Historic Places in Conwy and Denbighshire

Fortress of near-perfect symmetry is an unfinished masterpiece Beaumaris on the island of Anglesey is famous as the greatest castle never built. It was the last of the royal strongholds created by Edward I in Wales – and perhaps his masterpiece. Here Edward and his architect James of St George took full advantage of a blank canvas: the ‘beau mareys’ or ‘beautiful marsh’ beside the Menai Strait. By now they’d already constructed the great castles of Conwy, Caernarfon and Harlech. This was to be their crowning glory, the castle to end all castles. The result was a fortress of immense size and near-perfect symmetry. No fewer than four concentric rings of formidable defences included a water-filled moat with its very own dock. The outer walls alone bristled with 300 arrow loops. But lack of money and trouble brewing in Scotland meant building work had petered out by the 1320s. The south gatehouse and the six great towers in the inner ward never reached their intended height. The Llanfaes gate was barely started before being abandoned. So the distinctive squat shape of Beaumaris tells of a dream that never quite came true. Still it takes its rightful place on the global stage as part of the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd World Heritage Site. Because this castle is special – both for the scale of its ambition and beauty of its proportions. Gloriously incomplete Beaumaris is perhaps the supreme achievement of the greatest military architect of the age.

An ancient and almost impregnable stronghold, 750 feet above Llangollen, of the Welsh princes probably built just before 1270 by Madog, prince of this part of Powys. The builders made cunning use of the natural defences afforded by the steep drop to the north and west - and also of the original Iron Age hillfort on the site. To the east and south, where the slopes are more gentle, a deep ditch was hewn out of solid rock. Towers and a barbican added further protection. The limestone hill formed such a good natural reservoir, the garrison would have no water supply problems should the castle be besieged. However, two wells were built to supplement their water supply and the castle was later taken by the English. The first time I visited this castle involved a steep 700 foot climb from the valley floor below. Subsequent visits to this fascinating ancient site revealed far easier climbs to the summit, including a car park three quarters the way up. Whatever route you take, the view from the top is well worth the effort and is without doubt the most spectacular of any castle in all of Wales. The crumbling ruins are simply stunning, set against such dramatic scenery in every direction. Watching the sun set from this ancient fortress is a special experience. A visit to Dinas Bran is an absolute must for anyone interested in castles, history or appreciates stunning atmospheric scenery.

Conwy Castle in North Wales is one of the finest examples of medieval military architecture in Europe and among the most dramatically sited of the castles built by Edward I of England during his conquest of Wales in the late thirteenth century. The castle stands on a rocky outcrop above the tidal estuary of the River Conwy, its eight massive round towers and two barbicans connected by long curtain walls that descend from the castle to enclose the entire medieval walled town in a unified defensive system that is unique in Britain for the completeness of its combined castle and town circuit. The castle was built between 1283 and 1289 as part of Edward's ring of fortresses designed to subjugate the principality of Gwynedd following his defeat of the last independent Welsh prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. The speed of construction, achieved by concentrating hundreds of craftsmen simultaneously on site, produced a building of exceptional quality in under six years. The design by the Savoyard master mason James of St George, who was responsible for most of Edward's Welsh castles, shows a sophisticated understanding of defensive architecture adapted to the specific topography of the Conwy estuary. The town walls of Conwy, descending from the castle and encircling the medieval settlement in a circuit of more than a kilometre with twenty-one towers, survive to their full height for most of their length and constitute one of the most complete medieval planned town defences in Europe. The combination of castle and complete town walls, along with the three medieval townhouses surviving within the walls including the National Trust's Aberconwy House, makes Conwy the most completely preserved Edwardian planted town in Wales. The three bridges spanning the Conwy estuary adjacent to the castle, including Telford's 1826 suspension bridge and Robert Stephenson's tubular railway bridge, represent three centuries of bridge engineering in extraordinary proximity and add a further layer of architectural and engineering interest to a site already exceptional in those terms.

It was once the royal residence of Dafydd ap Gruffudd, whose attack on nearby Hawarden Castle provoked the English king Edward I to mount a full-scale invasion. By 1282 Denbigh was the in hands of the king’s commander Henry de Lacy. He lost no time in building a huge stone fortress with extensive town walls on top of Dafydd’s stronghold. But the Welsh weren’t finished just yet. The half-complete castle was attacked and captured and, by the time they got it back, the English had changed the blueprint. They made the curtain walls much higher, added the imposing gatehouse and inserted an ingenious ‘sally port’ – a secure secret doorway – so defenders could sneak out in an emergency.

