Dolwyddelan Castle

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The main keep, which has survived largely intact. Very little of the second tower remains.

Dolwyddelan Castle atop a hill.

Dolwyddelan Castle (Welsh: Castell Dolwyddelan) is a castle located in a prominent position on a hill overlooking the A470 trunk road near Dolwyddelan village in Conwy County in North Wales.

It consists of two rectangular towers linked by an irregular curtain wall. It was built in the early 13th century as one of the strongholds of the princes of Gwynedd, functioning as a guardpost along a main routeway.

The castle was captured by Edward I of England's forces on January 18, 1283, in the final stages of his aggressive conquest of Wales. In the 15th century, an upper storey was added to the keep by local lord Maredudd ap Ieuan. It was restored and partly re-modeled in the 19th Century by Lord Willoughby de Eresby, who added the distinctive battlements.

Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, prince of Gwynedd and North Wales, was born less than a quarter of a mile away, in a fortified house close to the river, the site known as Tomen Castell.

[edit] Related Information

In 1980 the castle was transformed into the wizard Ulrich's castle during the making of the film Dragonslayer, and all of the outdoor scenes were shot at the castle. The making of the film also meant utilizing a lot of the local livestock such as chickens and goats to add ambience. Many other locations around the castle were used.