This is the first full-length study of a Welsh family of the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries who were not drawn from the princely class. Though they were of obscure and modest origins, the patronage of great lords of the March – such as the Mortimers of Wigmore or the de Bohun earls of Hereford – helped them to become prominent in Wales and the March, and increasingly in England. They helped to bring down anyone opposed by their patrons – like Llywelyn, prince of Wales in the thirteenth century, or Edward II in the 1320s. In the process, they sometimes faced great danger but they contrived to prosper, and unusually for Welshmen one branch became Marcher lords themselves. Another was prominent in Welsh and English government, becoming diplomats and courtiers of English kings, and over some five generations many achieved knighthood. Their fascinating careers perhaps hint at a more open society than is sometimes envisaged.

It is the only book available that covers all types of architecture and building in Wales over a period of two thousand years, from Roman times to the present. The book is illustrated by 254 colour and black & white photographs, drawings and plans. The book has fourteen specially-drawn maps illustrating ranges of building types. The book is intended for the general reader as well as architectural specialists.

This volume presents a collection of essays providing a picture of the current knowledge of castles in Wales and the Marches. The essays have been brought together to honour a leading scholar in the field of castle studies. The collection is set out in chronological order starting with early earthwork castles and extending through to the 17th-century Civil War. The majority of the papers look at an architectural, archaelogical or histroical aspect of a particular castle. There are in addition three synoptic papers. The interest of the volume goes beyond the medieval period, and six of the essays have particular relevance for post-medievalists.

You may be a castle enthusiast on holiday or an armchair aficionado seeking the perfect introduction to Welsh castles. If so, here is the perfect solution: a combination of fireside companion and practical handbook for windswept walks. The introduction sweeps through medieval history, setting the castles in their historical, political and military context, while the main text is a practical guide to nearly 80 castles with grid reference and notes on access, history and building details. Fully illustrated, "Castles in Wales, A Handbook" also includes a list of over 400 medieval castles, and an appendix of possible, post-medieval and lost castles.

The fascinating story of the buildings that have helped to defend Wales throughout its history from the Iron Age to the twentieth century.