Longtown Castle

-1st Century (Castle Origins)

Longtown Castle dates back nearly 2,000 years, evident by recently discovered Roman pottery and carbon-dated charcoal found at the site, indicating it was originally a Roman fort, confirming the previous hypotheses of such. 

Longtown was one of a company of forts erected during the Silures resistance against Roman rule in the 1st century. It is believed that these "people of the rocks" built several forts along the frontline, a day's march from each one to the next, as a stronghold in their fight to retain independence. The fort at Longtown had a square embankment surrounded by a ditch with wooden stockade fencing at the top. 

-c.1055 (Heightened Embankment)

The current supposition credits Earl Harold Godwinson, soon-to-be King Harold, and his army with widening and deepening the ditch around the Longtown fort. The result of this defacement was a higher, 5-metre (16.40-feet) embankment, created for an anticipated attack that never happened. Presumably, the Anglo-Saxon army made their camp here while chasing a Welsh army, having pillaged and burned Hereford, back into Wales. 

-c.1066 (Wooden Tower Built)

After King Harold's death at the Battle of Hastings, Walter de Lacy and William FitzOsbern were ordered by William the Conqueror to build a chain of castles to defend the border at Herefordshire. The first castle Walter built was just four miles south of Longtown at Walterstone.

It is thought to be "more than likely" that Welsh forces occupied the fort at Longtown in troublesome times following the Conquest. Walter was actively constructing another castle at nearby Ponthendre so as to ward off this threat, but the inevitable conflict ensued before it was finished, and Walter abandoned the site to occupy the Longtown fort instead. 

The fort was a wooden tower raised upon a motte over the rampart's northwest corner. Situated here, Walter de Lacy simultaneously defended and held control over the Welsh locals living in the valley there, who faced ongoing raids from Independent parts of Wales. 

-c.1095

Following William the Conqueror's death, Roger de Lacy, Walter's son, suffered two failed conspiracies against the latest king, William Rufus. These treasonous acts led to his exile, whereupon his Ludlow, Weobley, Walterstone, and Longtown castles were confiscated.  

-1135-53 (The Anarchy/Stone Structure Built)

Longtown, and the rest of Roger's property, was reclaimed by his son, Gilbert de Lacy, which was finally accomplished circa 1148. Presumably, his time and actions in the civil, a riveting highlight in British history, resulted in his recovered inheritance. 

The latest findings by the Longtown Castles Project suggest the probability that Gilbert was responsible for replacing the wooden castle at this time with the newer stone structure we see today. (This precedes previous notations by 35-75 years, depending on the source. Additionally, some claim the construction of the original timber motte and bailey occurred at those times.)

Pottery findings and radiocarbon dates suggest the stone castle was erected circa 1150-1160 and most active from its assembly until about 1250; additional LCP research further supports these conclusions. 

The de Lacys proceeded to lay out a new borough along the ridge in order to finance the construction of the new stone castle. Soon it was known as the Long Town of Ewias Lacy.

-c.1163

Around this time, Hugh de Lacy, Gilbert's younger son, is noted to inherit the family estates after Gilbert and his elder son, Roger (who was without children), had both passed.

-1163-1210

The de Lacy family's wealth had grown considerably over the years, and the rich got even richer when Hugh became viceroy in Ireland following his participation in the successful invasion led by Henry II in 1171. It took nearly forty more years before the family overextended their reach, and King John sent an army to expel the de Lacys in 1210.

-1233

Some sources note a visit to Longtown Castle by Henry III when he ordered the castle to be garrisoned and readied to attack while on his Welsh Marches tour. Longtown and other nearby castles soon became strategic components in the wartime to follow. 

-1241 (de Lacy Ownership Ends)

The last member of the de Lacys (named Walter, like the first) had fallen upon hard times; he died blind and broke, and the family estates were divided soon after. Conflicting records note the castle's passing to various family members, including Gilbert de Lacy's widow and Walter's daughter, and mention the division of all the family estates between Walter's two granddaughters.

Regardless, Walter de Lacy's death marks the beginning of the end for Longtown Castle.

-1317

By this time, the de Berghersh family had become the owners of Longtown. The castle was in slow decay and likely only occasionally occupied. Amid complaints from the castle's tenants and local townsfolk about "cattle rustling," fish poaching, breached houses, and plundered goods, the Sheriff of Hereford and thirty men were ordered to garrison the castle. 

-1369

The castle passes to new owners once again; first to the Despencer family, then the Beauchamps, and later to the Nevilles. However, all of these families retained occupancy at their existing estates, and Longtown was left to decay. 

-1403 (Re-Fortified)

By King Henry IV's orders, nearly two-dozen castles, including Longtown, were re-fortified and provisioned into active service during the Owain Glyndwr rebellion. 

-1452

This is the last known historical mention of the castle as "a working entity." However, both the village and the castle were already in terminal decline, a lingering aftereffect of the Black Death. Henceforth, Longtown continued to decay.

-1865

Cannonballs belonging to the Civil War era were discovered in the keep's vicinity, suggesting the possible occurrence of undocumented action at the site. 

-2017-2018

Longtown Castles Project’s excavations of the site prove enlightening and result in a rewrite of the castle’s history.