Flint Castle, Flintshire, North Wales. Medieval castle seen from tidal marshes on edge of River Dee.
Flint Castle, North Wales. The first castle and fortified town to be founded as part Edward I’s campaign against Llywelyn ap Gruffydd (Llywelyn the Last) in north Wales. Construction started Sunday 25 July 1277, finished by 1284. The new place name 'Flint' may refer to the ‘striking point’ of Edward’s campaign. It has an Unusual plan of a square inner ward with round tower at each corner but the Great Tower at south east corner (left) is built like a donjon or old fashioned keep, slightly detached & with access from inner ward by drawbridge over its own wet moat. Built with exceptionally thick walls and equipped with all the facilities required to withstand a siege, it was presumably intended to be a final refuge in the event of an attack. North East Tower, centre pic. Shakespeare makes Flint castle the setting for the final capture of Richard II by Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Lancaster, soon to be Henry IV: Richard is supposed to have heard Mass in the chapel on first floor of donjon, then went upon the walls to watch the enemy host approach along the seashore. Flint played no part in the Wars of the Roses, but changed hands several times during Civil War surrendering finally to Parliament 1646. Flint Castle was demolished on the orders of parliament following the end of the Civil War. Photo taken at low tide from mud banks on the edge of the Dee Estuary. Edward built his castles close to the sea so his supplies would not be threatened by ambush on land. Supply ships would have sailed into the shallow waters and loaded or unloaded when the receeding tide left them high and dry.
Size: 4961px × 3759px
Location: Flint Castle, Flint, Flintshire, North Wales, UK
Photo credit: © Jean Williamson / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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