Rhuddlan – meaning ‘the red bank’, from the colour of the riverside soil
It owes its great historical importance to its position by an ancient crossing of the river Clwyd
Whoever held this ford also controlled the easiest invasion route to (and from) the heartland of North Wales.
Thus for five centuries, Rhuddlan was a flashpoint in Anglo-Welsh wars.
In turn, it became the site of a great battle between King Offa of Mercia and the Welsh; a Saxon fortified borough; a Welsh princely palace; a Norman fortress (the ‘Twthill’); and finally a powerful stone castle.