Scheduled MonumentsWalesHolt Castle
Medieval · Castle

Holt Castle

Denbighshire, Wales
Cadw SAM DE106
Period
Medieval
Site type
Castle
Broad class
Defence
Nation
Wales
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Holt Castle is a medieval fortification situated in Denbighshire, Wales, constructed in the early fourteenth century as a response to Anglo-Welsh territorial disputes during the reign of Edward I. The castle was built to control the River Dee crossing and served as an important English military stronghold in the borderlands. The surviving remains comprise substantial stone walls and defensive structures characteristic of early Edwardian castle architecture. The site was deliberately slighted, or partially dismantled, following the English Civil War to prevent its further use as a military installation.

Holt Castle is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference DE106. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Holt Castle?

Holt Castle is a medieval fortification situated in Denbighshire, Wales, constructed in the early fourteenth century as a response to Anglo-Welsh territorial disputes during the reign of Edward I. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference DE106.

What period does Holt Castle date from?

Holt Castle dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a castle. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Holt Castle?

Holt Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is DE106.

What other scheduled monuments are near Holt Castle?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Fishponds at Esp Hill (0.6 km), Shocklach Castle motte and moated enclosure (3.8 km), Medieval settlement and part of field system at Castletown Farm (4 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Holt Castle

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Holt Castle's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
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
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Holt Castle

Holt Castle stands on Triassic Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Triassic. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.