BattlefieldsHarlech Castle — Wars of the Roses Siege
Medieval

Harlech Castle — Wars of the Roses Siege

1461–1468
Merionethshire, Wales
Also known as: Siege of Harlech 1461-1468 · Last Lancastrian stronghold
Era
Medieval
Battle Type
Siege
Location
Merionethshire, Wales
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Lancastrians (Dafydd ap Ieuan ap Einion)
Forces
Lancastrian garrison c.100-150. Seven-year siege of iconic Welsh fortress.
VS
Victor
Yorkists (William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke)
Forces
Yorkist besiegers c.1,500-2,500
Outcome
Yorkist victory after seven years; last Lancastrian stronghold in Britain falls
The Battle

History & Significance

Harlech Castle held out for the Lancastrian cause for seven extraordinary years after the rest of England and Wales had submitted to Edward IV. A tiny garrison of barely fifty men under the defiant Welsh constable Dafydd ap Ieuan ap Einion refused to yield. When it finally fell in 1468, it was the last Lancastrian stronghold in the British Isles. The garrison's stubbornness in the face of hopeless odds almost certainly inspired the march "Men of Harlech." Dafydd ap Ieuan allegedly said that he had held a castle in France until every old woman in Wales heard of it, and would hold Harlech until every old woman in France heard of it.

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