Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd

• Official name: Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd
• Location: Gwynedd, North Wales
• Year of inscription: 1986

The Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd are historical landmarks in North Wales. The landmarks were together named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. Edward I built the castles and fortifications in the late 1200s and early 1300s. The Welsh government estimates that hundreds of castles, fortifications, and walls exist in the region, but the World Heritage Site focuses on four of the most popular castles—Caernarfon, Harlech, Beaumaris, and Conwy—and the town walls at Caernarfon and Conwy.

The fortifications included at the site were chosen because they remain some of the most important examples of military architecture left from the Middle Ages. Edward I constructed numerous castles in Wales during his reign to help him maintain his power in Wales starting in the late 1200s. James of St. George, who was Edward I’s architect, designed the castles as structures made for both defense and everyday life. The castles include architectural features for defense, such as drawbridges, gates, towers, dungeons, and curtain walls.

Although the castles’ main purpose was for defense, Edward I and his architect designed the castles to be ornate. For example, Edward had the masonry at one of his castles, Rhuddlan, copied from masonry in Constantinople. The designers also designed the castles’ proportions to be visually pleasing in addition to being strategically sound. Furthermore, some of the castles feature huge towers. Although the towers serve defense purposes, they were also built to make the structures look more impressive and dominating.

History

William the Conqueror and the Normans invaded England in 1066, and soon afterward, William and his forces tried to overtake Wales. The struggle between the Welsh and the people who would become the English lasted for many years. Fighting between English kings and Welsh princes lasted until the 1200s. One of the Welsh princes, Llywelyn II, helped create a short-term peace with England by agreeing to pay tribute to King Henry III. The English king, in turn, acknowledged Llywelyn II as the Prince of Wales. However, Llywelyn II refused to honor the same agreement with Edward I, who came to power after Henry III died.

Edward reignited the conflict between England and Wales, and he led troops to overtake the region in 1277. Edward and his forces were successful enough that Edward began constructing castles in the area. Edward realized that building fortified castles was the only way to maintain the English claim to the land.

The Welsh staged a rebellion in 1282, but Edward I and his forces again quelled the uprising. Edward I ordered that three more castles be built in the area to help solidify his power there. The main construction of the fortifications happened between 1280 and 1330. The king had the castles built around the area of Snowdonia in northern Wales, which was a rebel stronghold. The huge cluster of fortifications gave Edward I and his forces the power they needed to stop the rebels and maintain their power in Wales. Edward I also had the fortification of Beaumaris constructed on the island of Anglesey.

Edward I had James of St. George plan and execute the designs for the castle and fortifications. James’s designs were different for each castle, and he used the landscape and the local terrain to help him plan the most effective structures for each location. Edward I and James of St. George chose locations such as marshes and high peaks to build the castles, as those land formations gave the castles natural defenses. Edward spared no expense to use the locations that he believed were the best strategically. For example, he had workers reroute a river when he built his castle at Conwy.

The design and structural elements of the castles were also chosen mainly because they helped the castle maintain a strong defense. The castles’ main defenses were their thick walls. Most of the castles built by Edward I had a double set of walls. The castles featured low outer walls and higher inner walls. The double set of walls helped prevent a breach from outside. The two heights allowed soldiers on both walls to launch arrows at the same time.

Edward I built the castles at Conwy and Caernarfon on rocky, narrow pieces of land that did not allow enough space for the builders to make a double-wall construction. Instead, these castles included extra towers and large gatehouses that could house small groups of soldiers. Furthermore, Edward had new towns, which were fortified with walls of their own, built in these two locations.

Edward I invested huge amounts of time, money, and resources into the castles and the fortifications. These structures required a great deal of stone and iron to build. Their construction also required huge amounts of lumber, glass, and lead. Artisans and builders from around England were hired to build the fortifications. These workers generally stayed and worked in Wales during the summer and traveled back to England when the weather became inclement.

Although the castles’ main purpose was to protect from attacks, James of St. George designed the structures to be beautiful and to be comfortable for the people living in them. The castles featured storehouses, small gardens, and wells so that inhabitants had food and water available even if they could not leave the walls of the fortresses because of possible attacks. The castles also had chapels, kitchens, and breweries.

Edward I had at least seventeen castles constructed in Wales during his time in power. The castles allowed Edward to maintain soldiers in the region and helped him hold his power there. After only a century, however, the castles that Edward built began to decline in strategic importance. At this time, Europeans began using gunpowder in their conflicts, and the cannons and artillery they used were too powerful for the stone castles and fortifications. Therefore, stone castles became less useful for strategic defense. The castles throughout Wales and other parts of Europe that had been constructed in the past began to fall into disrepair as people used the enormous, drafty structures less often. Nevertheless, Edward I’s castles and fortifications were used again during the English Civil War.

Significance

The Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd were classified as World Heritage Sites in 1986 largely because they are some of the best examples of military architecture from their era. The castles and fortifications are valuable because they are complete structures that have remained intact for hundreds of years and because they include many different architectural features from their period of construction.

In addition, these sites are culturally and historically significant for numerous reasons. One reason is that the castles are among some of the most intact castles of the Middle Ages, and their existence helps people living in the present better understand the historical significance of castles in general. Castles were a huge strategic advantage in armed conflict during the Middle Ages in England, Wales, and other parts of Europe. Military leaders constructed castles even though they required vast amounts of resources because castles helped leaders achieve numerous goals. The first and foremost goal of castle construction was to protect leaders from attacks. However, castles were also important because they were storehouses for arms and supplies and provided areas for soldiers to organize. They acted as military headquarters in the Middle Ages. Because of that, their existence helped shape European history.

The castle and town walls of King Edward I are also significant because they tell about English and Welsh history. The numerous huge castles dotted around Wales help show that Edward I was a strong, determined military leader. He was also effective, as demonstrated by his many victories and land acquisitions in Wales. However, the castles also indicate that Edward I faced a difficult adversary in the Welsh fighters. Edward I would not have needed to construct numerous castles and fortifications if he had not faced harsh resistance from the Welsh.

Because the castles and fortifications are culturally and historically significant, historians, government officials, and citizens work to preserve them. In the 1800s, the British government reconstructed parts of the castle at Caernarfon. However, most of the castles’ structures are original, with professionals undertaking major modifications only when necessary. The town walls at Caernarfon and Conwy also remain mostly unaltered.

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