Beaumaris Castle, located in Beaumaris,
AngleseyThe Isle of Anglesey , is an island and county off the northwest coast of Wales, with a predominantly Welsh-speaking population. It is connected to the mainland by two bridges spanning the Menai Strait: the original Menai Suspension Bridge , designed by Thomas Telford in 1826; and the newer...
,
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
was built as part of
King Edward IEdward I , also known as Edward Longshanks, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English Barons. In 1259 he briefly sided with a baronial...
's campaign to conquer the north of Wales. It was designed by
James of St. GeorgeMaster James of Saint George , also known as Jacques de Saint-Georges d'Espéranche, was an architect from Savoy responsible for designing many of Edward I's castles, including Conwy, Harlech and Caernarfon and Beaumaris in Anglesey .Early records seem to indicate that his father, Master John, was...
and was begun in 1295, but never completed. Beaumaris has been designated as a
World Heritage siteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that is on the list that is maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 state parties which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term.A World Heritage Site is a...
.
Beaumaris castle was positioned to face
Garth CelynGarth Celyn at Aber Garth Celyn, now known as Abergwyngregyn, Aber, in Gwynedd, north Wales, was the 13th century home of the Welsh princes , Llywelyn Fawr, Dafydd ap Llywelyn and Llywelyn ap Gruffudd.-Early history:...
on the opposite shore of the Menai Strait and was intended, along with
Conwy CastleConwy Castle is a castle in Conwy, on the north coast of Wales.-Construction:It was built between 1283 and 1289 during King Edward I's second campaign in North Wales. The design and work was overseen by master mason James of St. George using 1,500 laborers and stonecutters...
and
Caernarfon castleCaernarfon Castle was constructed at Caernarfon in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, by King Edward I of England, following his conquest of Gwynedd in 1283...
at either end of the
Menai StraitThe Menai Strait is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about long, which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales....
, to overshadow the Welsh Royal home and centre of resistance to the English forces.
Beaumaris Castle (
beau mareys - fair marsh) was the last of Edward I's fortresses in North Wales.
Beaumaris Castle, located in Beaumaris,
AngleseyThe Isle of Anglesey , is an island and county off the northwest coast of Wales, with a predominantly Welsh-speaking population. It is connected to the mainland by two bridges spanning the Menai Strait: the original Menai Suspension Bridge , designed by Thomas Telford in 1826; and the newer...
,
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
was built as part of
King Edward IEdward I , also known as Edward Longshanks, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English Barons. In 1259 he briefly sided with a baronial...
's campaign to conquer the north of Wales. It was designed by
James of St. GeorgeMaster James of Saint George , also known as Jacques de Saint-Georges d'Espéranche, was an architect from Savoy responsible for designing many of Edward I's castles, including Conwy, Harlech and Caernarfon and Beaumaris in Anglesey .Early records seem to indicate that his father, Master John, was...
and was begun in 1295, but never completed. Beaumaris has been designated as a
World Heritage siteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that is on the list that is maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 state parties which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term.A World Heritage Site is a...
.
Beaumaris castle was positioned to face
Garth CelynGarth Celyn at Aber Garth Celyn, now known as Abergwyngregyn, Aber, in Gwynedd, north Wales, was the 13th century home of the Welsh princes , Llywelyn Fawr, Dafydd ap Llywelyn and Llywelyn ap Gruffudd.-Early history:...
on the opposite shore of the Menai Strait and was intended, along with
Conwy CastleConwy Castle is a castle in Conwy, on the north coast of Wales.-Construction:It was built between 1283 and 1289 during King Edward I's second campaign in North Wales. The design and work was overseen by master mason James of St. George using 1,500 laborers and stonecutters...
and
Caernarfon castleCaernarfon Castle was constructed at Caernarfon in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, by King Edward I of England, following his conquest of Gwynedd in 1283...
at either end of the
Menai StraitThe Menai Strait is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about long, which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales....
, to overshadow the Welsh Royal home and centre of resistance to the English forces.
Construction
Beaumaris Castle (
beau mareys - fair marsh) was the last of Edward I's fortresses in North Wales. Work started in 1295 and continued for 35 years, with over 3,500 workmen employed at the peak of construction. Finances and material ran out when King Edward turned his attentions towards Scotland, and the castle was not completed, although an impressive £15,000 (£ as of ) was expended on its construction.
During the course of construction
Edward I of EnglandEdward I , also known as Edward Longshanks, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English Barons. In 1259 he briefly sided with a baronial...
ordered that the inhabitants of nearby Llanfaes be evicted from their homes and relocated to the far side of the island at Newborough.
