Hen Blas

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Basingwerk; Dinas Bassing; Coleshill Fawr; Coleshill Castle

In the community of Bagillt.
In the historic county of Flintshire (Modern authority of Flintshire, preserved county of Clwyd).

At the intersection of two steep valleys is the site of a castle which shows, by the earthworks which remain, that it once had an inner ward and a large outer enclosure, a formation perhaps developed from a very early motte and bailey castle. Its history is unknown, but in 1244 a wooden castle was documented as being "at Coleshill" which is less than half a mile away. An enclosure, c.48m N-S by 50m, occupies a spur-end site beween two W-E streams, defined by a ditch on the W, elsewhere by steep natural slopes. On the W is an outer enclosure, 72m N-S by 78m, again ditched on the W. Excavations concluded in 1957 demonstrated that an earthwork castle was replaced by a 'fortified manorhouse' in the early C13. itself abandoned in the late C14. Castle possibly that built 1157 and captured 1166 (Basingwerk or Dinas Bassing - also identified with Holywell and Bryn Castell). In the 1970 addition and corrections article Hogg and King write later occupation of site not military. They also place the wooden castle mentioned in 1244 at Bryn y Cwn Motte (SJ238714)

This site has been described as a;
Masonry Castle
Timber Castle.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Earthworks remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SJ22167345

Modern Map from Good for landscape form and features	Modern Map from Good for general location
Air Photo from	1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Monuments Record number; 307131

County Sites and Monuments Record number; 100339

• Web site links
  • http://www.castlewales.com/henblas.html
• Books
  • Pettifer, Adrian, 2000, Welsh Castles, A Guide by Counties (Boydell Press) p80
    Reid, Alan, 1998, Castles of Wales (John Jones Publishing) p93
    Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles of North Wales (Malvern) p74
    Higham, R. and Barker, P., 1992, Timber Castles (Batsford) p358
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p153 Vol2 p559
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p325
    Davey, P.J., and Morgan, D.E.M., 1977, ‘Hen Blas’, in P J Davey (ed), Medieval Pottery from Excavations in the North West (Institute of Extension Studies [Liverpool]) p42-7
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Armitage, Ella, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (London: John Murray) p267
    RCAHMW, 1912, An inventory of the Ancient Monuments of Flintshire (HMSO) p17-18 no61
• Journal Articles
  • Thompson, M.W., 1986, 'Associated monasteries and castles in the Middle Ages: a tentative list' Archaeological Journal Vol143 p311
    Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1970, 'Castles in Wales and the Marches (Additions and corrections to lists published in 1963 and 1967)', Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol119 p119-124
    Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1967, 'Masonry castles in Wales and the Marches: a list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol116 p71-132
    Hogg, A.H.A. and King, D.J.C., 1963, 'Early castles in Wales and the Marches: a preliminary list' Archaeologia Cambrensis Vol112 p77-124
    Lloyd, G., 1960, ‘Excavations at Hen Blas. Coleshill Fawr. Near Flint’ Flintshire Historical Society Journal Vol18 p13-60
    Brown, R, Allen, 1959, 'A List of Castles, 1154–1216' English Historical Review Vol74 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press)] pp90-121
    Leach, G.B., 1957, ‘Excavations at Hen Blas. Coleshill Fawr. Near Flint’ Flintshire Historical Society Journal Vol17 p1-15