Carnarvon (castle)

Roman Empire

The first fortifications in the area where Carnarvon Castle and the city of the same name are located were built by the Romans. Their military settlement ( kastrum ), which they called Segontius ( lat. Segontium ), was located on the outskirts of modern Carnarvon ^[4] . The settlement was located on the banks of the Seent River , which flows into the Menai Strait . The name of the city of Carnarvon comes from a Roman settlement. In Welsh, the place was known as “y gaer yn Arfon” , which means “fortification opposite the island of Mon”. Mon ( val. Môn ) is the Welsh name for the island of Anglesey . After the Romans left Britain at the beginning of the 5th century AD e., quite a little is known about Segonia ^[5] .

The Norman Conquest

In 1066, William , Duke of Normandy, invaded England. Having conquered England, William decided to subjugate the Welsh lands. According to the Doomsday Book , Wilhelm appointed Robert Rudlansky, governor of Wales, in 1086 , who was killed two years later by the Welsh. His cousin, Earl of Chester , Hugo d'Avranche was able to regain control of Wales and built three castles: one in Marionetshire , the second on the island of Anglesey, the third at Carnarvon ^[6] . Carnarvon Castle was located on a cape formed by the Sent River and separated from the Anglesey Island by the Menai Strait. It was a Norman type castle ( English motte-and-bailey ), protected by a wooden picket fence and a hill. The hill ( Eng. Motte ) was subsequently used in the construction of the stone castle by Edward I; the exact location of residential and farm buildings ( eng. bailey ) is unknown. Presumably, they were located northeast of the fortification ^[7] . Perhaps on a hill was a wooden defensive tower ( Eng. Keep ). In 1115, the Welsh again regained their power over Gwynedd, and the castle passed into the possession of the princes of Wales. From the documents of that era it is known that Llivelin the Great and Llivelin the Last stayed in the castle ^[7] .

Edward I Castle

On March 22, 1282, another war broke out between England and Wales, which began with the uprising of David the Gruffydd . On December 11 of the same year, Prince of Wales Llewelyn up Grifid died, supporting his younger brother ^[8] . David ap Grifid, left without the help of Llewelyn, continued to fight the English, but to no avail. In May 1283, the last castle of David fell - Dolbadarn Castle , in June of that year, David was captured, and later brutally executed ^[9] .

David was the last prince of Wales - not an Englishman. After the defeat in the war, David was executed, and the heirs of the English throne began to wear the title of Prince of Wales, starting with Edward II (who received the title in 1301 ), son of Edward I , who was born in Carnarvon Castle in April 1284 ^[10] .

After winning the war, Edward I began to strengthen English influence over Wales. In addition to the castle in Carnarvon, Edward began the construction of the castles of Conwy , Harlech ^[11] . Responsible for the construction of the castle was James of St. George , an outstanding military architect of the time ^[12] . According to the chronicles “Flowers of History” ( Latin Flores Historiarum ), during the construction work in Carnarvon, the body of the Roman emperor Magna Maxim was found, which was reburied in a local church ^[13] .

In addition to the castle, the city itself was changed: city ​​walls were added, connected to the castle, a new marina was built. The first mention of the construction in Carnarvon dates back to June 24, 1283, when a moat was dug, separating the castle from the city located to the north. Around the location of the future stone castle was put a temporary picket fence ( lat. Bregatium ), designed to protect this place until the castle walls were erected. Wood was brought in by water from fairly distant places (such as Liverpool ) ^[11] . The stone was delivered from neighboring places, such as the island of Anglesey ^[14] . Hundreds of people were busy digging a moat and laying the foundation for the future castle. The construction site of the castle became larger and began to climb the city, as a result of which some of the city's buildings were destroyed. Residents of the destroyed houses received compensation only three years later. In parallel with the construction of the castle walls, wooden apartments were built for Edward I and his wife Eleanor of Castile , who visited Carnarvon in mid-July 1283 and stayed in the castle for a month ^[12] .

Architectural historian Arnold Taylor believes that when Eduard I and his wife Eleanor visited Carnarvon during Easter in 1284, the Eagle Tower was already built ^[15] . The Statue of Wales, published in Ridlan March 3, 1284, states that Carnarvon was vested with the rights of a city that has its representatives in Parliament ( English borough ), as well as the administrative center of County Gwynedd ^[16] .

The walls of the city were almost built by 1285 . Work on the castle continued. In 1289, the cost of building the castle was negligible, and in 1292 it ceased. Edward I spent £ 80,000 on the construction of castles in Wales between 1277 and 1304, and £ 95,000 between 1277 and 1329. ^[17] By 1292, it took £ 12,000 to build the castle and city walls. After the construction of the southern wall and city walls surrounding Carnarvon in a protective ring, the northern facade of the castle was to be built ^[18] .

