Top 10 Facts about Caernarfon Castle

Caernarfon Castle, western view at low tide. Photo by: Herbert Ortner- Wikimedia.

Top 10 Facts about Caernarfon Castle

A royal fortress-palace based on legends and a bloody ancient disagreement. Caernarfon Castle is regarded as one of the greatest ancient structures in the world and is located in Wales. 

This fortress-palace on the banks of the River Seiont is a World Heritage Site, along with Edward I’s other castles at Conwy, Beaumaris, and Harlech. Caernarfon, on the other hand, stands alone in terms of sheer scale and architectural drama.

At the same time, Edward and his military architect Master James of St George built a castle, town walls, and a quay. This massive construction project took 47 years and cost a whopping £25,000.

1. Caernarfon is the mightiest of Edward I’s ‘Iron Ring’ of Castles

Caernarfon Castle. Photo by: Richard Nevell- Wikimedia.

Edward I of England was optimistic, brutal, and hell-bent on seizing independent Wales for good. Although the Normans attempted to take Caernarfon in the early 1100s, they were unsuccessful, and the town stayed protected in Welsh hands.

Edward I, on the other hand, was extremely ambitious and desperately wanted to conquer Wales. In 1282, he defeated and killed Llywelyn ap Gruffud, the last prince of Wales.

Following that, Edward I began consolidating his power by appropriating the Welsh people’s palaces for his own use (as in Dolwyddelan), repairing old castles (as in Ruthin), and constructing new ones (as in Harlech and Caernarfon).

His most ambitious project was Caernarfon Castle. The detailed town-walls, as well as the sheer size of Harlech Castle and Beaumaris, are without a doubt marvelous works.

2. Caernarfon was enshrined in Roman myth – and Edward I wanted to stamp his mark on ancient legends

Caernarfon was shrouded in legend. The Roman legend of Macsen Wledig told of a Roman Emperor’s dreams of traveling to a distant country and being welcomed by a magnificent, multicolored castle.

Edward I had grandiose fantasies, and the idea of constructing his main Welsh house owners on the site immortalized in prestigious Roman mythology appealed to him tremendously.

Influenced by the legends, as well as the Roman city of Constantinople, with its vast walls and colorful, octagonal towers, he chose to build a castle unlike any other in Caernarfon.

3. Caernarfon has an unusual ‘hourglass’ design

Caernarfon Castle. Photo by: Suicasmo- Wikimedia.

Caernarfon Castle was built in an unusual style. The castle is aligned along the bay of the town, and its walls surround a massive central clearing – as shown in the image below.

Nevertheless, it is ideal to envision the castle as a ‘figure of 8’. The walls of the castle narrow into each other in the middle, much like the middle of the number eight, forming two large, symmetrical courtyards.

This central courtyard is surrounded on all sides by thick, reinforced walls. The walls extend from the bay (at the front of the castle), cover the castle, and wrap around Caernarfon’s old town, implying that the entire region is securely held in these massive stone frameworks.

4. Caernarfon Castle was a project of phenomenal expense and scale

Caernarfon Castle was built at a high cost by Edward I. Records from his time show a cost of £22,000 – a colossal sum when you consider that the pay rate for a skilled craftsman back then would have been around 3 pence per day (and we’re talking old money, with 240 pence to one pound!).

To put it another way, £22k was more than the Treasury would have taken in tax over the course of a year!

Hundreds of tradespeople and construction machinery would have traveled long distances to work on the castle. We know that timber and supplies were shipped in from Liverpool (via sea routes to Caernarfon), Anglesey, and other parts of North Wales, and that laborers came from as far away as London to work on the project.

5. The octagonal towers of Caernarfon give away its lofty status

Caernarfon Castle was destined for greatness from the start, and its 12 magnificent, multi-angled towers show that it was built to be “a cut above” the rest.

The style of these towers (some octagonal, some hexagonal, and some ten-sided) varies remarkably from the lighter, more shaped characteristics of the towers on Edward I’s other ‘iron ring’ castles built around the same time – and these towers would have been much more difficult to build.

6. The huge gatehouses display the true might of the castle….

Tŵr y Granari Castell Caernarfon Castle Granary Tower. Photo by: Alan Fryer- Wikimedia.

Caernarfon Castle has not one, but two mighty gatehouses, appropriately named the King’s Gate (facing the town) and the Queen’s Gate (inevitably, the smaller of the two; which faces seaward).

The Queen’s Gate was never fully completed and was designed primarily for ship offloading. The King’s Gate is a completely different beast, and it is likely to be one of the most terrifying castle gatehouses in the entire United Kingdom.

It’s riddled with murder-holes for boiling oil and water, and there would have been more than four doors and five different portcullis to negotiate.

A statue, thought to be Edward I, even adorns the gate’s outer side, defying any potential intruder!

7. Even today, Princes are ‘crowned’ inside the castle

The United Kingdom still has a Prince of Wales – currently, Prince Charles (who is next in line for the throne). The ‘investiture’ ceremony (successfully a ‘crowning,’ or giving the Prince his formal title) is held in Caernarfon Castle.

Charles, Prince of Wales, was crowned here in 1969, and Edward VIII was crowned here in 1911.

Even though we can’t be certain but there is a possibility that when Charles becomes King of the United Kingdom, William will be ‘crowned’ Prince of Wales in Caernarfon.

8. Nowadays, it houses some unusual attractions – including the Museum of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers

With several rooms, passageways, and towers wrapping all across the Caernarfon Castle, the location has become an ideal location for permanent museums and exhibitions of interest.

The Museum of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers is located within the Queen’s Tower. The exhibition, which is included in the regular admission price, contains uniforms, guns, medals, and memorabilia from the 300-year history of this proud and important Welsh regiment.

The museum is a little out of date by modern museum benchmarks, and it’s probably too dry for children, but adults intrigued in more recent history should get something out of it.

9. Caernarfon was the birthplace of the first Prince of Wales – a man who could ‘never speak a word of English’

As you might expect, the Welsh were dissatisfied with the English dominance over their homeland. Although, the birth of Edward I’s son in the castle in 1284 provided Edward I with an ideal chance to’spin’ the story to his benefit.

The child, Edward of Caernarfon, was legitimately a Welshman and was crowned “Prince of Wales” in 1301 – clearly a Welshman presiding over his own people.

This persuading storytelling did not stop there. According to legend, Edward I sold his son to the Welsh as “a prince born of Wales who could never speak a word of English.”

Nevertheless, it was a clever piece of propaganda – and it did not imply that son Edward could only speak Welsh. The language of the elite in England at the time was still French, so it’s not surprising that Edward of Caernarfon couldn’t speak English!

In 1307, Edward of Caernarfon was crowned King of England (Edward II of England). His reign was widely regarded as tragic. He was removed from power  by his own wife, Isabella (dubbed the “she wolf of France”), and died in exile.

10. ….However, Caernarfon Castle was still attacked and overcome by Welsh rebels

Caernarfon, as Edward I’s official residence, was an obvious cause of dissatisfaction for Welsh rebels disappointed with English rule over the nation. As a result, it was the target of numerous (and increasingly ferocious) attacks aimed at putting Edward I’s English empire on the defensive.

The Welsh revolt of 1294 surprised the English. Madog ap Llewlyn led the massive uprising, and the whole of Wales was aflame with rebellion against English rule.

The Welsh demolished many of Caernarfon’s town walls and even took over the castle. To put down the rebellion, Edward I quickly gathered troops and marched into Wales. In 1295, he retook Caernarfon, rebuilt many of the destroyed walls (at great expense), and penalized the Welsh for their betrayal.