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Begun in 1277 and completed in 1282, this was the second of King Edward I's great Welsh fortifications. King Edward I was also known as Longshanks. A protected river dock forms one side of the defences of this concentrically planned castle, dominated by a distinctive diamond-shaped inner ward. The castle sits alongside
the River Clwyd, which allowed the castle to be provisioned through a
special canal built for that purpose. During the castle's lengthy
construction, the Clwyd was straightened and dredged to facilitate
deliveries to the castle. Rhuddlan was planned as a concentric castle. It
has twin-tower gatehouses in its inner ward and small towers and
turrets in its outer ward. Rhuddlan is relatively unique in that it is
'diamond' in layout, the gatehouses positioned at the corners of the square
baileys instead of along the sides as at
Harlech, An earlier castle built in 1086 called Twthill was very near the site used for this castle, some suggest an earlier fortificaton from around 800, at this time it would have been on a track through marshes, that provided a natural barrier to limit attacks from the east. It had served as a seat of Government of a Welsh King, although fought over between the Welsh and the Earls of Chester, between 700-1300 it constantly changed hands between the English and the Welsh. Edward obtained it as a part of the treaty of Aberconwy between Llywelyn II of Gwynedd and Edward I of England. Castles of Wales has an extensive article covering the history of this area and a number of early castles in the area. Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, eighth daughter of Edward I, was born here in 1282. The Statute of Rhuddlan, overriding Welsh rule of law with that of the English rule of law after the defeat of Llywelyn II of Gwynedd, was signed here in 1284. Rhuddlan was in Royalist hands during the Civil War, until forced to capitulate in 1646. In 1648 it was, like many others, partially demolished to prevent its further use. Today the castle looks quite impressive from the road with a substantial curtain wall and tower shells, but inside it is hollow. There are modern stairs up one tower allowing views over the site and area. Its not clear if you can climb any other towers. This castle does not have high walkways like some others of this period and is in much poorer condition.
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