WALES is the land of castles, some of which still stand, and some of which have fallen into ruin.

Llanidloes is not a place which is associated with a castle but the market town was once home to such a fortress.

Battles

Llanidloes stands in a position which was of considerable importance - at the confluence of the Severn and Clywedog which converge to a narrow gorge while sat on the hills of the Clywedog and Severn valleys in the west and Cilfach-allt in the east.

The land was once the part of the cantref of Arwystli and kingdom of Rhwng Gwy a Hafren, which became a battleground for the rival kingdoms of Powys and Gwynedd during the Middle Ages though they had also been allies against the Saxons.

Its king, Elystan Glodrydd, died in battle in the Battle of Cefn Digoll and buried at Long Mynd having joined the rival kingdoms of Gwynedd and Powys and the Saxon kingdom of Mercia in war against the invading Saxon kingdom of Northumbria in 1010.

Glodrydd’s grandsons, Cadwallon ap Madog and Einion Clud, also became warrior kings against the invading Normans who had taken advantage of the long-standing rivalries for Arwystli.

While the Marcher Lordships expanded west the kings of Wales had warred.

Arwystli’s own ruler Trahaearn ap Caradoc had seized the throne of Gwynedd in 1075 and despite his death at the Battle of Mynydd Carn near St David’s and restoration of Gruffudd ap Cynan as king of the northern kingdom, Arwystli had remained in the hands of Trahaean ap Caradog’s descendents.

However an ill-fated war against the neighbouring Powys cantref of Cyfeiliog led to Arwstyli being annexed by its ambitious king, Owain ap Gruffudd, who had become King of south Powys in 1160.

County Times: The strategically important River Severn in Llanidloes. Picture by Jeremy Bolwell.The strategically important River Severn in Llanidloes. Picture by Jeremy Bolwell.

Owain of Cyfeiliog ravaged as far as Llandinam though his claiming of Arwystli led to the provoking of a long-standing rivalry with Gwynedd.

The rise of Gwynedd during the 12th century saw Powys’ king, Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn, the grandson of Owain Cyfeliog, side with King Edward I in the conquest of Wales which had culminated in the death of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd at Cilmerry near Builth Wells in 1282.

His son, Owain ap Gruffudd ap Gwenwynwyn, had reclaimed his ancestral lands as a Marcher Lord, rebuilding Powis Castle in Welshpool and changing his name to Owen de la Pole as friend and ally of King Edward I.

By the start of the 1300s a weekly market and two fairs were being held every year which saw Llanidloes grow in size and population.

Where was it?

While Llanidloes certainly was home to a castle, its exact origins remain a mystery such had been the turbulent years which had seen Arwystli claimed as its own by the warring Welsh kingdoms.

However some clues exist.

The pub once known as the Mount Inn, located on the edge of Church Street and Smithfield Road, is suggested to have been the site of the castle given its name suggests a man made feature and evidence the area had once had a natural moat.

County Times: Smithfield Street. Pic: David Dixon.Smithfield Street. Pic: David Dixon.

This theory is supported by records of the existence of a pub called the Castle Inn which had once stood on Church Street until it was demolished in 1887.

However another theory prevails as four miles north of Llanidloes stands another mound, known as Pen-Y-Castell.