Wales · Ruin
Montgomery Castle
Montgomery Castle is a medieval stone castle on a rocky outcrop overlooking the town of Montgomery in Powys, Mid Wales. Built in the early 13th century and expanded with middle and outer wards, it was besieged and altered over centuries and was deliberately slighted in 1649; today only ruined masonry remains visible above the town.
First raised
1223
Its prime
1267
Today
Ruin
As it stood in 1267
The shape it held in its prime.
Set on a prominent rocky outcrop above the town, the castle in its prime presents a compact concentric profile: an inner ward (donjon) of continuous grey rubble curtain wall encircling apartments, a prominent gatehouse, and two stout D-shaped towers flanking the inner defenses, with additional middle and outer wards stepping down the rock. Walls are stone throughout with crenellated parapets, accessible curtain-walks, and roofed tower houses rising above the curtain line, all intact and enclosing a central courtyard.
Its story
The story of Montgomery Castle.
The original motte and bailey, now known as Hen Domen, was built on the orders of Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury, between 1071 and 1074, and the de Boulers (later Bowdler) family held it until 1214, when Prince Llywelyn ab Iorwerth of the Royal House of Aberffraw destroyed it. The stone castle that succeeded it above the town, one of many Norman castles on the Welsh border, was destroyed and rebuilt a number of times until the early 14th century, when the Marches were largely pacified.
When the First English Civil War began in August 1642, Mid Wales was largely Royalist and the elderly Lord Herbert of Cherbury held the castle for Charles I; on 17 September 1644 it was the site of the largest battle fought in Wales. After much of Wales rose again in the Second Civil War, Parliament demolished the walls in June 1649 — over the opposition of the 2nd Lord Herbert, who had succeeded his father the year before — so the castle could never be used again. Only ruined masonry remains.
Step inside
9 places to explore in 1267.
The record describes 9 distinct spots at Montgomery Castle — including 2 interiors: inner ward courtyard and apartments, well tower. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more photos, more angles and more rooms of the immersive experience.
Create History
Recreate Montgomery Castle with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1267 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate Castle to Explore →Whose castle
Clans who held Montgomery Castle.
The families that held Montgomery Castle for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Bowdler
The de Boulers, later known as Bowdler, held the original motte-and-bailey castle (Hen Domen) until 1214, when Llywelyn ab Iorwerth destroyed it.
Held for Charles I by the elderly Lord Herbert of Cherbury from 1642; his son the 2nd Lord Herbert unsuccessfully opposed the slighting of the walls in 1649.
