Hen Domen, meaning "old mound", is the name of the original Montgomery castle (Powys, Wales). It was the home of the first Bowdlers to move to England - the de Boulers from Boelare in Flanders. It is situated to the west of Montgomery town and was an important location just east of the ford of Rhyd Whyman over the river Severn.
| Shortly after the Norman Conquest the Conqueror's kinsmen Roger de Montgomery, who had been left in Normandy as co-regent with the Duchess, received large tracts of territory both in Sussex and in Shropshire and was created Earl of Shrewsbury, where the castle already established by the Conqueror by 1069 became his principal seat. At some date between 1070 and 1074 Roger built a castle in what was then the Shropshire hundred of Witentreu (a name perhaps surviving in Whittery farm and bridge in the neighbouring Shropshire parish of Chirbury) which he called after his ancestral fief in Normandy (Ips comes construxit castrum Mungumeri vocatum - Domesday survey). |
 |
Earl Roger died in 1094 and was succeeded in his estates in this country by his third, but second surviving son Hugh. It was during Hugh's tenure that the castle was sacked in 1095 by Cadwgan ap Bleddyn, Prince of Powys. Hugh was killed on the shore of Anglesey in a fight with the Norwegians in 1098 and was succeeded by his elder brother Robert (called de Belesme, as heir to his mother's estates). Robert was prominent amongst those who sided with Duke Robert of Normandy against his brother Henry I and, as a result, was deprived of his honours in this country in 1102. After a further turbulent career, he died as a prisoner or King Henry in Corfe Castle in about 1131.
On the fall of the Montgomerys the castle (of Hen Domen) and the honour were granted by Henry I to Baldwin de Boulers in marriage with Sybil de Falaise (one Henry's illegitimate daughters). Baldwins' son Stephen (slain by Llywelyn ap Madog of Powys in 1152) and grandsons Robert and Baldwin succeeded him. It is presumably from the first or second Baldwin, who died about 1207, that the Welsh name for Montgomery - Trefaldwyn (a mutation from Tre Baldwin) arose.
Hen Domen was not totally abandoned however, for the pottery from the site seems to continue down until at least the end of the thirteenth century. Unlike the new stone castle which replaced it, Hen Domen commands a direct view of the ford across the Severn and it may have been maintained for many years as an outpost of the new castle.
The lordship was eventually sold by Stephen de Stanton, a son of Sybil, daughter of the first Baldwin, to Thomas de Erdington, of Erdington (Warwickshire) in 1214-15. The sale was confirmed by King John who, however, handed the lordship to Gwenwynwyn, Prince of Powys, in 1216; but he was almost immediately driven out by Llywelyn ap Iorwerth (Llywelyn the Great), Prince of Gwynedd. John died on 19th October in the same year and the effective history of the first castle may be said to have come to an end.
Robert Higham
from the University of Exeter
has just published the results of a long-term excavation project carried out at
Hen Domen. The importance of the excavation lies in its detailed revelation of this
common type of medieval castle. There were many hundreds of them in use in
western Europe but their predominantly timber-built technology means that only
their earthworks survive above ground. This unusually extensive excavation has
shown that such sites were just as complex as their stone-built counterparts
whose structure still survives.
Note: Hen Domen is on private land and can only be visited with permission from the owner, please contact the Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust for further information.
The new castle of Montgomery is a stone castle standing on a rocky promontory above the town of Montgomery, Powys. Precipitous slopes to the north and east make this an excellent defensive site.
The
castle was built by Henry III to counter the growing power of Llywelyn ap
Gruffudd in this area of the Marches. It was probably originally built in timber
in 1223 but was almost immediately rebuilt in stone and completed by 1234.
The surviving defences comprise a barbican, a wide outer ditch, the middle ward, a narrower inner ditch and the inner ward. The inner ward, protected by a curtain wall and a twin-towered gatehouse, originally contained the royal suite and apartments as well as the kitchen and brewhouse. On the western side, a large D-shaped tower contained the well. The middle ward originally had only timber defences, but was walled in stone at a later date and manorial buildings erected within it.
The building of the castle and the growing importance of the site led to extensive clearance of woodland from the surrounding countryside particularly along the public roads. Soon after the castle was built the town of Montgomery was founded. Traders were encouraged to settle in the new town which was granted the right to hold fairs and markets and to defend itself by a wall and ditch.
The castle gradually declined in importance and by the 14th century it stood ruinous. In 1538-43, however, the castle was refurbished by Bishop Rowland Lee. The Herbert family abandoned the castle as a residence in 1580, but in 1622-5 they erected a large brick house in the Middle Ward. At the time of the Civil War, Parliamentary troops seized the castle, and in 1649 it was demolished by order of Parliament.
Archaeological excavations by J Knight took place in the 1960s when the castle was consolidated and redisplayed. Organic material including the remains of leather shoes were recovered from the well. The excavations and history of the castle are published by J Knight in Archaeologia Cambrensis 1992, 97-180.
The castle has a small car park adjacent to it on the hilltop. This is reached by a very steep and narrow lane leading up from the west side of the town square (behind the Town Hall), but is not suitable for coaches. Alternatively, vehicles may be parked at the Town square and the castle approached on foot. It is a short but steep walk. The castle is in the care of Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments and access is free.
For more information on Montgomery, please see: