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All About History Books
The Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke. Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson. Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback.
Chester Archaeological and History Society 1856 Page 48 is in Chester Archaeological and History Society 1856.
Denbigh Castle by William Ayrton.
The Goblin Tower [Map]. Denbigh Castle.
One of the most amusing, if not always the most instructive, provinces of the Archaeologist, has ever been the etymology of names,—both of things, people, and places; and perhaps in no country is there such a field for tracing real or fancied derivations as in Wales, where almost every hill, valley, river or ruin, possesses a title referable to either a British, Saxon, or sometimes a Roman origin.
Denbigh is certainly no exception to this rule; but from the mass of conflicting opinions as to the origin 6f its name, we may select that of Archdeacon Newcome, who in his History of Denbigh says, "The first syllable of the name is without doubt Dinas, a city; and perhaps the last is a proper name." Walters' Dictionary makes it Dinas buck, i.e the desirable city.
While searching the Welsh language for the etymology of the word, it has been remarked by our Historic Secretary, Mr. Wynne Ffoulkes, that the name of Denbigh is nowhere to be found as the title of the place before the Conquest. Previous to that time the inhabitants of the neighbourhood are mentioned in every authentic record as " the men of Rhos Rhyfoniog;" so that Denbigh is, in all probability, a name of English origin. Henry Lacy, first Lord of Denbigh, was Earl of Lincoln, and possessed, among others, a manor in Yorkshire called Deneby, which name, he (Mr. Ffoulkes) thinks may probably have been bestowed by the Earl on his new possession in Wales.
It appears doubtful whether any Castle (in the present sense of the term) preceded the ruin now under notice. That the site was, long before this time, an important fortified post we have abuudant evidence, but that it possessed anything we should recognize as a complete garrisoned town and Castle is not so clear.
Continues ...
1606. Plan of Denbigh Castle and Town Walls [Map] from Speed's Theatre of Great Britain.
Plan of Denbigh Castle from a Survey by James Harrison.
Goblin Tower [Map] at Denbigh Castle.
Part of the South Wall of Denbigh Castle [looking toward the Treasure House Tower [Map]]
All About History Books
The Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall describes the reigns of Kings Henry II, Richard I, John and Henry III, providing a wealth of information about their lives and the events of the time. Ralph's work is detailed, comprehensive and objective. We have augmented Ralph's text with extracts from other contemporary chroniclers to enrich the reader's experience. Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback.
Burgess Gate [Map] at Denbigh Castle.