Beaumaris Castle

History

Edward I ordered the castle built following the Welsh uprising of 1294 to 1295, led by Madog ap Llywelyn, and appointed his master mason James of St George to design it. Construction dragged on for decades but was never finished, largely because royal funds were diverted to campaigns in Scotland, and work had effectively stopped by the 1330s. In 1986 the castle was inscribed as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site covering Edward I's castles and town walls in Gwynedd, alongside Conwy, Caernarfon and Harlech.

Architecture

Beaumaris follows a concentric plan, with an inner ward ringed by a lower outer wall and a wide moat, designed by James of St George, the architect behind Conwy, Caernarfon and Harlech. Its regular, symmetrical layout is often cited as the most technically accomplished of all British castle designs, even though the towers and gatehouses were never raised to their intended full height.

Worth knowing

James of St George, the military architect who designed Beaumaris, also built Edward I's other great Welsh castles at Conwy, Caernarfon and Harlech. Historians often call Beaumaris the greatest castle never built, since money ran out before its ambitious design could be completed.