BEAUMARIS CASTLE

Site Description

Beaumaris Castle was begun in 1295, the last link in the ring of defence provided for the north Wales seaboard by Edward I, located close to the water's edge on the Isle of Anglesey. A thriving borough was laid out alongside the castle (NPRN 32989), with the castle's constable acting as its mayor.
Although construction of the stone castle continued almost continuously for thirty-five years, the original plan was never achieved. The intended residential ranges were not begun and the towers and gates of the inner ward lack their upper storeys, giving the castle a low and unassuming aspect.
The castle was maintained throughout the medieval period. The disorders of the early fifteenth century saw the castle beleaguered after which the town was walled (NPRN 302768). The castle was put in order and garrisoned during the English Civil War, but does not seem to have been maintained after its surrender in 1646. It was returned to State care in 1925, and despite some partial demolition in areas, the castle remains largely intact.
Beaumaris, like Rhuddlan(NPRN 92914), Aberystwyth (NPRN 86) and Harlech (NPRN 93729), had a concentric layout, with the square courtyard surrounded by an enclosing ward, with round towers at the corners, D-plan towers along the east and west sides, and twin towered gate houses to the north and south, the south gate being flanked by the projecting 'Gunners Walk' (NPRN 302767). This is then encircled by a moat fed by tidal waters.

Sources: RCAHM Anglesey Inventory (1937), 8-13
Taylor, A. 1999. Beaumaris Castle: Cadw Guide (4th edition)

K Steele, RCAHMW, 3 November 2008.

Coflein

BEAUMARIS CASTLE

Site Details

Site Description