the crown, a charter of incorporation, from the privileges of which the natives were excluded, for it was not till the reign of Henry V11, who was of ancient British extraction, that all oppressive laws of exclusion were repealed.                                                       An Entrance To Ruthin Castle    Three Kids Gripped By Evil By Polly Mullaney      Amazon Kindle, Amazon paperback http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Three%20kids%20gripped%20by%20evil