ANGLESEY &
GWYNEDD |
| Bangor Cathedral |
In centre of Bangor |
The cathedral occupies one of the most ancient
ecclesiastical sites in Great Britain. A church has stood there since AD 525 - 70 years
before Canterbury Cathedral was founded. The present cathedral is mainly 13th century,
much restored in the 19th century. Among the cathedral's treasures are a 15th century
font, the carved oak figure of 1518 known as the Mostyn Christ, and some medieval tiles.
Opposite the cathedral stands the Museum of Welsh Antiquities. |
| Beaumaris Castle |
Castle Street, Beaumaris |
The last of eight great castles built by Edward I in
North Wales to contain the rebellious Welsh, Beaumaris represents the pinnacle of medieval
military architecture in Britain. Surrounding the castle was an 18ft wide moat, most of
which still remains, with a tidal dock for shipping connected by a channel to the sea. The
inner walls are 43ft high and nearly 16ft thick. To reach the inner ward attackers had to
overcome 14 separate and formidable obstacles. |
| Beaumaris Courthouse and Gaol |
In centre of Beaumaris |
It is easy for the visitor to this well-preserved
courthouse to put himself into the position of a prisoner in the dock in the 17th century.
The building dates from 1614 and much of the original structure remains. At nearby
Beaumaris Gaol, men, women and children, in the 18th century, were herded together in the
same room to sleep on filthy straw and eat whatever they could afford to buy. Prisoners
sentenced to hard labour spent their days breaking stones, or working on the treadmill.
The treadmill is the only one in Britain still in its original position. By contrast, a
glimpse of the gentler side of Victorian life is provided by the Museum of Childhood in
Castle Street. |
| Caernarfon Castle |
In centre of Caernarfon |
This massive and well-preserved castle has dominated
Caernarfon since the late 13th century, when it was founded by Edward I. He built it as
both fortress and royal palace, and there in 1301 installed his son as the first Prince of
Wales. Edward meant Caernarfon to be the mightiest of his Welsh castles. The castle's
ground plan is roughly in the shape of an hour-glass and is divided into a Lower Ward and
Upper Ward. The Queen's Tower is the home of the Royal Welch Fusiliers Regimental Museum,
the Chamberlain Tower has an exhibition of 'The Castles of Edward I', and the North-East
Tower houses the 'Prince of Wales Exhibition'. |
| Conwy Castle |
Near centre of Conwy |
Built by Edward I in five years from 1282, it has eight
massive round towers, and barbicans at either end. Two of its most interesting features
are the 125ft long Great Hall and the royal apartments. Both these are now roofless and
bare-walled, but there is a beautiful little chapel with some of its fine decoration still
preserved. Medieval Conwy was a garrison town. The walls which protected it are still
intact and are among the finest of their kind in Europe. |
| Criccieth Castle |
Off A497, at Criccieth |
The original castle, including the imposing
twin-towered gatehouse, with towers pierced by arrow-slits, was built by the Welsh prince
Llywelyn the Great about 1220, and added to by his grandson Prince Llywelyn the Last. In
1283 Edward I added an Engine Tower - now in ruins - to the north end of the castle. The
castle was sacked and burnt by Owain Glyndwr in 1404 in the last Welsh uprising against
the English crown. It now houses and exhibition on the castles of the Welsh princes |
| Dolbadarn Castle |
On A4086, 7.5 miles south-east of Caernarfon |
The castle still dominates the mountain pass of
Llanberis which, in medieval times, was the main route from Caernarfon to the upper Conwy
Valley. All the determination of the Welsh to defy the English invader is embodied in this
castle, even to the adoption of the English round keep, which proved so effective against
medieval weaponry. Built by the great Welsh prince Llywelyn the Great about 1200,
ironically only this most English-looking structure remains; the remainder is in ruins. |
| Dolwyddelan Castle |
On A470, 6 miles south-west of Betws-y-Coed |
The castle once played a key part in the defence of
North Wales against the invading English. It was built by the Welsh prince Llywelyn the
Great around 1200 to guard the mountain pass from Meirionnydd to the Vale of Conwy. In
1283 it fell to Edward I, who reinforced its defences by building a second tower; this is
now in ruins, but the original square keep of Llywelyn still stands, its crenellated
battlements restored in the 19th century. An exhibition inside the keep tells the story of
Dolwyddelan. |
| Gwydir Castle |
Off B5106, 0.5 miles south of Llanrwst |
Peacocks on the lawns, doves fluttering among the trees
and flower-filled gardens greet visitors to this castle. It is more a much-loved home than
a castle, although there has been a fortification on the site since AD 600. Even the trees
are ancient - a cedar was planted in 1627 to commemorate the wedding of Charles I. The
castle contains a secret room, once hidden by a sliding wooden panel, a manorial court
with cold, dank dungeons below it, a long gallery containing fine hammerbeams, ancient
stone carvings - and the ghost of a monk said to have been trapped in a tunnel leading
from the secret room. |
| Harlech Castle |
Near centre of Harlech |
Of all the castles built by Edward I to contain the
rebellious Welsh, Harlech is perhaps the most impressive, designed to withstand any
assault weapon which the ingenuity of medieval man could devise. Rising 200ft on a rocky
promontory once skirted by a tidal creek, it remains largely intact, its stone towers
still capable of overawing visitors by their enormous bulk and strength. Harlech was
designed to be victualled from the sea; a gated and heavily fortified stairway was built
for this purpose, and visitors can still use it to enter the castle. |
| Oriel Eryri |
Off A4086, 7 miles south-east of Caernarfon |
One of the biggest permanent attractions at this
museum, which is part of the National Museum of Wales, is the pictures taken live and
direct from the Meteosat weather space satellite and displayed on television screens. A
short film about Meteosat and its launching, prepared for the European Space Agency, can
also be seen. The museum has exhibitions on the natural life and environment of Wales, and
an audiovisual theatre showing how the scenery of Snowdonia was formed over more than 400
million years. |
| Penrhyn Castle |
On A5122, 1 mile east of Bangor |
The wealth derived from sugar plantations in Jamaica
and invested in the Penrhyn slate quarries enabled G.H. Dawkins Pennant in 1820 to build
himself a Norman castle on a scale which befitted his affluence. The exterior boasts the
crenellated walls and towers of a real medieval fortress, while the interior is deigned on
a scale and lavishness that is almost Byzantine; the Great Hall, with its polished
sandstone floor, was modelled on Durham Cathedral. The house contains fine paintings, some
800 dolls and, in the stables, industrial locomotives. |
| Plas Newydd |
On A4080, 3 miles south-west of Menai Bridge |
There is a cavalry museum at Plas Newydd, most
appropriate in a house which has a statue of Field-Marshal the Marquis of Anglesey in the
grounds. In the museum are a boot and mutilated trousers worn by the 1st marquis at the
Battle of Waterloo. The architect of the 18th century house was James Wyatt. It is an
imaginative and highly decorative building in the Gothic style. |
| Portmeirion |
Off A487, 1 mile south-east of Porthmadog |
From its Italianate gatehouse to the truly English
hotel down by the seashore, Portmeirion has a joyful jumble of colour-washed houses and
cottages, pavilions and towers, statues and columns which all stemmed from the dream of
the architect Clough Williams-Ellis. William-Ellis began to realise his dream in 1926 and
several of the buildings were rescued from demolition in other places. Many film-makers
have been attracted to Portmeirion, but the village is no filmset; its buildings are real. |
