Holt Castle by D R Swift

Holt Castle was built by John de Warenne who was given the land by Edward 1st after the defeat of Llewellyn ap Gruffydd. The castle, also known as Lion Castle, was completed in 1308 and comprised an inner ward, pentagonal in shape with a central courtyard and a tower at each corner. The usual domestic quarters opened into the courtyard. Entry was by two drawbridges through an outer entrance tower. There was a water gate leading to the River Dee via the South East Tower. In 1296 John de Warenne led the English army that defeated the Scots at Dunbar but he lost to William Wallace at Stirling Bridge later that year. In 1484 the castle and lands were granted to Sir William Stanley by Richard 111. It was Sir William Stanley's intervention against Richard 111 in the battle of Bosworth that secured victory for Henry V11 but he changed sides again later and was executed for treason in 1495. The castle was demolished after surviving a long siege in the Civil War. Much of the masonry was subsequently robbed but what remains demonstrates what was once there by the banks of the River Dee.