Castles of Wales

Castles had not yet existed anywhere in Wales before the Norman Conquest. Yet over the following two centuries many hundreds were to be established. It is, therefore, essentially with the Normans and their successors that we associate the castle in Britain. And this popular notion has much historical justification. The Normans were organizers and militarists of genius. They did not invent armored cavalry; nor did they invent fortified bases; and they certainly did not invent the basic concept of feudalism, which was the holding of land from a superior lord in exchange for knight-service. But they were the first to combine all three and regulate the resulting system in a thoroughly businesslike manner.

The largest group of castles were those built by the Anglo-Norman lords of the March (from the French word marche meaning frontier). The Marcher lordships eventually swung in a great arc from Chester in the north to Chepstow in the south, and then west to Pembroke. The grandest and most powerful of these strongholds were those built by the lords themselves: Caerphilly, Cardiff, Chepstow, Kidwelly, and the rest. But there were smaller examples too, such as Bronllys and Tretower, built by followers and lieutenants of the major barons.

	Location of Wales in Relation to England and Scotland
	Some Castles of Wales 1. Flint Castle. 2. Denbigh Castle and Walls. 3. Rhuddlan Castle. 4. Conwy Castle and Town Walls. 5. Beaumaris Castle. 6. Dolwyddelan Castle. 7. Dolbadarn Castle. 8. Caernarfon Castle. 9. Harlech Castle. 10. Criccieth Castle. 11. Cilgerran Castle. 12. Kidwelly Castle. 13. Carreg Cennen Castle. 14. Caerphilly Castle. 15. White Castle. 16. Chepstow Castle and Town Wall. http://www.walesdirectory.co.uk/maps/castles.htm
	Conwy Castle Conwy castle is a gritty, dark stoned fortress which has the rare ability to evoke an authentic medieval atmosphere. Conwy, constructed by the English monarch Edward I between 1283 and 1289 as one of the key fortresses in his 'iron ring' of castles to contain the Welsh, was built to prompt such a humbling reaction. There are no concentric 'walls within walls' here, because they were not needed. Conwy's massive military strength springs from the rock on which it stands and seems to grow naturally. Soaring curtain walls and eight huge round towers give the castle (a World Heritage Inscribed site) an intimidating presence undimmed by the passage of time. http://www.conwy.com/
	Beaumaris Castle Beaumaris was begun in 1295 in reaction to a Welsh rising on a site, midway by sea between Conwy and Caernarfon, commanding the old ferry crossing to Anglesey. It is the most technically perfect medieval castle in Britain. Beaumaris was the last link in the chain of coastal fortresses built by King Edward I to control Wales. The site of the castle, on level ground not far from the water's edge, enabled its archirtect, Master James of St.George, to invest its concentric layout with a degree of symmetry not attained at any of its predecessors and to fill the encircling moat with a controlled supply of tidal water. http://www.anzwers.org/free/castlewales/
	Chepstow Castle Set in a beautiful landscape, the mighty fortress of Chepstow has guarded the route from England into South Wales for more than nine centuries. Its beginnings date from immediately after the Norman conquest, when the Conqueror's principal lieutenants William Fitz Osbern built the earliest surviving stone keep in Britain astride a narrow ridge high above the river Wye, that would be quite as home in the 11th century Normandy or on the Loire. Chepstow is unusual among British castles in that it was built largely of stone from the first with no primary timber phase. http://www.castlewales.com/home.html
	Caernarfon Castle With its seven polygonal towers (including the great Eagle Tower), two gatehouses, and walls of colour-banded stone, King Edward I intended the castle to be a royal residence and seat of government for north Wales. The castle was begun in 1283 under the direction of Master James of St George, the King's mason-architect. http://www.places-to-visit.co.uk/ Wales%20Castles.html

Catherine Koranda

Last Modified on February 23, 2003