Gwynedd Archaeological
Trust Regional Historic Environment Record
Beaumaris Castle, Beaumaris
Primary Reference Number (PRN) : 1573 Trust : Gwynedd Community : Beaumaris Unitary authority : Ynys Mon NGR : SH6073076250 Site Type (preferred type first) : MEDIEVAL CASTLE Status : Listed Building I, Scheduled Monument , World Heritage Site , Cared for by the State
Summary : The last of Edward I's castles in Gwynedd, Beaumaris was never finished but remains, if not the most imposing, the most refined of the castles of Master James of St George.
The site of the castle and the new English borough was close to the Welsh town of Llanfaes whose population were moved across the island to the 'Newborough' to make way for it. Building work did not actually commence until 1295, after the crushing of a revolt led by Madoc ap Llywelyn and sparked by the expulsion of the population of Llanfaes. Work was halted between 1300 and 1306 by Edward's wars in Scotland but them recommenced and continued until 1330. Although the planned accommodation was never completed, the defences were. Even so, it fell during the Glyndwr revolt and was held for two years by the rebels.
The castle was used as a prison during the 16th century and was held by the Royalists during the Civil War before falling to the Parliamentarians in 1648.
The castle consists of a square inner ward with north and south gatehouses and an octagonal outer ward with north and south gates offset from them. It is surrounded by a moat linked to the sea by a dock which allowed ships to berth right up to the castle walls. A mill, driven by the tide and by the moat sluice, was also part of the unique design.
Description : Beaumaris Castle begun in 1295 by Edward I and completed circa 1298, but several parts unfinished barbican C14th. Garrisoned for the King during the Civil War, but submitted 1646. Now roofless and placed in custody HMOW 1926. (RCAHMW, 1937)
Beaumaris Castle illustrated guide. <2>
Condition unchanged. Survey of 12/10/67 correct. <3>
14th century oratory with vaulted roof. <4>
An evaluation trench and core sampling revealed that the castle moat would have been tidal if connected to the sea. (Owens, Lynes & Smith, 2015)
Beaumaris was the last of the ring of Edwardian Welsh castles to be built, and was constructed following the uprising of 1294 led (in the north) by Madog ap Llywelyn. The castle with its associated borough supplanted the Welsh town of Llanfaes, and became the foremost port in north Wales. The castle, because its design was not constrained by topographical features but built on low lying flat land next to the Menai Strait, is the most perfectly concentric of all the castles. Though huge resources were allocated to its construction in the first few years, the castle was never fully completed. It was garrisoned for the King during the Civil War, but submitted in 1646. The site is listed grade 1, is a scheduled ancient monument and a world heritage site. (Berks and Davidson, 2006)
An interesting similarity is found in St. Briavels Castle,formerly a royal castle and the administrative centre for the Forest of Dean, where a sub-rectangular ward is fronted by an Edwardian gatehouse built c. 1292. It closely resembles the gatehouses of some of the great castles of Edward I in north Wales. Two large D-shaped towers flank a strongly defended gate-passage, with accommodation for the constable on the two floors above. It was a 'keep-gatehouse', capable of being sealed off and defended independently of the rest of the castle (Knight, 2002).
By the 1830s Williams-Bulkeley had 'made great improvements in the grounds' of the castle 'by laying out walks, ornamented with plantations and shrubberies, and has thrown them open to the public as a promenade'. The castle was the venue for a Royal Eisteddfod held in 1832, when Williams-Bulkeley was host to the Duchess of Kent and her daughter, Princess Victoria. The event was nearly a disaster, coinciding as it did with a cholera outbreak that swept across North Wales (Hayman, 2004). Description of Beaumaris Castle (Fenton, 1810). Survey of Beaumaris, made in 1631 (Fisher 1917). “ The principal undertaking has been the treatment of the masonry of the South Gatehouse. The vaulting of the chapel has been cleaned [Year Ending June 1950]. Work on the South Gatehouse has continued. The vaulting of the chapel has been lime-washed [Year Ending June 1951]. ” (The Inspector, 1951).
“The treatment of the masonry of the south-west and middle tower has been completed. The interior of the chapel has been cleaned, the vaulting pointed and lime-washed, and the windows glazed to stop wind-erosion. The cobbled floor of the wall walk and the room above the chapel have been made waterproof. Part of the moat on the north-east had become silted and has been cleared. Road widening necessitated the redesigning of the public entrance to the castle which has effected a considerable improvement.” (The Inspector, 1957).
An account of Cambrian Archaeological Association excursion to the castle in August 1937 with detailed, illustrated description and interpretation. (Lloyd Jones 1937).
A descriptive account, with interpretation, of the castle as seen when visited by Cambrian Archaeological Association in August 1860 (Arch Cam, 1860).
Beaumaris Castle was not evolved gradually but laid down as a unity from the first, and indeed the great bulk of the castle we see today was achieved in the first three years of building. It is not surprising, therefore to find that it was estimated in 1296 that a labour force of 2,000 labourers, 400 masons, 200 quarrymen, and 30 carpenters and smiths would be required during the building season then about to begin. After this tremendous initial effort, building went on slowly, and apparently with considerable pauses, until 1323, when the castle was left unfinished. Whether the ranges of apartments along the east and west sides of the main ward were ever completed, there is now no means of knowing. (Jones Pierce, Taylor, 1952).
© Cadw/ICOMOS UK)