Ruthin Town Defences (The Gatehouse Record)

Ruthin Town Defences

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Rhuthun; Ruffin; Ruthyn

In the community of Ruthin.
In the historic county of Denbighshire.
Modern authority of Denbighshire.
Preserved county of Clwyd.

OS Map Grid Reference: SJ123582
Latitude 53.11541° Longitude -3.31061°

Ruthin Town Defences has been described as a probable Urban Defence.

There are no visible remains.

Description

No remains of C15 earth and stone defences. (Bond)

Grant to the bailiffs and good men of the town of Ruthyn of murage for six years, at the supplication of the king's kinsman the lord of Grey of Ruthyn, who has shown the king that the town lies so open among the Welsh rebels and (in) their danger (domogerium) that great perils and damages are likely to happen as have happened before by the burning and destruction of the town and the killing of the king's lieges there. (CPR p. 375)

Comments

Murage grant is clearly a response to the Owain Glyndwr revolt. How much work was done after the end of the revolt is questionable, but Soulsby writes 'a ditch was consequently dug around the borough, but no traces of it remain', referencing a C15 record that 'a fossus was made on that land in defence of the town of Ruthin in the time of the Welsh War'. There seems to be no evidence to support Bond's assertion to stone defences and whilst earthen defences were started it is possibly they were never completed.

Sources of information, references and further reading

The National Monument Record (Coflein) number(s) for this site is/are 33100.
The County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) for this site is/are 102891.

Books
- Lilley, K.D., 2009, 'The Landscapes of Edward's New Towns: Their Planning and Design' in Willams, D. and Kenyon, J. (eds), The Impact of the Edwardian Castles in Wales (Oxbow) p. 99-113
  Creighton, O.H. and Higham, R.A., 2005, Medieval Town Walls (Stroud: Tempus) p. 27, 99, 204, 275
  Pettifer, Adrian, 2000, Welsh Castles, A Guide by Counties (Boydell Press)
  Bond, C.J., 1987, 'Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Defences' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds), Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report 61) p. 92-116 online copy
  Soulsby, Ian, 1983, The Towns of Medieval Wales (Phillimore; Chichester) p. 232-5 (plan)
  Barley, M.W., 1975, 'Town Defences in England and Wales after 1066' in Barley (ed) The plans and topography of medieval towns in England and Wales (CBA Research Report 14) p. 57-71 online copy
  Turner, H.L., 1971, Town Defences in England and Wales (London) p. 218
Periodical Articles
- Evans, D.G., 2013, ‘Ruthin’s Edwardian defences’ Clwyd Historian Vol. 68 p. 3-10
  Evans, D.G., 2011, 'The medieval defences of Rhuthun' Clwyd Historian Vol. 64 p. 34-41
  Creighton, Oliver, 2006, ''Castles of Communities': Medieval Town Defences in England; Wales and Gascony' Château Gaillard Vol. 22 p. 75-86
  Jack, R.I., 1969, 'Welsh and English in the medieval lordship of Ruthin' Denbighshire Historical Society Transactions Vol. 18 p. 37
Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete, particularly for the major royal castles and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
- Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1907, Calendar of Patent Rolls Henry IV (1405-08) Vol. 3 p. 375 (murage grant) online copy
  National Archives SC 12/24/1 (Rental record mentioning ditch)
  - Also see the Gatehouse murage pages for full details of murage grants, petitions and other such.

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This record last updated before 1 February 2016

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