Dinefwr - A Phoenix in Wales

There is nowhere in Wales quite like Dinefwr. This is where the Lord Rhys and his sons and grandsons held court in the great medieval castle which continues to survey the wonderful woodland of the Tywi valley. This is where a new family, boasting descent from the ancient Welsh kings, would become instrumental in putting Henry Tudor on the throne of England, only to see its wealth swallowed by the greedy coffers of Henry VIII. And this is where, over a thousand years earlier, the Romans built not one but two garrison forts. Gradually the family’s estates and reputation were recovered, and power moved from the castle to Newton House, which became the seat of the Dynevor peerage, which has flourished for ten generations. Newton House and Dinefwr Park are now National Trust properties, and in this fully illustrated book Gerald Morgan tells the remarkable story – ancient and modern – of the people, places and events which have made Dinefwr such a resonant name, explaining how, like a phoenix, it has time and again risen from its own ashes.