NAR SJ06NE18

The borough of Denbigh (NPRN 33082) was founded with the castle (NPRN 95209) after 1282 and recieved its charter in 1290. The upper town (NPRN15235) occupied the greater part of a 4.7ha walled enclosure crowning the summit of an isolated hill, with the castle at its highest southern end. Most of this walled circuit remains along with its two gates and four towers. The Burgess Gate is substantially intact (NPRN 309175), but only the foundations remain of the Exchequer Gate.
The most dramatic section is on the east side where a spur wall descends from the Countess Tower to the shattered wreck of the Goblin Tower, which guarded the town's main water supply (NPRN 306630). This was the scene of fierce fighting during the siege of 1646. Earthworks at its foot (NPRN 275749) may have been constructed by the defence or for the attack.

Sources: Butler 'Denbigh Castle, Town Walls & Friary', DoE guide (1976), 26-33
Smith in Archaeologia Cambrensis 137 (1988), 108-112

John Wiles 07.03.08