Ruthin Castle

Ruthin Castle

Built along the crest of a hill on a south-west to north-east axis, Ruthin Castle takes the form of an elongated pentagon with a pointed east end. It is surrounded by a moat and comprises an upper bailey to the north-east and a lower bailey to the south-west. The castle is constructed of substantial blocks of coursed red and grey sandstone.

The main architectural elements include a substantial curtain wall, battered towards the base and particularly high on the north-west (down-hill) side; large round towers positioned at the angles of each bailey; a gatehouse to the east with twin D-shaped towers; and a postern gate to the north-west curtain wall in the north corner of the lower bailey. Internally, the remains of the hall survive in the upper bailey.

The east gatehouse consists of two projecting D-shaped towers. The east tower survives to one storey and features a pointed-arched doorway to its straight rear wall. The west tower survives to two storeys high and retains two denuded Tudor-arched openings to the front. The east side and central entrance have been gothicised, with a wide Tudor arch of stone voussoirs containing double cast iron gates with scrollwork, flanked by miniature turrets with pierced quatrefoil decoration over which are crenellated parapets. The flanking walls step down to left and right, behind which a walkway leads over the gateway, reached by stone steps. At right angles to the left, the east wall of the adjoining tower contains a doorcase with two octagonal shafts with capitals supporting a stone cornice, inside which is an arched boarded door. This is flanked by pointed-arched windows, that to the right with a diamond grille and boarded behind. The internal side of this wall forms part of a staggered passageway with gothic detail, including decorative cobbled flooring, which leads from the hotel to the gateway steps. Underneath the medieval towers is a series of chambers, probably including prison cells, reached by stone staircases with vaulted roofs supported by chamfered Tudor-arched transverse ribs. Two chambers survive at ground level on the north side of the entrance towers.

The curtain wall running west from the gatehouse joins Ruthin Castle Hotel, with its face surviving to the lower parts. It has a small doorway with a Tudor-arched head of stone voussoirs, now infilled. To the north-east of the gatehouse, a narrow pointed doorway set at an angle leads to a further section of curtain wall. The north-east tower is located at the pointed end of the upper bailey and survives to a low level; a narrow pointed-arched doorway leads into it. Running towards the west, the curtain wall is better preserved and contains angled slits, including red sandstone blocks with angled oval openings. Turning towards the south-west, the high curtain wall contains three round towers along its length. The north-east tower survives about one metre above ground level and contains the base of a winding staircase.

The hall is located between the north-east and central towers, a large rectangular building with a high wall to the north-west and a low wall to the south-east. The end walls are not well-preserved, but there is a narrow Tudor-arched doorway to the north corner. Between the north-west wall and curtain wall was a narrow corridor, possibly containing service areas. It has tall round-arched doorways with red sandstone dressings to each end and pointed-arched window openings to the curtain wall. The north-west wall of the hall was gothicised, with crenellated parapets and stepped buttresses to the inner (hall) side. The corridor appears to have been re-used as a garden structure, possibly a hot-house. It had two fireplaces with stone lintels to the inner wall, now infilled with brick, recessed arches to both sides, and evidence for a lean-to roof.

To the south-west, the wall of the central tower stands approximately 1.2 metres high and has recesses for four window openings. Adjacent to this is a probable wheel-pit, with a leat in the north corner which could have provided water for an overshot wheel. This structure could have been associated with the castle entrance, a mill within the castle, or a 19th-century garden feature. Beyond the central tower is the lower bailey, where the ground level falls sharply, with spiral and straight stairs leading down. At the bottom, the curtain wall contains a low postern gate (visible from outside) and a gateway to its south-west, a wide archway of stone voussoirs with grooves for a portcullis; there is evidence for a tower structure above this.

The curtain wall was partly damaged during the Civil War. The south-west tower was rebuilt in red sandstone in the mid 19th century and forms part of the formal gardens of Ruthin Castle Hotel. A wall runs south-east from the tower and then terminates.