[Leica] Castles in Wales

[lrzeitlin at gmail.com (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

Right you are Mark. There are more real fighting castles in Wales than
anywhere else. We spent a couple of years living in north Wales on the
island of Anglesey. This area is dotted with castles built by England?s
Edward I in the late 13 th century to discourage the troublesome Welsh. Here
is a website devoted to Welsh castles:


http://www.a2bwales.com/blog/castles/


Edward hired the premier stonemason of Britain, James of St. George to
supervise construction. James revealed an unexpected genius as a military
architect as well being a master of the practical aspects of stone masonry.
He was responsible for planning and building at least 12 of Edward?s
castles, each more sophisticated and militarily defensible than the last.
These may have been the last purely fighting castles ever made since
gunpowder and wall busting cannons  arrived on the European continent about
a century later. James was also a very compulsive bookkeeper. His pay
records and daily accounts survive to this day. They show that he was honest
as well as parsimonious. Unlike modern day public works, no scandal or graft
attached to the construction and the castles rose on schedule, one every two
or three years. For this he was amply rewarded by the king and lived out his
retirement in bourgeois splendor.


Three of the castles in the ?iron ring?, Caernarfon, Beaumaris, and Conwy
were near our house. All are along the North coast of Wales on the stretch
of water connecting Caernarfon and Conwy bays. The Menai Strait runs between
those bays. Caernarfon Castle and Conwy Castle are on the mainland while
Beaumaris is on the island of Anglesey. The castles are about a day's
medieval foot soldier march apart or a half hour's drive by car. Disclaimer
- I did not take any of these photos. They are courtesy of the Welsh Tourist
Board. My own are buried so deep in my files that it would be days before I
could locate them.


http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Caernarfon+Castle.jpg.html

 Caernarfon Castle is big and impressive with octagonal towers. The castle?s
size was intended to intimidate foes more than its military strength was
intended to resist them. It is the theoretical home palace of the Prince of
Wales but it's unlikely that Charles ever spent the night there since it has
had no roof since the 16th century. The castle is next to a protected boat
harbor and in the center of town. Pubs, shops and B&Bs nestle up to the
castle walls. Caernarfon is also the county seat of Gwynedd, the center of
Welsh nationalism. The town has expanded well beyond the castle walls and is
a manufacturing and market center. It was also the home of Lord Caernarfon,
the amateur anthropologist who financed the search for King Tut?s tomb and
later died suddenly of either bad oysters or King Tut?s curse.


 http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Beaumaris+Castle.jpg.html

 Beaumaris castle, on Anglesey, was just a long walk from our house. This
castle is a lean, mean, fighting machine, reputed to be the most advanced
example of 13 th century military technology. This castle seems less
imposing than the others but that's because the construction money ran out
before the towers were raised to full height. The compact size is an optical
illusion. The physical dimensions are quite a bit bigger than other castles
in the ?iron ring?. Beaumaris castle consists of four concentric rings of
walls and an outer moat. Each wall is a complete defense system with an
independent supply of food and water. Arrow slots and holes for dumping
boiling oil cover both sides of each wall. Any attacker would have to
conquer four successive defenses before getting to the central chamber. The
war with Wales was over before it was finished. As it is, the castle was
tested in battle only during the War of the Roses where it held out for
years with just 23 defenders. Apparently the towers were high enough.


http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Conwy+Castle.jpg.html

Conwy Castle is the best preserved of the casrles. The 13 th century town
walls still exist and it is possible to walk the wall around the whole
center section of the city. It was used as a military base until the 1600's
and was fortified and attacked during the Cromwell rebellion. The reason for
the castles?s preservation has little to do with the British love for
antiquity. Rather is is due to the fact that the main highway to England
bypassed the town, leaving it as an occasionally visited backwater.


http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Harlech+Castle.jpg.html

 Harlech Castle was a couple of driving hours away from our house but we
visited it several times when going to Cardiff. This was the first of the
ring of castles that Edward I built to contain the Welsh. It was originally
on a steep sided hill next to the water so that it could resist attack from
land and could be resupplied by sea. Now the land has risen so much that the
sea is 1/2 mile away. The hill and castle are still there though.

I knew nothing about Harlech Castle except that it is said to have inspired
the song ?Men of Harlech? which Welsh law decrees must be sung in every film
about Wales. Actually the song has nothing to do with the castle but refers
to a rowdy gang that used to hang at Harlech Pub on the other side of town.
History is being rewritten every day. You can?t believe anything any more.


Larry Z