Conwy Castle, Castles and Forts Conwy, Conwy County - Wales where to go, what to see and where to stay in Wales

Built for the English King Edward I between 1283-87, Master James of St George's design at Conwy remains one of the most outstanding achievements of medieval military architecture. The distinctive elongated shape, with its two barbicans, eight massive towers and great bow-shaped hall, was dictated by the narrow rocky outcrop on which the castle stands. The story of the castle and walled town of Conwy begins in the year 1283. King Edward 1 and his English army had completed the conquest of Snowdonia and terminated the rule of the Welsh Princes. On 18 January 1283 the capture of Dolwyddelan Castle gave Edward the control of the Conwy valley and he moved to Conwy in March of 1283. Here the monastery of Aberconwy, the spiritual heart of Gwynnedd and the burial place of Llewelyn the Great, was destroyed and a new home for the monks was built at Maenan some 8 miles away. All that remained was the unfinished abbey church which was to become the parish church of the new town, which it still remains. Conwy castle was to be built above the original tomb of Llewelyn the Great. Edward immediately set about organising the building of the Castle. Under the supervision of James of St George and his associate at Conwy James of Chester. the Master carpenters Henry of Oxford and Laurence of Canterbury and Mason John Francis had charge over a force of English craftsmen and labourers that reached a peak of 1500 strong in the summer of 1285, and within 4 short years this the most magnificent of Edward 1's Castles would be substantially complete.