Ludlow castle

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• published: 11 Mar 2009
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A beautiful castle situated in the ancient town of Ludlow in Shropshire, England. Construction of Ludlow Castle began in the late 11th century as the border stronghold of one of the Marcher Lords, Roger de Lacy. It is first referred to by chroniclers in 1138 but was at this time a more basic castle type. It was held by the de Lacy's into the 13th century and with their focus on their holdings in Ireland their enemies took it during the civil wars of the reign of King Stephen when the King himself besieged the castle and rescued his ally Prince Henry of Scotland. In 1224 King Henry III of England met with Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, the Welsh prince and leader, at Ludlow to sign a treaty with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Stephen Langton as mediator. Early in the 14th century it was enlarged into a magnificent palace for Roger Mortimer, then the most powerful man in England. In 1402 Edmund Mortimer, himself born at Ludlow Castle, set out from the castle with a large army to seek battle with the forces of Owain Glyndwr - he met them in the valley of the River Lugg at the Battle of Bryn Glas where he was defeated, captured and eventually allied himself to the Welsh rebel's cause, to the extent of marrying one of Glyndwr's daughters with whom he had four children, before starvation and death at the siege of Harlech Castle in 1409. Later, in the 15th century under the ownership of Richard, Duke of York, the Castle was a major base in the Wars of the Roses and was taken by the Lancastrians in 1459 but back in York hands in 1461. Ludlow afterwards became a royal palace. In 1472 Edward IV sent his son the Prince of Wales and his brother (later the Princes in the Tower of Shakespeare fame), to live at the castle, which was also the seat of Government for Wales and the Border Counties. Ludlow was now in effect the capital of Wales. In 1501 Prince Arthur, (son of Henry VII and brother to Henry VIII) with his bride Catherine of Aragon, lived here for a short time before his early death. Mary Tudor, daughter of Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII, and then heir to the throne of England as the couple's only issue, spent three winters at Ludlow between 1525 and 1528 along with her entourage of servants, advisors, and guardians.In the English Civil War between 1642 to 1648 Ludlow was a Royalist stronghold and was besieged by Parliamentarian forces but negotiated a surrender, avoiding damage and slighting. In 1669 the seat of administration for the Marches and Wales and the Council of the Marches was centralised in London during the reign of William and Mary. The legal and administrative community moved with it. In 1689 the Royal Welch Fusiliers were founded at the Castle by Lord Herbert of Chirbury but soon after it was abandoned and gradually fell into decay. In 1811 the ruins were purchased from the crown by the 2nd Earl of Powis, in the ownership of whose family it remains.