Summary
During the thirteenth century, King Edward I built a series of castles along the English-Welsh border—the Marches. Ruthin Castle was one of them. He intended to use these castles as strongholds for his all-out campaign to conquer Wales, once and for all.
Reginald de Grey, 1st Baron of Wilton, was one of Edward’s outstanding military strategists. After the War of 1282 and the defeat of Wales, Edward rewarded Reginald with Ruthin Castle, the village of Ruthin, Wales, and the surrounding area. Upon acquiring this prized possession, Reginald hired Master James of St. George, the renowned military architect of the time, to reconstruct the castle.
Wales was a wild, heavily-forested, mountainous country in the thirteenth century. King Edward ordered roads cut through the forests allowing his men-at-arms to move forward. The Welsh fiercely defended their independence, and although they were defeated
in the War of 1282, their intense desire to revolt endured.
In the meantime, Reginald had married Maud Fitzhugh, a young English girl whose father had recently died. He left his entire estate to her, since she was his only heir.
Maud’s life with Reginald ended abruptly when she was accused and executed, for being a murderess. Because of her crime, she could not be buried in the consecrated churchyard. She was placed to rest in an unmarked grave outside the castle grounds. Her grave can be seen there to this day.
Maud comes back to haunt Reginald, the castle, and its grounds. Her ghost is known as The Grey Lady and has haunted the castle through the centuries, even until today. Ruthin Castle is now a renovated, modern luxury hotel with the thirteenth century ruins still standing in the background of the hotel.
Mysterious questions linger though. What is The Grey Lady seeking? Why does she return again and again? Is she looking for someone?