The King's architect, Master James of St. George, brought all his experience to bear in designing Beaumaris – its defences and lines of supply are superbly planned. It was constructed according to a
concentric planA concentric castle is a castle within a castle, with two or more concentric rings of curtain walls and, in cases, no central keep. Generally, the outermost walls are lowest and the height of the walls increases towards the middle. The walls would include towers and bastions and would usually be...
– the inner ward is completely surrounded by the outer ward. The castle has a
tidalTides are the rises and falls of sea level caused by the combined effect of rotation of the Earth and the gravitation of the Moon and the Sun. The tides occur with a period of approximately 12 and a half hours and are influenced by the shape of the near-shore bottom.Most coastal areas experience...
dockA dock is a man-made feature involved in the handling of boats or ships. However the exact meaning varies between different variants of the English language.-History:...
allowing it to be supplied directly by sea and is surrounded by a water-filled
moatA moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
. The defences include numerous ingeniously sited arrow slits, and the entrances are protected by murder holes from which substances such as hot oil could be poured over enemy forces. Attackers of Beaumaris Castle would have met 14 separate obstacles and four lines of fortification resulting from the 'walls within walls' design.
The plan of the castle is nearly square, sharing much in common with
CaerphillyCaerphilly Castle is a Norman castle that dominates the centre of the town of Caerphilly in south Wales.Caerphilly Castle was built to stop Llywelyn's southward ambitions.- Construction :...
and
HarlechHarlech Castle, located in Harlech, Gwynedd, Wales, is a concentric castle, constructed atop a cliff close to the Irish Sea. Architecturally, it is particularly notable for its massive gatehouse....
. The inner ward is rectangular with a round tower at each corner. On the north and south sides are massive gatehouses following the typical pattern of two D-shaped towers flanking the gate passage, while two more D-shaped towers defend the east and west walls. The great hall and other domestic buildings would have been constructed within this inner ward.
Surrounding the inner bailey (in accordance with the concentric ideal) is an outer wall defended by towers and its own two gatehouses. These are not aligned with the inner gatehouses and would have denied attackers the advantage of a straight path through the gates. The dock wall extends from the south wall near the gatehouse so also serves as a defensive firing platform. Unlike the simple outer walls at Caerphilly and Harlech, the walls here are very thick and have internal passages to allow defenders access to protected arrow slits.
The plan was nearly perfect, but the castle was never completed. The Welsh conquest was practically complete at the time of construction, and the immense cost of completing such a massive fortress would have drained funds needed for the Scottish campaigns. Neither the towers of the inner ward nor the great gatehouses were built to full height and many buildings of the inner ward were left unfinished when large scale work ceased in 1298. Small-scale work was carried out in the early 14th century. However, the outer walls were crenelated, and unlike many other castles Beaumaris did not suffer
slightingA slighting is the deliberate destruction of a fortification without opposition from its builders or last users.Many European castles or forts were slighted in the Middle Ages by victorious besieging armies. Some were also destroyed by the owners themselves when they were abandoned to prevent...
during the Civil War – the extant castle is very well-preserved.
Visiting
The castle is run and managed by
CadwCadw is a Welsh-government body with the mission to protect, conserve, and to promote the built heritage of Wales. It is the Welsh equivalent of English Heritage and Historic Scotland and is now part of the Welsh Assembly Government....
, (the
Welsh Assembly GovernmentThe Welsh Assembly Government was firstly an executive body of the National Assembly for Wales, consisting of the First Minister and his Cabinet from 1999 to 2007....
's agency for historic
monumentA monument is a type of structure either explicitly created to commemorate a person or important event or which has become important to a social group as a part of their remembrance of past events. They are frequently used to improve the appearance of a city or location. Cities that are planned...
s), which provides visitors with a guidebook, an
exhibitionArt exhibitions are traditionally the space in which art objects meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is rarely true, it is stated to be a "permanent exhibition". In American English, they may be called "exhibit", "exposition" or...
, gifts and
souvenirA souvenir , memento or keepsake is an object a traveler brings home for the memories associated with it. Souvenirs include clothing such as T-shirts or hats, postcards, refrigerator magnets, miniature figures, household items such as mugs and bowls, ashtrays, egg timers, spoons, notepads, and many...
s, good
disabled accessDisability is defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 as "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities."...
and
picnicIn contemporary usage, a picnic can be defined simply as a pleasure excursion at which a meal is eaten outdoors , ideally taking place in a beautiful landscape such as a park, beside a lake or with an interesting view and possibly at a public event such as before an open air theatre performance,...
facilities in the castle grounds. Ducks and swans swim on the castle moat.
External links