Welsh Journals

MONTGOMERY TOWN WALL. By B. H. St. J. O'NEIL, M.A., F.S.A., and A. H. FOSTER-SMITH. THERE have been numerous articles and references in this journal and in Montgomeryshire Collections to the castle and church of Montgomery, and also some which deal with the history of the borough, but it does not seem that there has ever been a published account of the existing remains of the town defence. This is all the more surprising, since, although no portion of a stone wall is visible above ground, the bank which covers its foundations and the ditch are traceable at many points outside the town and in certain places are very prominent. It is unfortunate that the Royal Commission on Ancient Monuments dismissed the subject in a few lines. Before, however, proceeding with the description of the earthworks and of the excavations, carried out on them in 1938 and 1939, it will be as well to set out a brief summary of the historical beginnings of the town. At the end of September, 1223, Henry III arrived at Montgomery with an army which had been collected for a punitive raid against the Welsh under Llywelyn ap Iorwerth. His advisers showed him a site which Matthew Paris describes as "locum ilium idoneum ad inexpugnabile castrum construendum" [a suitable spot for the erection of an impregnable castle], and he forthwith gave orders for the work of building to proceed.! Whilst the king was at Mont- gomery, Llywelyn made his peace, but the castle works were never- theless continued, and, whereas a letter of October 11th of that year2 describes the stronghold as the "new castle which the king is establishing outside Montgomery," by the following November 8th3 it was simply termed "our castle of Montgomery." The scribe of the earlier letter clearly still looked upon the old site, i.e. Hen Domen, as Montgomery, but by the time of the later document the new site had already become the more important of the two. The work was still in progress in June, 1229,4 although an entry of February 13th in lHist. Angl., Rolls Series, II, p. 247 s.a. 1221. For the true date see Lloyd, Hist. Wales, II, pp. 661, n. 32. 2Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1216-25, p. 386. 3 Ibid., p. 414. ^Cal. Close Rolls, 1227-31, p. 180.