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NEW RADNOR CASTLE By W. H. HOWSE, F.S.A. A paper was published in the Transactions of 1954 (pp.18-19) describing the visit of the young Prince Charles to New Radnor Castle in 1642. The visit leads us to speculate as to how much of the castle then remained. Whatever was there must have been included in repairs done subsequent to the time of Bishop Roland Lee. The latter wrote to Thomas Cromwell in 1535 "Radnor Castell is not to be repayred but only a prison house amended which must needs be doon, ffor ther have been loste no lesse by evill keeping than viii theves, and have no place to kepe them. All may not be brought to Ludlow, ffor many consideracions which were to long to write. I suppose that xx or xl marks wolde make ther a goode prison, which is no greate somme". If the work could be done for that small amount it would seem that some part of the castle was far from being a ruin. Leland wrote in 1540: "The Castle is in ruine but that a Pece of the Gate was a late amendyd Perhaps that was the prison*. The castle was besieged by the Parliament forces shortly after the Prince's visit and finally laid in ruins. Evidently there was enough left at that time to house a garrison and attract the attention of the enemy. It seems also that the besiegers had to use cannon. George Lipscomb in his Journey into South Wales wrote that "some 14 years" before his visit to New Radnor in 1799 workmen digging stone in the foundations came across a number of cannon balls of inferior size, such as might be used by small pieces, while finding one of larger size, a 24 pounder, which was embedded in a wall." While we cannot assess how much of the castle was standing and inhabitable in 1642, we have some interesting evidence of warlike material found on the site, besides remains of the castle itself. Lipscomb mentioned that, when the cannon balls were found, the heads of two or three battle axes were also brought to light. B. H. Malkin reported in 1803 that warlike implements were found on the castle site "in great number by the natives, who busy themselves in digging about the castle site in the hope of finding treasure." Jonathan Williams in his History of Radnorshire referred to digging in 1818 as having revealed "several military weapons, such as halberds, spears, swords, battle axes, etc." A grimmer discovery was made during the excavation for the new parish church, opened in 1845. This, reported in the Illustrated London News of October 4th, 1845, was the finding of the headless skeletons In the Exchequer Proceedings of 1583 it is related that the Corporation of New Radnor, not having paid a certain fee farm rent to the Crown, the Deputy Receiver met the inhabitants at the Castle Gate to demand payment.