CPAT Regional Historic Environment Record
The following information is from the on-line database 'Archwilio'.
Use the icons in the sources section below to download further digital information.

Flint Castle

Primary Reference Number (PRN) : 100325
Trust : Clwyd Powys
Community : Flint
Unitary authority : Flintshire
NGR : SJ2470873344
Site Type (preferred type first) : MEDIEVAL MASONRY CASTLE
Status : state care , listed building I, scheduled monument

Summary :
Edwardian stone castle of 1277 possibly on site of 1157 castle.

Description :
Edwardian stone castle of 1277 possibly on site of 1157 castle. Four towers surrounding courtyard, one of which was set further out and separated from the castle by a moat which was probably filled at high tide. The outer ward was protected by another moat. In 1785-1976 a red sandstone building occupying most of the outer bailey was used as a Gaol.

The inner ward measures 160 x 145 feet and is c. 0.5 acre in area.

South, west and north towers in ruins in record of 1618-24 and thieves tower recorded as not able to keep out the rain (Williams, J G 1988, 5).

Castle is built on a low promontory of sandstone rock among the marshes bordering the shores of the Dee.

Some recent excavation but not published.

Evaluation trenches to west of outer ward. Site levelled in 20th century. Trace of 19th century chemical works and waste located. To the south the outer wall was located below the car park. Limits of outer ward defined (Hannaford, H R 1988, 71).

Excavations were carried out at Flint Castle from 1971 to assist in the conservation of structures and to enhance their display. The inner moat was sectioned against the inner curtain wall and the South-West tower, showing that it originally had a nearly vertical outer face 20ft high. Excavation within the outer ward revealed road surfaces, boundary gullies and a large post hole, but no remains of major buildings. the deep moat between the outer ward and the town was found to be crossed by a submerged rock causeway, at the castle end of which were the remains of a masonry gatehouse which had contained a pivoting bridge. This gatehouse sealed construction-period timbers and part of a turf revetment. Stone supports for a multi-span timber bridge, contemporary with the gatehouse, survived on the rock causeway. A stone-revetted causeway replaced the bridge in the early C17th. The north-east end of the outer curtain wall was examined: it continues towards the Great Tower as a narrower wall revetting the make-up of the outer ward. Part of a construction-period mason's lodge was seen here. A well-preserved ashlar wall revetting the deep channel of the outer moat was revealed nearby. In the town of Flint, part of the Edwardian defences was sectioned (Miles, T J, 1996, 67-151).

