Rhuddlan

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 became 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.