Arthur's Myth in Shropshire

Arthur - The once and future king

Bury Ditches (image) [+]
Bury Ditches - Small photo

When we think of heroes it is King Arthur who often springs to mind. It is said that there are more places in Britain associated with this great Dark Age figure than any other, but although Shropshire has a couple of these it has to be admitted they are rather tenuous and peripheral.

While Cheshire, Powys, Hereford and Worcester all have quite strong Arthurian links, Shropshire seems to be the exception or, perhaps more precisely, used to be the exception.

Just why, until recently, the Once and Future King played so small a part in our folk history is open to conjecture. Leintwardine, the Roman Bravonium, lies only a few miles outside the county and is widely considered to be the site of ‘Bregoin’ one of the Twelve Battles Arthur is said to have fought. Another part of the Arthurian record, The Dream of Rhonabwy from Welsh Mabinogion has the King marshalling his army just outside where the town of Welshpool would eventually stand and again very close to the Shropshire border.

Despite these ‘near misses’ the only ancient traditional associations of King Arthur with Shropshire concern two Iron Age sites. One of these, Old Oswestry hillfort, was supposedly the home of the giant Ogyrfan who, according to legend, was the father of Guinevere, Arthur’s Queen, and yet another giant lived at Red Castle, Hawkstone, and is said to have fought with Arthur when the King held court at nearby Bury Walls hillfort. The Arthurian association with Bury Walls is certainly a long one as attested by the historian William Camden who wrote in his ‘Brittania’ (1586) that the local people still spoke about the King coming to Bury Walls.

A much more recent Arthurian link is made by Michael Holmes in his King Arthur, a Military History, Blandford Press 1996 when he suggests that the river Tribruit, where another of the Twelve Battles was fought, may be located in Shropshire just outside the Roman city of Wroxeter at the point where the River Tern, known to the Saxons as the Tren, flows into the Severn. Close to this spot the road from Chester through Leintwardine and on to Caerleon crossed the river.

Compared with many of the Arthurian links to be found elsewhere in Britain these Shropshire examples are pretty insignificant and make the county seem a sort of backwater when it comes to Britain’s greatest legendary figure.

Until now that is, for in recent years the researches of Dr Graham Phillips may point to the fact that not only the historical Arthur, but also much that is associated with the legendary Arthurian cycle, is actually to be found in Shropshire.

Dr Phillips believes the man history knows as King Arthur was in fact Owain Ddantgwyn a powerful Dark Age King of Powys who ruled from the city of Wroxeter which had been rebuilt following the departure of the Romans. He suggests too that Whittington Castle may have once been the Grail Castle, and that the Holy Grail itself might be the small onyx cup or vessel found at Hawkstone Park. To follow up these fascinating ideas you will need to read Dr Phillips book, The Search for the Holy Grail. Arrow Books, 1996. Also, Shropshire Tourism have issued a leaflet, On the Trail of King Arthur in Shropshire, based upon Dr Phillip’s researches and this includes several fascinating routes through the county touching upon places which may have Arthurian connections.