In 1294, the Welsh rebelled under the leadership of Madog ap Llivelin . Carnarvon, being the administrative center and a symbol of English power in Wales, was the primary goal for the Welsh. In September, they captured the city, while causing severe damage to the walls of the city. The castle was protected only by a moat and temporary fortifications, as a result of which it was quickly captured. Shortly after these events, a strong fire began ^[19] . In the summer of 1295, the British advanced on a campaign against Carnarvon, and already in November of that year began to rebuild the fortifications. The city walls were given the highest priority, due to which restoration work was completed two months before the end of the planned period. The restoration cost the British treasury £ 1,195 (approximately half the amount originally spent on the walls). After that, all efforts were sent to complete the construction of the castle, stopped in 1292 ^[16] . After the uprising was suppressed, Edward decided to build Bomaris Castle on Anglesey Island. James of St. George ^[20] had to control the work, as a result of which another military architect, Walter from Hereford, took control of the construction of the castle in Carnarvon. By the end of 1301, an additional 4,500 pounds had been spent on the north wall and towers. The costs from November 1301 to September 1304 are unknown, possibly due to the fact that many construction workers were moved north to help in the war with Scotland ^[21] . According to the documents of those years, in October 1300, Walter from Hereford was in Carlisle ^[22] . In the fall of 1304, he returned to Carnarvon, and work resumed ^[21] . After his death in 1309, Henry of Ellerton took his place. The construction of the castle continued without significant downtime until 1330 ^[21] .

In total, from 1284 to 1330, between 20,000 and 25,000 pounds were spent on the construction of the castle ^[23] . It was a huge amount for those times ^[24] . The subsequent construction work in the castle was insignificant, and all that remained of the castle was largely preserved from the time of Edward I. Despite the high costs, much of what was planned to be built in the castle was not fully implemented. For example, the back of the King’s gate (entrance from the city) and the Queen’s gate (entrance from the southeast side) were left incomplete ^[23] .

The period from the fourteenth century to the present day

Carnarvon, being the capital of North Wales, had a permanent garrison ^[25] . The relationship between the Welsh and the British was rather tense for the first two centuries after the reign of Edward I. Welsh were pushed back from their most important posts. At the beginning of the 15th century, tension resulted in yet another uprising (1400-1415), which was led by Owain Glindur ^[26] . During the uprising, Carnarvon Castle was one of the main targets of the rebels. It was besieged in 1401 . In November of that year, a battle took place near the castle ( Eng. Battle of Tuthill ) between its garrison and rebels, which ended to no avail for both sides ^[27] . In 1403 - 1404, the castle was again under siege by the Welsh and their French allies ^[25] ; the number of the garrison at that time was about 30 people ^[28] .

The accession in 1485 to the English throne of the Tudor dynasty , which had Welsh roots, portended a change in the rule of Wales. Under their rule, the hostility between the two peoples decreased markedly. As a result, the English castles built in Wales, including the castle in Carnarvon, ceased to play a significant role in keeping Wales behind England and were abandoned ^[25] .

The walls of the castle and the tower, being stone, remained in good condition. But everything that was made of wood (such as a roof) rotted. It is known that by 1620 only the Eagle Tower and the King's Gate had roofs. The buildings and structures inside the castle were also in poor condition, since everything of value (glass and iron) was removed from them. Despite its dilapidated state, the castle, being controlled by the royalists during the Civil War , was besieged by supporters of the Parliament three times. The commandant of the fortress was John Byron, 1st Baron Byron. In 1646, the castle surrendered to the troops of the Parliament. After this, Carnarvon Castle no longer participated in any wars. In 1660, an order was issued for its destruction, but work on its destruction was quickly interrupted and may never have begun ^[25] .

The castle was in disrepair until the end of the 19th century . Since the 1870s, the government began to allocate funds in order to put it in order. The responsibility for supervising the work was undertaken by Llivelin Turner. Stairs, battlements of walls and towers, roofs were repaired; the moat, despite the resistance of the locals, was cleared of buildings, as they spoiled the view. Under the auspices of the Public Works Office, the castle, starting in 1908 , received protection as a building of great historical importance ^[29] . In 1911, for the first time in the castle of Carnarvon, the awarding ceremony was held for the title ( investor ) of Prince of Wales, Edward VIII . In 1969, Prince Charles invested in the castle ^[18] . Despite the fact that the castle has been the property of the English crown since its construction, it is under the protection of CADW (organization for the protection of historical monuments of Wales) ^[30] .

