Longtown Castle
Not too far from Wales, in fact pretty much on the border as we didn't realise we were in Wales until we were, is Longtown Castle. Now this castle also goes by the name of Ewias Lacey Castle if you look back over its older history, but ultimately it is a Norman Motte & Bailey castle to replace the Roman fort that was close to the Roman road which ran along the border. The original fort was square and was protected by a ditch, further defences were added and the originals reinforced likely after the Welsh attack on Hereford in 1055. The Normans then invaded in 1066 which inspired Walter de Lacy to build a fort on Pont Hendre in order to protect the river crossing. However, the Welsh then attacked and so he abadoned this and instead decided to repurpose the Roman Fort by using the remaining earthworks to build his defence. This early form is what was called Ewias Lacey, named after the wider lordship and Ewias meant sheep district. At this point the cast...
