CAERNARFON CASTLE; CAERNARVON CASTLE

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Caernarfon castle is an imperious and grand fortress built following the English conquest of Gwynedd in the late thirteenth century. Its banded stone towers famously reference the great walls of Constantinople. This is a play on the visionary 'Dream of Mascen Wledig', a poem celebrating Wales' legendary imperial past. The castle was in decay by the sixteenth century and was abandoned following the Civil War. It was restored and refurbished from the mid nineteenth century.
The castle, together with the walled borough (NPRN 93527), was begun in 1283 and was still incomplete by about 1330 when major work ended. It consists of seven great polygonal towers, two turrets and two great twin towered gates, all joined by massive curtain walls tracing a rough figure of eight. Galleries thread their way through the walls and across the towers. The higher upper ward and Queen's Gate are thought to occupy the earthworks of an earlier castle. At the other end of the castle is the mighty Eagle Tower, crowned by three tall turrets topped by sculptured figures. The grand appartments planned for the castle interior, including a great hall, may never have been built.
Although the castle presents a great display of military might from outside the medieval borough the approach to the great King's Gate (NPRN 302417) follows an indirect line along narrows streets. From this direction the castle appears only in fragments.
From the nineteenth century the castle was extensively restored and the walls and towers renewed. In this way the medieval fortress has become an archetypal castle, a setting for investitures and other grand occasions.

Sources: RCAHMW Caernarvonshire Inventory II (1960), 124-56
Taylor CADW Guide to Caernarfon Castle and Town Wall, fifth edition (2001)

RCAHMW 06.11.07

Coflein

CAERNARFON CASTLE; CAERNARVON CASTLE

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