Battlefields›Siege of Harlech Castle 1647
English Civil War

Siege of Harlech Castle 1647

1647
Merionethshire, Wales
Era
English Civil War
Battle Type
Siege
Location
Merionethshire, Wales
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Royalists
VS
Victor
Parliamentarians
Forces involved

Royalist garrison of 44 men under Colonel William Owen; besieging Parliamentarian force led by Major-General Thomas Mytton (size not specified in sources).

Outcome
The Royalist garrison under Colonel William Owen surrendered to Major-General Thomas Mytton on 15 March 1647; Harlech was the last mainland Royalist fortress to surrender in the war, ending the first phase of the Civil War.
The Battle

History & Significance

Siege of Harlech Castle 1647 was a Civil War siege, the investment of a fortified position, fought at Merionethshire, Wales in 1647. Parliamentarians prevailed over Royalists. The Royalist garrison under Colonel William Owen surrendered to Major-General Thomas Mytton on 15 March 1647; Harlech was the last mainland Royalist fortress to surrender in the war, ending the first phase of the Civil War.

Confirmed battlefield location
The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Siege of Harlech Castle 1647 lies on Lower Cambrian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Early Cambrian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.

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Overview
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Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
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Literature
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Legal
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Siege of Harlech Castle 1647

Castell Harlech
Castell Harlech
Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~0 mi

Castell Harlech is a substantial castle built by Edward I between 1283 and 1289 during the final Welsh campaign to establish English military control over North Wales. The fortress occupies a dramatic rocky crag overlooking Cardigan Bay and the Meirionnydd coastline, positioned as a key stronghol…

Llywelyn2000 / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Muriau'r Gwyddelod Ancient Village
Muriau'r Gwyddelod Ancient Village
Scheduled monument · Prehistoric · ~0.7 mi

Muriau'r Gwyddelod Ancient Village is a prehistoric courtyard house situated in Wales and protected by Cadw as a scheduled monument under reference ME010. The site rests upon Lower Cambrian bedrock of sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded strata formed in the Early Cambrian period approximately…

David Medcalf / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Enclosure and Early Field System North of Fronhill, Llanfair
Enclosure and Early Field System North of Fronhill, Llanfair
Scheduled monument · Prehistoric · ~0.8 mi

Enclosure and Early Field System North of Fronhill, Llanfair is a prehistoric field system protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw. The monument comprises an enclosed area with associated field divisions, representing evidence of Early Bronze Age or later prehistoric land organisation. Such sys…

DS Pugh / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Tyddyn Du Enclosed Settlement
Tyddyn Du Enclosed Settlement
Scheduled monument · Prehistoric · ~1 mi

Tyddyn Du Enclosed Settlement is a prehistoric enclosed hut circle situated on Lower Cambrian bedrock in Wales. The underlying sandstone and conglomerate geology of the Early Cambrian period would have provided practical stone sources for construction, shaping settlement patterns across this upla…

David Medcalf / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Brwyn-Llynau Enclosed Settlement
Brwyn-Llynau Enclosed Settlement
Scheduled monument · Prehistoric · ~1.1 mi

Brwyn-Llynau Enclosed Settlement is a prehistoric enclosure situated in Wales on bedrock of Lower Cambrian sandstone and conglomerate. The site occupies land where these ancient rocks, formed during the Early Cambrian period, break through the surface, providing a firm foundation for occupation.…

DS Pugh / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Fonlief Hir Standing Stones
Fonlief Hir Standing Stones
Scheduled monument · Prehistoric · ~1.1 mi

Fonlief Hir Standing Stones is a prehistoric standing stone monument protected as a scheduled ancient monument by Cadw under reference ME057. Located in Wales, the stones occupy ground underlain by Middle Cambrian bedrock composed of mudstone, siltstone and sandstone, which emerged from shallow m…

Chris Andrews / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Cefnfilltir Enclosed Homestead
Scheduled monument · Prehistoric · ~0.6 miles
Groes Las Prehistoric Settlement & Field System
Scheduled monument · Prehistoric · ~0.8 miles
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Battles near Siege of Harlech Castle 1647

Taking of Harlech 1283
1283
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Siege of Harlech Castle 1468
1468
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Siege of Harlech Castle (1461–1468)
1461
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Glyndŵr's Parliament at Harlech — Military Context
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