Commanding Welsh stronghold in spectacular mountain setting Dolwyddelan is as Welsh as the rugged mountains of Eryri (Snowdonia) that provide its spectacular backdrop. One of a group of fortresses built to command the mountain passes, it stands as a lasting memorial to Prince Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, or Llywelyn the Great. He was the undisputed ruler of Gwynedd from 1201 to his death in 1240. But Dolwyddelan was finally conquered during the reign of his grandson Llywelyn ap Gruffudd by the English king Edward I. It marked a crucial stage in his relentless campaign to crush the Welsh once and for all. Edward set his own stamp on Dolwyddelan from the day it fell in 1283. The garrison was hastily equipped with camouflage white tunics – perfect for winter warfare in the mountains. He raised the height of the keep, built a new tower and installed a siege engine complete with stone ‘cannon balls’. Nothing lasts for ever. By the early 19th century Dolwyddelan was a romantic ruin popular with landscape artists. Then Lord Willoughby de Eresby decided to ‘restore’ the keep with medieval-style battlements. You can still clearly see the join between his fantasy architecture and the genuine handiwork of Llywelyn the Great underneath.

Gwrych Castle is a 19th-century Gothic Revival castle in North Wales, built by Lloyd Hesketh Bamford-Hesketh as a memorial to his mother’s family, the Lloyds of Gwrych. Historical Background Gwrych Castle, located near Abergele in North Wales, was constructed between 1819 and 1825 by Lloyd Hesketh Bamford-Hesketh to honor his mother, Frances Lloyd, and her ancestors, the Lloyd family, who had owned land in the area since at least the 16th century and possibly earlier. The castle was built on the site of an earlier Elizabethan house called Y Fron, which had fallen into disrepair by 1810. The original designs were by Charles Busby in a Regency style, but Thomas Rickman later transformed the plans into a Gothic Revival masterpiece, featuring battlements, towers, and turrets. Architecture and Estate Gwrych Castle is a Grade I listed country house and one of the earliest attempts to replicate true medieval architecture in Europe. The estate spans over 236–250 acres, including gardens, woodlands, a lake, and former parkland with a deer park. The castle incorporates Gothic elements such as crenellations, Gothic windows, and a three-storey corps de logis. Notable interior features included an Italian marble staircase, ornate fireplaces, and detailed woodwork, though many original interiors have been lost. The estate also contains historical features like Iron Age hillforts, a Roman shrine, lead and silver mines, and medieval battle sites commemorated on stone tablets at the main entrance. Ownership and Notable Residents The castle remained in the Hesketh family for over a century. In 1894, it was inherited by Winifred Bamford-Hesketh, granddaughter of the original builder, who became Countess of Dundonald. She bequeathed the castle to King George V in 1924, hoping it would become the official Welsh residence of the Prince of Wales, but the gift was declined. During World War II, the castle was requisitioned as part of Operation Kindertransport, housing 200 Jewish refugee children. Later, it became a theme park with a zoo and a small private railway. Modern Restoration and Cultural Significance Today, Gwrych Castle is owned by the Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust, a charity dedicated to restoring and preserving the estate. It gained renewed fame as the filming location for the TV show “I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here” during the pandemic. Restoration efforts include refurbishing the ceremonial entrance, Tan-yr-Ogo Lodge, and other estate structures, aiming to make the castle accessible for tourism, events, and cultural activities. Fun Facts The castle’s name, Gwrych, means “Hedge Castle” in Welsh. Queen Victoria is claimed to have visited the castle during her travels in North Wales. The estate features 120 rooms, peacocks, and peahens roaming the grounds. The castle’s caves are linked to Welsh mythology, particularly The Mabinogion. Gwrych Castle remains a striking example of Gothic romanticism, blending historical significance, architectural grandeur, and cultural heritage, making it a prominent landmark in North Wales.

Building began in 1277 on the orders of Edward I, the castle was completed in 1311. By the 16th century it had fallen to ruin. Royalists troops lost the castle to the Parliamentarians in 1643 only to be retaken in 1644. In 1647 the Royalists finally surrendered and was slighted. From 1675-83 Sir Thomas Grosvenor, 3rd Baronet of Eaton, utilised much of the stonework to rebuild Eaton Hall.

Awesome feat of engineering still towers above the River Clwyd King Edward I liked his castles to be on the coast. It was safer that way. If his ruthless campaign to subdue the Welsh ran into trouble, supplies could still get through by sea. At Rhuddlan, several miles inland, the plan was to use a river instead. Just one problem – the meandering Clwyd wasn’t quite in the right place. So Edward conscripted hundreds of ditch-diggers to deepen and divert its course. More than seven centuries later Rhuddlan still looks like a castle that was worth moving a river for. Begun in 1277 it was the first of the revolutionary concentric, or ‘walls within walls’, castles designed by master architect James of St George. Most impressive was the inner diamond-shaped stronghold with its twin-towered gatehouses. This sat inside a ring of lower turreted walls. Further beyond was a deep dry moat linked to the River Clwyd. This bristling statement of Edwardian intent guarded a new town surrounded by ditched defences. You can still clearly make out the medieval grid layout of the streets in modern-day Rhuddlan.