Caernarfon Castle was built by Edward I of England as part of his master plan to maintain control of Wales after his conquest of the country. Caernarfon itself had already been occupied and fortified by both the Romans and the Normans: but Edward’s conquest was to be lasting and significant – and left the legacy of the impressive castle which still plays a part in modern royal pageantry.
Edward I’s Ring of Stone
King Edward I of England was a ruthless warrior. Tired of being harried by his troublesome western neighbours, the Welsh princes, Edward needed little excuse to declare war, which he did in November of 1277. His march into the principality was swift and crushing: within a year he had won victory and forced the princes into submission (Smith).
It was not, however, the end of the matter. The Welsh could not be kept down and Edward returned with more forces in 1282. He had already begun to build castles in Wales but the conquest of 1282-4 led him to order the construction of magnificent fortresses, at Caernarfon, Conwy and Harlech (and later at Beaumaris) whose purpose was to maintain English control over the Welsh.
Caernarfon Castle: Headquarters of Government
Everyone who has visited the castles of North Wales has a favourite. But it was Caernarvon that Edward chose, not just as the location for what Smith describes as the ‘grandest and most sophisticated’ of them but as the seat of his government in Wales and the location for his Welsh court (it as here that his son Edward, later to be created Prince of Wales, was born in 1284).
The choice of Caernarvon was a sensible one. Not only was it a wonderful strategic site, protected by both the river and the sea and dominating the southern approaches to the Menai Straits (Beaumaris Castle, on Anglesey, was built to police the northern approaches) but, numbered as it was among the courts of the Princes of Gwynedd, (Visit Caernarfon website) it also had great symbolic importance.
This was emphasised by the style of building chosen by its architect, Master James of St George. Its massive walls with eight towers are thought to be reminiscent of the walls of Constantinople (Edward I had been on a Crusade) and were intended, as historian John Davies puts it ‘to symbolise…repossession by an imperial power’.
Building Caernarfon Castle
The Romans had built in stone at Caernarfon and the Normans had built in wood, a motte and bailey construction on the site of the present castle. But Edward’s stone castle is a statement of intent. Threateningly evident (like its fellows) from the sea, its massively thick walls and eight towers command the walled town and its surroundings. The castle’s twin drawbridges and other defences sent, in the middle ages, an impressive message to potential attackers.
The castle was built in two stages, most of it (including the main defensive walls, gatehouses and the residential areas such as the Queen’s Tower) between 1283 and 1292. The northern part, including the second major gateway, was added over a longer period between 1296 and 1323 and followed from the unsuccessful rebellion of Madog ap Llywelyn. The town walls also formed part of the overall defensive structure.
Caernarfon Castle and Edward I’s Legacy
Edward’s commitment to his Welsh cause extended to having his wife give birth to their son at Caernarfon and later creating him Prince of Wales. (The story of the babe being presented to the Welsh people as their prince on the castle battlements is not contemporary and is almost certainly apocryphal.) And, unlike the previous invaders, the Romans and Normans, the English occupation which commenced under Edward Plantagenet was permanent.
Caernarfon continues to a function as a royal castle – both Edward VIII and the present Prince Charles were invested as Prince of Wales in elaborate pageants there. And, now part of a World Heritage Site (Castles and Town Walls of Edward I in Gwynedd), it remains a mighty monument to a lasting change in the political system of the British Isles.
Sources
- John Davies A History of Wales Penguin Books, revised edition 2007
- Daniel Mersey “Caernarfon Castle – Fit For a Prince” on Castles of Wales website
- Roly Smith World Heritage Sites of Britain AA Publishing 2010
- Visit Caernarfon website – History of Caernarfon
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