Mathrafal

Mathrafal stands in the community of Meifod in the United Kingdom and was established by the medieval rulers of the kingdom of Powys.

An earlier defended place stood nearby, and the site of Mathrafal became the principal seat of the kings and princes of Powys probably from the ninth century. It served as the administrative centre for the cantref of Caereinion and remained the kingdom’s focal place until the mid and late medieval changes in Powys. Around 520, or by about 656 at the time of the fall of the neighbouring kingdom of Pengwern, regional power shifted in this landscape and an earlier hill fort to the north‑west was used before Mathrafal rose to prominence.

Following the division of Powys in 1160, Mathrafal became the chief centre for the southern portion that later took the name Powys Wenwynwyn. Around the end of the twelfth century a large earthwork motte was constructed at the site; this work may have been carried out by the prince and poet Owain Cyfeiliog near 1170, or alternatively the motte may have been raised by Robert de Vieuxpont acting for King John in 1212. In 1212 Prince Gwenwynwyn ab Owain removed his seat from Mathrafal to Welshpool, also known by its Welsh name Y Trallwng.

In 1212 Robert de Vieuxpont was besieged in the castle by a combined force led by Gwenwynwyn and Llywelyn the Great, and King John intervened to relieve the garrison. The stronghold was destroyed in the fighting and was not rebuilt; some accounts record the destruction taking place in 1213 at the hands of Llywelyn the Great. Archaeological fieldwork at the site was undertaken by the University of York around 1991, which examined the surviving earthworks and found evidence relating to the site’s occupation and use.