Holt Castle

Set in the attractive planned village of Holt, Holt Castle is a ruin on the banks of the River Dee.

Following the defeat of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, the last independent Prince of Wales in 1282, Edward I gave John de Warenne, the 7th Earl of Surrey, the lordships of Bromfield and Yale. To secure his newly gained lands, John built Holt Castle, also known as Lion’s Castle, to control a nearby strategic ford across the River Dee.

The castle when completed in about 1308 was one of strongest ever constructed. It consisted of inner and outer wards, each with their own defences and gates. The inner ward was pentagonal in shape with a high round tower at each of the corners.