Longtown Castle

A powerful thick-walled round keep dating from around 1200, characteristic of the Welsh Borders, on a large earthen mound within a stonewalled bailey. Set in the beautiful Olchon valley, with magnificent views of the Black Mountains.

The first castle on this site was a timber structure, perched on top of the man-made motte, or mound. Ewias Lacey Castle, as it was once known, may have been built on an already well-defended site. Its prominent location, on a spur of high ground between two river valleys, and the evidence of its outer earthworks, suggest to some that an Iron Age camp may have been established here. The Romans also probably occupied the site.

In the 12th century, the Laceys spent the considerable sum of £37 improving this castle, and the present stone keep dates from about this time.