Battle of Coleshill
Who Fought
Owain Gwynedd's forces on one side; Madog ap Maredudd of Powys allied with Ranulf de Gernon, 4th Earl of Chester, on the other.
History & Significance
Coleshill was a historic administrative division of Flintshire, Wales.
It was recorded in the Domesday Book as the vill of "Coleselt" and as "Coleshull" by Gerald of Wales. The name is of Old English origin, with the first element probably being the personal name Col.
The vill boundaries were perpetuated as those of Coleshill Fawr and Coleshill Fechan townships, which lay in Holywell parish north-west of the borough of Flint; Coleshill also subsequently gave its name to a commote, and later a hundred, of Flintshire. A Welsh form of the name, Cwnsyllt, was sometimes used. The townships of Coleshill Fawr and Coleshill Fechan were eventually merged into the Borough of Flint in 1934.
Coleshill is well known as the site of the 1157 Battle of Coleshill, otherwise known (following Gerald of Wales) as Coleshill Wood or as the Battle of Ewloe, in which an army of Henry II clashed with the forces of Owain Gwynedd. It was also supposedly the site of a battle in 1150 between Owain Gwynedd and Madog ap Maredudd of Powys, in which the latter was defeated.
In more recent times the name was remembered in that of Coleshill Farm, Flint and is now used for one of the town's electoral wards.
The ground they fought on
The site of Battle of Coleshill lies on Ludlow Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Ludlow. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.
Around 1150, Madog ap Maredudd, King of Powys, formed an alliance with Ranulf de Gernon, 4th Earl of Chester, in an effort to resist the growing military pressure that Owain Gwynedd was exerting upon the borders of Powys. The alliance proved fruitless, however, as Owain defeated the combined forces near Ewloe and Coleshill, thereafter seizing Madog's lands in the Lordship of Iâl. The defeat was a notable humiliation for Madog, not least because he was married to Susanna, Owain's own sister.
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- Coleshill, Flintshire · Wikipedia
- Madog ap Maredudd · Wikipedia