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Tag Archives: Owain Glyndwr

'King Arthur' hill nature plans

Knucklas Castle Community Land Project Posted on 9 January 2009 by Publicity & promotions5 February 2015

Article from the BBC Website, 9th January 2009

Four villagers who bought a hill which, according to local legend, is where King Arthur married Guinevere want to turn it into a nature reserve. The four paid £86,000 for woodland at Castle Hill at Knucklas, near Knighton, Powys, and intend to allow archaeologists to excavate the site.

Folklore says that Guinevere married Arthur on the hill’s grassy slopes. It was also the site of a 13th Century Norman castle before it was destroyed by Owain Glyndwr’s forces.

The four locals bought Castle Hill, and four acres of nearby fields, at auction after raising £86,000 between them. The hill was formerly private land and owned by a farmer.

Warrior leader

One of the four, Kevin Jones said that while Arthur is said to have wed Guinevere there, that was not the reason why they bought it in November.

He added: “It unexpectedly came on the market and people thought it should be in public not private ownership. Four of us got together and decided to bid for the hill at auction. It’s a temporary arrangement because there are plans to set up a land trust which will eventually pay us back.”

The hill is recognised by the historic monuments agency Cadw, and it has allowed permission for people to excavate the castle site, Mr. Jones added.

“The four acres we bought along with the hill will be opened up for allotments and animal rearing – we want local people to have the benefit of the land,” he said. The woodland area will be opened as a nature reserve.”

The castle was built by the Norman knight Roger Mortimer to help keep the Welsh population in check, but it was later overrun. Legends and myths about Arthur have seen him cast as a king who held court in Wales, a Scottish politician and a Cornish warrior. It is generally believed, however, that he was an actual historical figure, probably a warrior leader.

[Posted by Grant – with a big THANK YOU to the BBC Website for the publicity. Soon we hope to start the Survey work alongside Cadw. There was sword discovered on the Castle Mound once and a further sword, plus the famous Heyope Gold Torcs, found up the valley a little way. As soon as we start to get some more interesting finds we must get back together for a bit more publicity 😉 ) Best Seasonal Greetings to all at Auntie Beeb Online]

Tagged BBC, castle, Guinevere, knucklas, Owain Glyndwr, Powys, river, Roger Mortimer, teme, valley

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King Arthur book

A wonderful new book has been written by one of our members for youngsters to enjoy the legend of King Arthur. Look on the Shop page to see details and purchase.

Castle hill

A new view of the castle using LiDR technology has become available, look here: LiDR survey
Many thanks to Mark Walters for this new view.

It raises some interesting questions about the way the castle has been used over the many years of its existence.

We are also on the Welsh governments catalogue of heritage buildings here Coflein

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Site & location

The 21 acre site, including a Cadw scheduled monument, has been bought by some philanthropic locals who are leasing it to KCCLP whilst the money is raised to purchase the site for the whole community.

Surrounding Area

Sited at the confluence of the Teme and Heyope valleys in Radnorshire, Knucklas Castle overlooks Shropshire's Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Offa's Dyke and the River Teme, the border between Wales and England. This part of Wales has many delights to discover.

About us

KCCLP is a transition project encompassing archaeology and local history, nature conservation, woodland with public access, education, allotments, sculpture & art, poetry, community orchard, village green and heaps of strong community spirit. The funds for this important community project are being raised through the sales of shares and donations. You can buy a share and help in many ways. Registered Community Benefit Society no. 30635R

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KCCLP Allotment Open Day 2011

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