Sources :
Ancient Monuments Board for Wales , 1998 , Annual Report
Burnham, H., 1995 , A Guide to Ancient and Historic Wales: Clwyd and Powys
Cadw , 1983 , title unknown - Flint Castle
Cadw , 1987 , Cadw Field Monument Wardens Report - Fl003(FLT)
Cadw , 1994 , Cadw Field Monument Wardens Report - Fl003(FLT)
Cadw , 1996 , Cadw Field Monument Wardens Report - Fl003(FLT)
Cadw , 1996 , Scheduling map - FL003(FLT) ( © Cadw)
Cadw , 1997 , Cadw Field Monument Wardens Report - Fl003(FLT)
Cadw , 1998 , Cadw Field Monument Wardens Report - Fl003(FLT)
Cadw , 2000 , Database of Listed Buildings in Wales
Cadw , 2004 , Cadw Field Monument Wardens Report - Fl003(FLT)
Cadw , 2016 , Database of Listed Buildings in Wales ( © Cadw)
Cadw , 2018 , Scheduled Monument consent letter
Clwyd Archaeology Service , 1979 , Site visit record - PRN100325
Craster, O E , 1966 , The supposed outer ditch of Flint castle , Flintshire Historical Society Publications : 22 : 71-2
Edwards, J G , 1952 , The building of Flint
Hannaford, H R , 1988 , Flint Castle , Archaeology in Wales : 28 : 71
Hannaford, H R , 1989 , Flint Castle, archaeological evaluation of sites to the west of the castle in 1988 ( © Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust)
Hemp, W J , nd , Flint Castle
Hurst, J G , 1966 , Early 18th century pottery from Flint Castle , Flintshire Historical Society Publications : 22 : 73-4
Jones, N.W. & Owen, W.J. , 2007 , Ports and Harbours in North-east Wales: Final Project Report ( © Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust)
Kerr, N , 1983 , Cestyll 83: The Year Of The Castle , Popular Archaeology : 5 : 3-8
King, D J C , 1958 , The Doujon of Flint , Journal of the Chester & North Wales Architectural, Archaeological & Historical : 45 : 61-69
Lewis, J M , 1996 , Correpondence - Flint Castle
Linnard, W , 2000 , Welsh Woods and Forests: a history
Maxwell, H , 1843 , title unknown - Flint Castle
Miles, T J , 1971 , Flint Castle
Miles, T J , 1971 , Flint Castle , Archaeology in Wales : 11 : 23
Miles, T J , 1972 , Flint Castle , Archaeology in Wales : 12 : 28
Miles, T J , 1973 , Flint Castle
Miles, T J , 1996 , Flint: Excavations at the Castle and on the Town Defences 1971-1974 , Archaeologia Cambrensis : 145 : 67-151
Morgan, D , 1996 , Flint Castle , Archaeology in Wales : 36 : 87
Muir, R., 2000 , The NEW Reading the Landscape: Fieldwork in Landscape History
Ordnance Survey , 1976 , OS record card SJ 27 SW 8
Parry, A , 1994 , Report on an archaeological evaluation at Flint Castle, Moat embankment ( © Gifford and Partners)
Rigold, S E , 1975 , title unknown - Flint Castle
Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales , 1912 , Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Wales and Monmouth II - County of Flintshire
Simpson, W D , 1940 , Flint Castle , Archaeologia Cambrensis : 95 : 20-6
Taylor, A J , 1947 , Rhyl report , Archaeologia Cambrensis : 99 : 323-5
Taylor, H , 1899 , Guide of Flint Castle
Taylor, H , 1917 , Articles for the surrender of Flint Castle to the parliamentary forces in 1646 , Flintshire Historical Society Publications : 6 : 85-90
Taylor, H , 1922 , Sir George Wynne, Baronet, MP , Flintshire Historical Society Publications : 9 : 18-9
The Handley Partnership , 2014ff , HAAbase built heritage assessment system: Buildings at Risk database
Thompson, F H , 1912 , title unknown - Flint Castle
Williams, J G , 1988 , The Castles of Wales during the Civil War, 1642-1647 , Archaeologia Cambrensis : 137 : 1-26
D Renn & R Avent, Flint Castle, Ewloe Castle, (Cadw Guidebook) Cardiff 1995.
E Hubbard, Clwyd, (Buildings of Wales Series), 1986, pp 348-349.

Events :
23195 : Flint Castle, moat, Dyke Street, watching brief 1995 (year : 1995)
23284 : Flint, Bardyn Pumping Station, assessment 1994 (year : 1994)
23507 : Flint Castle, moat, assessment 1994 (year : 1994)
34024 : Flint Castle, assessment 1988 (year : 1988)
13095 : Flint Castle, moat, watching brief 1996 (year : 1996)
72379 : Flint Castle, excavation 1971-4 (year : 1971)
38260 : Flint Castle, excavation 1970 (year : 1970)
38260 : Flint Castle, excavation 1970 (year : 1970)
115440 : Ports and Harbours in North-east Wales, assessment project 2007 (year : 2007)
58691 : Flint Castle, moat, desktop study 1994 (year : 1994)
58692 : Flint Castle, moat, evaluation 1994 (year : 1994)

Related records
CPAT Historic Environment Record (HER) 100325
Handley Partnership: HAA Buildings at Risk Database 16403_1 http://haabase.com/buildingdetails.php/?BARURN2=16403_1

Compiled date : 31-12-1980


Images :



Archaeological data, from the Historic Environment Record, supplied by The Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust in partnership with Local Authorities, Cadw and the partners of ENDEX © CPAT, 2025 (and in part © Crown, 2025). It is intended to be used for private research only and is not for use as part of commercial projects. If you wish to use this information for publication in printed or multimedia form or to compile resources for commercial use, prior permission must be obtained in writing. Use of this information is subject to the terms and conditions of access to HER data published on CPAT's website. Please contact the HER if you have any further questions regarding this information. Please quote the Primary Reference Numbers (PRNs) in any correspondence.

April 1, 2025, 6:14 am - File produced for Archwilio from CPAT's Regional HER.
Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust, The Offices, Coed y Dinas, Welshpool, Powys, SY21 8RP
tel (01938) 553670, email her@cpat.org.uk, website www.cpat.org.uk

Comment on this record?       Privacy and cookies