The Castles of Ewias Lacy: 1048 to 1403

The Castles of Ewias Lacy 1048 to 1403 by Paul Martin Remfry (M. Phil.) ISBN 1-899376-37-2 Foreword Far too often researchers have based their conclusions on the findings of earlier historians, sometimes paying little or no heed to the proliferation of new evidence that can result in the discounting of earlier deductions. The dedicated historian is never satisfied until he has studied all the available material firsthand and at its source. The Castles of Ewias Lacy is one amongst many of the works of Paul Remfry to bear the hallmark of the truly dedicated historian. Paul's research has provided us with a detailed account, not only of the building itself and its fascinating history, but also of the many important figures who have directly or indirectly shaped its history. Paul's painstaking research and indefatigable attention to detail has resulted in the production of an ever growing series of books on the Welsh border castles. With its unique and colourful history Castles of Ewias Lacy is a welcome addition to this series. It is gratifying to know that the history loving world has, at last, been presented with a truly comprehensive and detailed account of these most important castles. R H Willmott BEng (Hons), Member of the Archaeological Research Section, Woolhope Naturalists Field Club Paul Remfry is 35 and has lived in the Marches of Wales for the past 30 years. He has always been interested in castles and the border history of this area. He studied history at Aberystwyth University College of Wales between 1981 and 1984 and in 1989 obtained a Master of Philosophy Degree by Thesis on the Welsh Dynasties of Rhwng Gwy a Hafren (roughly equates to the old county of Radnor) and their Middle March castles. He is a member of the Castle Studies Group and is involved with various Archaeological groups. Currently he is a self-employed consultant and has been embarked on the project of surveying and reporting the history of the myriad of castles along the Welsh frontier for the past 15 years. This booklet is part of that continuing project. Money raised from the sale of these booklets is used to fund further research. Figure 2, The Location of Longtown in relation to Britain Conversion Factors and Dates The conventions used throughout these booklets are feet and inches as I believe these to be of greater value in defining castle features. For conversion to the metric scale the following formula should be used. Multiply the imperial figure by 3.25, ie. 1 foot is .31 of a metre. Dates in brackets referring to a person usually refer to the period when they held office or were of age and rarely to their date of birth. The Castles of Ewias Lacy 1048 to 1403 Contents The partition of the Lacy estates, 1242 to 1249 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 John Verdun and Ewias Lacy, 1244 to 1274 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 The Genevilles and Ewias Lacy, 1274 to 1307 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Theobald Verdun and Longtown, 1274 to 1310 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 The Fate of Ewias Lacy, 1310 to 1403 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 The Castles of Ewias Lacy Barony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Walterstone Castle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Llancillo Castle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Rowlestone Castle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 The Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Appendix 1, The Herefordshire Lacy estates in 1242-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Appendix 2, The Verdun estates in 1317 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Glossary Bailiff Barbican Batter Berm Chisel Marks Commote Curtain Demesne Diagonal Tooling Enceinte Forebuilding Hundred Knight's Fee Livery Marcher Lordship Morcellement Pipe Roll Plinth Purparty Repleve Quarrel Scarp Scutage Vill An officer who manages an estate for another An outer defence for the entrance to a castle gateway Sloping, or splayed, bottom of a wall Flat area between the enceinte and the scarp Marks left by chiselling at stone, assumed to be post Norman Welsh administrative land unit, commonly equated to a Hundred Wall enclosing the ward of a castle Land held by a lord in his own hand A method of cutting stone, assumed to be Norman Main stone defensive structures of a ward, ie. curtain & towers Defensive building controlling entrance to a keep English administrative land unit subject to royal justice Land held by service of providing a knight in time of war Symbolic conveyance of land Land held in chief of the king, but separate of royal justice Division into smaller pieces Exchequer account of the Shires Projecting base of a wall A portion of an estate allotted to a coparcener The return of lands or goods seized on the offering of security Crossbow bolt Steeply sloping ground like the face of a ditch Shield money. A tax levied on the knight fee Norman Hamlet originally equivalent to a manor, later a parish ISBN 1-899376-37-2 Copyright 1998 by Paul Martin Remfry. First Published 31 December 1998 Produced and Published by SCS Publishing Diesgwylfa, Ceidio, Gwynedd, LL53 6YJ The Castles of Ewias Lacy 1048 to 1403 The early history of Ewias commote has been dealt with in Longtown Castle, 1048 to 1241, but it is worth recapping a few points. The lordship of Ewias Lacy was not synonymous with the old commote of Ewias. The Norman Lordship was a mixture of lands carved out by inheritance and conquest. To these initial lands, which seem to have consisted of Walterstone, Rowlestone, Llancillo, Dulas and Cusop*1, the later Lacys eventually added the central region of Ewias around and to the north of Longtown castle. Longtown castle, later to become the caput of the Marcher barony of Ewias Lacy, was itself founded no earlier than 1175, and was built upon the probable site of an ancient fortification of Earl Harold Godwinson constructed in 1056. Longtown, the new castle of Hugh Lacy (d.1186), seems to have been the successor of nearby Pont Hendre castle which may have been founded by Pain fitz John in the period 1118 to 1137. During this period Pain was eminently powerful in Herefordshire and lord of Ewias Lacy. From the evidence available it seems quite likely that some degree of native independence continued in the Welshry of Ewias well Figure 3, The Honour of Ewias Lacy or Longtown into the twelfth century. Welsh was still a common language around Llanthony Priory, in the west of the commote in 1188, when Giraldus passed by. By the time of the death of Walter Lacy some 50 years later in 1241 this independentist streak seems to have been obliterated. This work, as the second of the series, consists of a continuation of the history of Longtown castle and its barony as well as a description of the three castles built in the southern parts of what was to become the Honour of Longtown, viz Walterstone, Rowlestone and Llancillo. *1 Cusop, Mynydd y Brith and Nant y Bar castles in the north of the honour form a separate homogenous group to the sites covered in this work. Consequently they will be dealt with in a later publication. 1