Ewloe Castle Ewloe Castle ( ) is a native Welsh castle near the town of Ewloe in Flintshire , Wales . It was one of the last fortifications built by the Princes of Wales before the invasion of Wales by Edward I . Construction . Ewloe ' s position near the English border was strategic , controlling the road to Chester and commanding the lands of North East Wales ( Welsh " Perfeddwlad " ) . It stands on a steeply - sloped promontory within the forest of Ewloe overlooking the junction of two streams ; but there is higher ground to the south . The castle was built from local stone . The work continued over many years and may have not been completed before the castle was captured by Edward I in 1277 . Design . Ewloe Castle has the appearance of a motte - and - bailey castle . It has two courtyards with a D - shaped keep inside the triangular upper ward with a curtain wall that forms a sloping stone revetment around the motte . At the western end of the outer ward is the ruin of a circular tower on a rocky knoll . There are no gateways connecting the castle courtyards . Access was by ramps up to the parapet s . The two curtain walls are not joined together . The inner buildings were made of timber . An outer rampart defends the higher ground that lies to the south of the castle . Welsh Keep . The first floor entrance is typical of Norman keeps . But its D - shaped tower is unusual . Usually they project out from a curtain wall but at Ewloe it stands isolated in the middle of the upper ward surrounded by a curtain wall . However , a similar keep was built by Llywelyn the Great at Castell y Bere . Most of the keep is in ruins but the front still stands to full height . The tower contained a single apartment above a lower chamber . The outer walls rose higher than the top storey ' s pitched roof , to protect the roof from projectiles . Slots for storage are still visible in the roof spaces . History . Ewloe Castle is a relic of the brief triumph that the Welsh prince Llywelyn the Last had over the Anglo - Norman Marcher Lord s . It followed his successful recapture of this part of Wales after the Norman invasion of Gwynedd in the late 11th century . North east Wales , which had been fought over by the Princes of Gwynedd and the Earls of Chester for more than 150 years , was now at relative peace . The present ruins are those of the final stone fortification built by Llywelyn the Last . Its construction , which began in 1257 , incorporated previous work undertaken by the earlier Welsh leaders , Owain Gwynedd and Llywelyn the Great . The fortified site had been established near to where Welsh forces had triumphed over the English forces of Henry II at the Battle of Ewloe ( ) in 1157 . In July 1277 , at the outbreak of the Welsh Wars , Edward I left Chester to march up the west coast of the Dee Estuary . After an advanced base was established at Flint ( a day ' s travel from Chester ) , building work immediately began on Flint Castle . Ewloe Castle is not mentioned in the 1277 invasion chronicles suggesting Welsh forces had abandoned the area and retreated to a stronger defensive position along the Clwydian Hills further to the west . As Edward I ' s castles at Flint and Rhuddlan could be provisioned by sea , Ewloe was never used by the English Crown . The only contemporary reference to the Ewloe Castle is in the Chester " Plea Rolls " which mentions a report sent to Edward II in 1311 . The Justice of Chester wrote to the King regarding the history of the manor at Ewloe from the middle of the 12th century . The rolls records that by 1257 Llywelyn the Last had regained Ewloe from the English and built a castle in the wood ; noting in 1311 that much of the castle was still standing . By the late medieval period , the site was in ruins . Much of the castle ' s stone from its curtain wall s and keep was taken away and used in later buildings around Flint , Mold and Connah ' s Quay . Present day . Ewloe Castle now stands within Wepre Park . It is open to the public . There is free access . The site is under the care of CADW - the Welsh heritage agency . In November 2009 , the castle with of pasture and of woodland . were put up for auction . Flintshire County Council said Ewloe and the site it occupies are protected from any development .