As medieval weaponry developed so did the designs of castles. When knights returned from Jerusalem, Tripoli and other lands in the East where they had been fighting on Crusades they brought with them sophisticated designs called concentric castles.

The word concentric means one circle inside another, this referred to the walls of this castle. The keep was at the centre of the castle and surrounded by tall curtain walls with circular corner towers. Outside of this was the outer bailey with another circular wall for protection. In order to provide further protection a moat was usually added.

The first castle in Britain to be built in this style was Caerphilly in South Wales. It was built by Gilbert de Clare between 1268 and 1272. He needed a strong castle to defend the land he had invaded in the South against attack from the Welsh leader Llywelyn ap Gruffyd. Look at the picture below and notice the outer curtain wall with lots of battlements, the high inner wall with circular towers and, at the heart, the Gatehouse which could be separately defended if necessary.

It took the Normans longer to establish control in the North of Wales but Edward I conquered the final Welsh principality to remain independent between 1277 and 1283. He did so by building a series of massive fortress castles, based on the concentric design, which were virtually impenetrable to attackers.

The castles of Raglan, Beaumaris, Caernarfon, Conwy and Harlech were all built by Edward 1^st to secure his power in the late 13^th century. Beaumaris is generally considered to be one of the finest castles in Wales at this time. It was designed by Master James of St. George. Over 2,000 labourers worked on Beaumaris but when you look at it today it is often considered less impressive than Harlech Castle - generally because of its surroundings and the fact that it was never completed.

Activity

What were the main features of Edward 1's castles in North Wales? Use the link below to find out more information about them and then complete the boxes with five pieces of information about Beaumaris, Harlech and Conwy.

www.castlewales.com