Mold Castle

Mold Castle stands on Bailey Hill in the centre of Mold, a town in Flintshire, north-east Wales. The castle is a motte-and-bailey structure built around 1072, probably by the Norman Robert de Montalt for Hugh d’Avranches, Earl of Chester. It occupies an older earthwork and once had a wooden tower on the mound. Nearby is St Mary’s Church, a 15th-century parish church. The name ‘Mold’ may come from the Norman ‘mont haut’, meaning ‘high hill’. The castle changed hands many times. Owain Gwynedd captured it in 1146, and it later passed between Welsh and English forces during the reign of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth. By the 13th century it was no longer used for defence. During the English Civil War it was taken by Parliamentarians, then retaken by Royalists, and finally fell to Cromwell’s forces. The Mostyn family owned the site in the 18th century and turned it into a garden. Today the site is a town park with a bowling green and tennis courts. A memorial garden honours soldiers from Mold who died in the First World War. Excavations in 2020 found remains of a large stone wall, suggesting the original castle had masonry defences. The park includes a performance space and an interpretation centre. Visitors can walk around the conical mound and see the rectangular bailey, with views over the town and surrounding countryside.