Harlech Castle, located in Harlech, Gwynedd, Wales, is a medieval
fortification, constructed atop a spur of rock close to the Irish Sea. It was
built by Edward I during his invasion of Wales between 1282 and 1289 at the
substantial cost of £8,190. Over the next few centuries, the castle played an
important part in several wars, withstanding the siege of Madog ap
Llywelyn between 1294–95, but falling to Owain Glyndŵr in 1404. It then became
Glyndŵr's residence and military headquarters for the remainder of the
uprising until being recaptured by English forces in 1409. During the 15th
century Wars of the Roses, Harlech was held by the Lancastrians for seven
years, before Yorkist troops forced its surrender in 1468, a siege memorialised
in the song Men of Harlech. Following the outbreak of the English Civil War in
1642, the castle was held by forces loyal to Charles I, holding out until
1647 when it became the last fortification to surrender to the
Parliamentary armies. In the 21st century the ruined castle is managed by
Cadw, the Welsh Government's historic environment service, as a tourist
attraction. UNESCO considers Harlech to be one of
"the finest examples of late 13th century and early 14th century military
architecture in Europe", and it is classed as a World Heritage site. The
fortification is built of local stone and concentric in design, featuring a
massive gatehouse that probably once provided high-status accommodation for
the castle constable and visiting dignitaries. The sea originally came
much closer to Harlech than in modern times, and a water-gate and a long
flight of steps leads down from the castle to the former shore, which
allowed the castle to be resupplied by sea during sieges. In keeping with
Edward's other castles in North Wales, the architecture of Harlech has close to
links to that found in the kingdom of Savoy during the same period, an
influence probably derived from the Savoy origins of the main architect,
James of Saint George. History
= 13th–14th centuries= In local mythology, the site of Harlech
Castle in North Wales is associated with the legend of Branwen, a Welsh princess,
but there is no evidence for a native Welsh fortification having been built
there. The kings of England and the Welsh princes had vied for control of
North Wales since the 1070s and the conflict was renewed during the 13th
century, leading to Edward I intervening in North Wales for the second time
during his reign in 1282. Edward invaded with a huge army, pushing north from
Carmarthen and westwards from Montgomery and Chester. English forces advanced
down the Conwy valley and through Dolwyddelan and Castell y Bere, onto
Harlech, which Sir Otton de Grandson took with 560 infantry in May.
Edward ordered the construction of a castle at Harlech, one of seven built
across North Wales in the wake of the 1282 campaign. Money to pay for the
initial phase arrived in mid-May and carpenters and 35 stonemasons were
dispatched in June and July to commence work. By the winter of 1283, the first
15 feet of the inner walls had been constructed, allowing the castle to be
defended in the event of an attack, and a small, planned town had been founded
alongside the castle. Sir John Bonvillars was appointed the constable
of the castle in 1285; after his death in 1287 his wife, Agnes, took up the
role until 1290. Construction continued under the overall
direction of James of Saint George, a Savoy architect and military engineer.
In 1286, at the height of the construction, the workforce comprised
546 general labourers, 115 quarriers, 30 blacksmiths, 22 carpenters and 227
stonemasons, and the project was costing nearly £240 a month. The castle was
essentially complete by the end of 1289, having cost an estimated £8,190, around
10 percent of the £80,000 that Edward spent on castle-building in Wales
between 1277 and 1304. Harlech was established with a garrison
of 36 men: a constable, 30 men, including 10 crossbowmen, a chaplain, a
smith, carpenter and stonemason, and Master James was rewarded by being made
the constable of Harlech from 1290–93. In 1294, Madog ap Llywelyn began an
uprising against English rule that spread quickly through Wales. Several
English-held towns were razed and Harlech, along with Criccieth Castle and
Aberystwyth Castle, were besieged that winter. Fresh supplies were sent from
Ireland by sea, arriving via Harlech's water gate, and the uprising was
quashed. In the aftermath of the revolt, additional defences were built around
the route down to the sea. Further work was undertaken between 1323–24,
following the Despenser War; Edward II was threatened in the region by the
Mortimer Marcher Lord family, and ordered his sheriff, Sir Gruffuld Llywd,
to extend the defences leading up to the gatehouse with additional towers.
