In 1256 Roger went to war with Llywelyn ap Gruffudd when the latter invaded his lordship of Gwrtheyrnion or Rhayader. This war would continue intermittently until the deaths of both Roger and Llywelyn in 1282. They were both grandsons of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth.
In August 1265, de Montfort's army was surrounded by the River Avon on three sides, and Prince Edward's army on the fourth. Mortimer had sent his men to block the only possible escape route, at the Bengeworth bridge. The Battle of Evesham began in earnest. A storm roared above the battle field. Montfort's Welsh soldiers broke and ran for the bridge, where they were slaughtered by Mortimer's men. Mortimer himself killed Hugh Despencer and Montfort, and crushed Montfort's army. Mortimer was awarded Montfort's severed head and other parts of his anatomy, which he sent home to Wigmore Castle as a gift for his wife, Lady Mortimer.
Llewellyn's objections to Mortimer's construction of a new castle Cefnllys contributed to the climate of distrust that preceded Edward I's 1282 campaign. During the war, Mortimer was put in charge of operations in mid-Wales.[1] It was a major setback for Edward when Mortimer died in October 1282.[1]
William Mortimer (c. 1259 – before June 1297), was hostage for his father in 1264. He was knighted, and married Hawise, daughter and heir of Robert de Mucegros. Died childless.
Their eldest son, Ralph, died in his youth. The second son, Edmund, was recalled from Oxford University and appointed his father's heir.
Epitaph
Roger Mortimer died on 27 October 1282 at Kingsland, Herefordshire, and was buried at Wigmore Abbey, where his tombstone read:
Here lies buried, glittering with praise, Roger the pure, Roger Mortimer the second, called Lord of Wigmore by those who held him dear. While he lived all Wales feared his power, and given as a gift to him all Wales remained his. It knew his campaigns, he subjected it to torment.
Ancestry
Ancestors of Roger Mortimer, 1st Baron Mortimer of Wigmore
Mortimer, Ian. The Greatest Traitor: The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Ruler of England 1327-1330, Jonathan Cape, London, 2003. ISBN0-224-06249-2
Remfry, P.M., Wigmore Castle Tourist Guide and the Family of Mortimer (ISBN1-899376-76-3)
Remfry, P.M., Brampton Bryan Castle, 1066 to 1646 (ISBN1-899376-33-X)