Dolforwyn Castle, Montgomery Castle

The castles of Dolforwyn and Montgomery stand less than 5 miles apart in lands that were hotly contested in the Middle Ages. King Henry III ordered the construction of Montgomery in 1223 to counter the ambitions of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, prince of Gwynedd, in the strategically important area. Fifty years later, Llywelyn's grandson and prince of Wales, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, began the construction of Dolforwyn to bolster his authority in the region. The proximity of the castles created tensions between Prince Llywelyn and King Edward I, and this 48-page guidebook relates how that tension contributed to the outbreak of war in 1277. It also surveys the subsequent histories of both castles, including the siege and destruction of Montgomery in the Civil War, and includes tours of both sites.