Presteigne Castle

also known as Warden Castle

Presteigne is a small town in Powys, on the border with Herefordshire. about 15 miles south-west of Ludlow. The castle was built in an elevated position to the north-west of the town centre, overlooking the river Lugg. It was a wooden structure – at one end of the bailey is a large slightly-raised ringwork and there are ditches on the more vulnerable sides.
SO309645

The origins of the castle itself are obscure. Domesday Book relates that in 1086 Presteigne was in the hands of Osbern FitzRichard (dc1137) of Richard’s Castle. In 1143, Roger Port annexed it to his lordship of Kington and, following the family’s banishment in 1172, it was purchased by William de Braose (d1230). The castle came to the Mortimers through the marriage of Roger Mortimer (d1282) to the heiress Maud de Braose. Like other local castles, it was destroyed by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in 1262 and never rebuilt.  In the 19th century the area around the castle area was landscaped and turned into a public park.

The castle site is in the oval wooded area in the centre foreground

A view of the bailey looking towards the raised ringwork