COLONIZATION SET IN STONE

So writes castle scholar John Kenyon of the castles constructed in Wales by King Edward I of England (1272–1307). A small cluster of stone castles in the north of the country have seized popular and scholarly attention, even though there are many castles of many types and appearances across Wales. For many, their appeal is their martial appearance, which has led these castles to be described as the high point of castle architecture. But equally as fascinating is their psychological effect as tools of colonization. Some of these remarkable castles even became World Heritage Sites. In this Edwardian group, seven were new builds: Aberystwyth, Flint, Rhuddlan, Conwy, Caernarfon, Harlech, and Beaumaris. They started to be constructed between 1277 and 1295. I use ‘started’ deliberately, for despite their infamy, the scheme Edward envisaged was never completed.

South Wales had a longstanding Norman presence, but the north firmly remained culturally Welsh by the thirteenth century. There was little national unity