Dafydd ap Gruffudd's Attack on Hawarden and Rhuddlan Castles, 1282
Who Fought
History & Significance
Llywelyn ap Gruffudd or Llywelyn the Last was Prince of Gwynedd from 1255 to 1282. After successful campaigns across Wales in 1257, Llywelyn proclaimed himself Prince of Wales in 1258, and was recognised as such by Henry III of England in 1267 as part of the Treaty of Montgomery. He remained in this position until his death in an ambush at Cilmeri in 1282, one of the final events in Edward I’s conquest of Wales.
Llywelyn was the second of the four sons of Gruffudd ap Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, the eldest son of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, and Senana ferch Caradog, the daughter of Caradoc ap Thomas ap Rhodri, Lord of Anglesey.
The eldest was Owain Goch ap Gruffudd and there were two younger brothers, Dafydd ap Gruffydd and Rhodri ap Gruffudd. He is first heard of holding lands in the Vale of Clwyd around 1244.
Following his grandfather's death in 1240, Llywelyn's uncle, Dafydd ap Llywelyn (who was Llywelyn the Great's eldest legitimate son), succeeded him as ruler of Gwynedd. At this time, Llywelyn went on crusade with Richard of Cornwall, brother of Henry III of England.
Llywelyn's father, Gruffudd (who was Llywelyn's eldest son but illegitimate), and his brother, Owain, were initially kept prisoner by Dafydd, then transferred into the custody of King Henry III of England. Gruffudd died in 1244 from a fall while trying to escape from his cell at the top of the Tower of London. The window from which he attempted to escape the Tower was bricked up and can still be seen to this day. As King Henry could no longer use Gruffudd against him, war broke out between Dafydd II and King Henry in 1245. Llywelyn supported his uncle in the savage fighting that followed. Owain, meanwhile, was freed by Henry III after his father's death and was given a portion of Snowdonia (Eryri) by Henry at the treaty of Woodstock in 1247.
Llywelyn and Owain came to terms with King Henry III and in 1247 signed the Treaty of Woodstock at Woodstock Palace. The terms they were forced to accept restricted them to the west of Conwy (Gwynedd Uwch Conwy) around Snowdonia and Anglesey, which was divided between them. The other half of Gwynedd east of Conwy known as the Perfeddwlad was taken over by King Henry.
When Dafydd ap Gruffydd came of age, King Henry accepted his homage and announced his intention to give him part of the already reduced Gwynedd. Llywelyn refused to accept this and Owain and Dafydd formed an alliance against him. This led to the Battle of Bryn Derwin in June 1255. Llywelyn defeated Owain and Dafydd and captured them, thereby becoming the sole ruler of Gwynedd Uwch Conwy. Llywelyn now looked to expand his area of control. The population of Gwynedd Is Conwy resented English rule. This area, also known as "Perfeddwlad" (meaning "middle land") had been given by King Henry to his son Edward and during the summer of 1256, he visited the area but failed to deal with grievances against the rule of his officers. An appeal was made to Llywelyn, who, that November, crossed the River Conwy with an army, accompanied by his brother, Dafydd, whom he had released from prison. By early December, Llywelyn controlled all of Gwynedd Is Conwy, apart from the royal castle at Dyserth, as a reward for his support and dispossessing his brother-in-law, Rhys Fychan, who supported the king. An English army led by Stephen Bauzan invaded to try to restore Rhys Fychan but was decisively defeated by Welsh forces at the Battle of Cadfan in June 1257, with Rhys having previously slipped away to make his peace with Llywelyn.
The ground they fought on
The site of Dafydd ap Gruffudd's Attack on Hawarden and Rhuddlan Castles, 1282 lies on Millstone Grit Group [See Also Migr], bedrock that formed in the Namurian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.
On Palm Sunday 1282, Dafydd ap Gruffudd struck at Hawarden and Rhuddlan castles, capturing Hawarden, in an audacious assault that shattered the uneasy peace between the Welsh princes and Edward I's England. The attack was the spark that prompted other Welsh princes to rise in rebellion, and drew Dafydd's hesitant brother Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales, into a conflict that would ultimately cost both men everything.
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- Llywelyn ap Gruffudd · Wikipedia
- Dafydd ap Gruffudd · Wikipedia