In 1986, the castle became part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “ Castles and Town Walls of King Edward I in Gwynedd ” ^[31] . The castle houses a museum of the Welsh royal shooters.

The design of the castle was influenced by the desire to make it a magnificent symbol of English power over Wales. This was especially important since Carnarvon was then supposed to be the administrative center of the northern part of the annexed territories. The location of the castle was influenced by the choice of the most convenient geographical location. An important role in the choice of place was also played by the location of the hill used for its wooden Norman predecessor. The walls of the castle are enclosed by a narrow ^[32] space, similar to a rough eight ^[33] . This space was divided into two parts: upper eastern and lower western, respectively. The eastern part was supposed to contain apartments for the king, which, however, were never completed. The separation suggested the existence for this purpose of special structures that were also not built ^[24] . The appearance of the castle differs from other castles built by Edward, a series of colored stripes in the walls, which, thus, looked like the walls of Constantinople. The deliberate use of construction techniques used in the Roman Empire was to increase the authority of Edward I as ruler. It is also believed that the construction of the castle was influenced by the dream of the Roman emperor Magna Maxim about the fort, "the most beautiful people that you have ever seen," within the city, located at the mouth of the river in the highlands opposite the island. Edward considered that this fort was the Roman Segonius ^[34] .

In addition to the stripes of different colors that made up the castle walls, Carnarvon Castle differed from other castles in towers, which it had not round, but polygonal. It is believed that the choice of just such a form of towers should also be associated with the towers of Constantinople ^[13] . The Eagle Tower in the western part of the castle was the largest. There are three turrets on it, each of which in the past was crowned with eagle statues ^[24] . The tower contained a large room and was possibly built for Otto de Grandson, the first justice of Wales. The castle also contained special gates through which visitors could enter it, sailing up the Saint River ^[35] .

The castle has two main entrances. One allows you to enter the castle only from the north-located city (King’s Gate), the second is located in the southeast and allows you to get into the castle bypassing the city ( Queen’s Gate ). The gates were guarded by powerful fortifications typical of that time with towers on both sides of the entrance opening ^[24] . If the construction of the King’s gate was completed, then the person would have to go through two drawbridges, through five entrance openings, under six lowering gratings, go through a 90-degree turn, and only after that providing camping in the western part of the castle. On the way there were many loopholes and killer holes ^[36] . In the niche above the entrance to the King's Gate in 1321 was built the statue of Edward II of ^[37] .

While the wall and towers remained almost untouched, all that remains of the buildings inside the castle is their foundation ^[33] . If the king’s apartments were supposed to be in the upper part of the castle, then buildings like kitchens were in the lower part. The kitchens were located immediately west of the King’s gate. Having studied the poorly preserved foundations of kitchens, Arnold Taylor came to the conclusion that they were not built very thoroughly ^[38] . Another key detail of the interior of the castle was the so-called. Great Hall ( Eng. Great Hall ), adjacent to the south side of the lower part of the castle. Only the foundation remained from this structure, but at its best, the Big Hall was an impressive building with beautiful architecture, in which various ceremonial events were held ^[39] .

• List of Wales Castles
• Bomaris (castle)
• Conwy (castle)
• Harlech (castle)

• Brown, Reginald Allen. The Architecture of Castles: A Visual Guide. - London: BT Batsford, 1984. - ISBN 0-7134-4089-9 .
• Davies, RR The Revolt of Owain Glyn Dŵr. - Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. - ISBN 9780198205081 .
• Friar, Stephen. The Sutton Companion to Castles. - Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 2003 .-- ISBN 978-0-7509-3994-2 .
• McNeill, Tom. English Heritage Book of Castles. - London: English Heritage and BT Batsford, 1992 .-- ISBN 0-7134-7025-9 .
• Smith, JB Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (d. 1282) // Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. - Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
• Taylor, Arnold. The Welsh Castles of Edward I. - London: Hambledon Press, 1986. - ISBN 0-907628-71-0 .
• Taylor, Arnold. Caernarfon Castle and Town Walls. - 4th edition. - Cardiff: Cadw– Welsh Historic Monuments, 1997. - ISBN 1-85760-042-8 .
• Wilson, David M; Hurst, D Gillian. Medieval Britain in 1969 (Eng.) // Medieval Archeology. - 1970. - Vol. 14 . - P. 155–208 .

• Carnarvon Castle on the CADW website
• Architecture and photographs of Carnarvon Castle
• The Castles and City Walls of King Edward I of Gwynedd on the UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Information about the Roman Fort Segontium