Conwy Castle - The jewel in North Wales crown
Conwy castle is one of the four finest examples of late 13th century and early 14th-century military architecture in Europe granted the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The other three are the castles of Beaumaris and Harlech and the castles and town walls of Caernarfon. All are located in North Wales in an area called Gwynedd (different to the county of the same name).
Below, what used to be the main entrance to the castle on the West Barbican, from different angles.
The castle was built on a rocky coastal ridge over River Conwy estuary - it borders it from the south and east side, a strategically important point. It had been erected in late 13th-century, along with the outer fortifications, by Edward I, while conquering Wales, to demonstrate English power over the land. The English kings and Welsh princes had been fighting for the control of the region for over two centuries, since the Norman conquest.
From the north, the castle now stands next to Conway Road with a large roundabout, leading to the little town of Conwy encircled by the huge medieval walls.
It is not possible to encircle the castle, the south-east side is cut off from the pedestrian route. The south side is also bordered by a railway, the mark of the Industrial Revolution, built for the Chester and Holyhead Railway by Robert Stephenson, completed in mid-19th-century, still in use. An old Victorian crane is preserved on the site nearby.
A great tourist attraction from Victorian times is supposedly the gothic style Conwy Suspension Bridge, unfortunately hardly visible. What a loss. It is almost completely blocked by the new modern thoroughfare bridge. The bridge is apparently open to pedestrians only. The whole castle and the bridge were closed during our visit in June 2020 due to Covid restrictions.
Below, on the first plane upon entering Conwy (upper right) is the East Barbican of the Inner Ward of the castle with Chapel Tower (right) and King's Tower (left).
A rectangular plan of the castle is divided into the Inner and Outer Ward with tall watchtowers on each side. All the tower were in used for a particular purpose.
Below, upper left, from the main road can be seen the Chapel Tower, Stockhouse Tower, Kitchen Tower and North West Tower, part of the barbican entrance. At the back of the Kitchen Tower, there was a brewhouse and bakehouse, with storage rooms and accommodation for the staff.
On the south side, behind the South West Tower, is the Prison Tower (both below, upper right) of the Outer Ward. The Great Hall was just at the back, and the royal rooms were on the first floor facing onto a courtyard. The king, perhaps liked to keep his enemies close, according to the saying "Keep your friends close and enemies even closer".
The main entrance to the castle is through the West Barbican, best seen from the Vicarage Gardens Car Park. Below, a narrow pass on Llanwrst Road under the barbican and through the mock-Gothic archway. It leads to quite spacious Morfa Bach Car Park. From anywhere really one can start the visit; this is a small and compact area, easy to navigate. The castle's enormous size dominates the landscape. It is truly a magnificent medieval experience, even only from the outside.
Conwy fortifications played an important role in several wars over the next few centuries since its built, most notably during the English Civil War in 1642. It became a destination for painters in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and in the late 19th century - already a tourist attraction.
Below, upper left and right, the south side of the walls, looking towards Mill Gate, which used to be served by a drawbridge, and accessing watermill that used to lay just outside.
Historians describe the defensive walls as one of the most impressive in Europe. They are 1.3 km long, largely unbroken, apart from the east side where they are gapped by the Chester to Holyhead road entering the town (lower left).
By the late 16th century, the need for such huge defences was diminishing. Small reconstructions were undertaken with modern additions, to serve contemporary purposes. Because of the scale and size, however, they survived largely intact.
The walls have twenty-one towers, five gateways and three gatehouses. According to historians, it was the duty of the citizens to protects the town walls, not the forces serving the castle itself. Along its ridge, the firing positions for the bowmen can still be seen.
The military importance of Conwy's defences declined during the Tudors reign. They were Welsh in origin, so the hostilities between the Welsh and English were eased from 16th century onwards.
The residents were using the defensive ditches for discarding rubbish and parts of walls were taken for construction of local houses.
The west side of the walls (below, upper left) has nine towers, along Town Ditch Road, extending further down out to the river.
Below right, up and down, is the view on the Lower Gate Street, the east side of the walls giving access to the quay. The Lower Gate with its twin towers controlled access to the river and ferry crossing.
The Lower Gate Street, along the quay, ends with the Wing Gate (below, upper right, lower left) leading outside the town walls, towards Town Ditch Road.
The King's Tower of the castle (upper right) and the southern walls (lower left) where a unique set of latrines from the 13th century can be found.
To see the whole of the construction in its original settings we have to extend our imagination quite a bit. All the town walls were whitewashed and the castle was covered in limestone. All was very bright, very elegant and sophisticated - so completely different to what we used to see and consider as medieval. An absolutely magnificent view.
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Conwy Map