= 15th–17th centuries= In 1400 a revolt broke out in North
Wales against English rule, led by Owain Glyndŵr. By 1403 only a handful of
castles, including Harlech, still stood against the rebels, but the castle was
under-equipped and under-staffed to withstand a siege, the garrison having
just three shields, eight helmets, six lances, ten pairs of gloves, and four
guns. At the end of 1404, the castle fell to Glyndŵr. Harlech became his
residence, family home and military headquarters for four years; he held his
second parliament in Harlech in August 1405. In 1408 English forces under the
command of the future Henry V placed Harlech and its commander, Edmund
Mortimer, under siege, conducting a bombardment with cannon, probably
destroying the south and east parts of the outer walls. When this failed to
take the castle, Henry left John Talbot in charge of the siege and moved on to
deal with Aberystwyth Castle. Supplies finally ran short, Mortimer and many of
his men died of exhaustion, and Harlech fell in February 1409.
In the 15th century, Harlech was involved in the series of civil wars
known as the Wars of the Roses that broke out between the rival factions of
the House of Lancaster and York. In 1460, following the Battle of
Northampton, Queen Margaret of Anjou fled to the castle and between 1461–68
it was held by her Lancastrian supporters, under the command of Dafydd
ap Ieuan, against the Yorkist Edward IV. Thanks to its natural defences and the
supply route by sea, Harlech held out and as other fortresses fell, eventually
became the last major stronghold still under Lancasterian control. The castle
became a base for their operations across the region: there were planned
operations in 1464, Sir Richard Tunstall mounted attacks from Harlech in 1466 and
Jasper Tudor landed there with French reinforcements in 1468, before then
raiding the town of Denbigh. Tudors' arrival caused Edward IV to order
William Herbert to mobilise an army, possibly up to 10,000 strong, to finally
seize the castle. After a month's siege, the small garrison surrendered on 14
August. This siege is credited with inspiring the song Men of Harlech.
The English Civil War broke out in 1642 between the Royalist supporters of
Charles I and the supporters of Parliament. Harlech had not apparently
been repaired following the 1468 siege, and had become completely dilapidated,
with the exception of the gatehouse, which was used for the local assizes. In
1644 Prince Rupert appointed a local Royalist, Colonel William Owen, as the
castle's constable, and Owen was entrusted with repairing the
fortifications. A long siege ensued from June 1646 until 15 March 1647, when the
garrison of 44 men surrendered to Major-General Thomas Mytton. The castle
was the last royal fortress to surrender in the war, and the date marked the end
of the first phase of the war. The castle was no longer required for the
security of North Wales and, to prevent any further use by the Royalists,
Parliament ordered its slighting, or destruction. The orders were only
partially carried out, however, and the gatehouse staircases were destroyed and
the castle rendered generally unusable, but it was not totally demolished. Stone
from the castle was reused to build houses in the local town.
= 18th–21st centuries= In the late-18th and 19th centuries, the
picturesque ruins of Harlech began to attract visits from prominent artists,
including John Cotman, Henry Gastineau, Paul Sandby, J. M. W. Turner and John
Varley. In 1914 it was transferred from the Merioneth Crown Estate to the
control of the Office of Works, who commenced a major restoration project
after the end of World War I. In 1969 the castle was transferred to the Welsh
Office and then to Cadw, who manage the property in the 21st century as a
tourist attraction. Harlech was declared part of the Castles and Town Walls of
King Edward in Gwynedd World Heritage site in 1986, UNESCO considering Harlech
one of "the finest examples of late 13th century and early 14th century military
architecture in Europe". Architecture
Harlech Castle rests upon part of the Harlech Dome, a spur of rock almost 200
feet high; the land falls away sharply on the north and west, and a ditch cut
into the rock protects the remaining approaches to the castle. The castle has
a concentric design, with one line of defences enclosed by another, forming an
inner and outer ward; the outer wall was originally somewhat taller than today.
Harlech is built from local grey-green sandstone, with large, regular blocks
used for the towers and irregular material, possibly taken from the ditch,
used for the walls. A softer yellow sandstone is used for the decorative
work in the castle, possibly quarried from around Egryn Abbey near Barmouth.
The main entrance to the castle would have involved crossing a stone bridge
between the two easterly ditch bridge towers and the main gatehouse; little
remains of the bridge towers today and a timber entrance way to the gatehouse
replaces the bridge. A water gate overlooks a protected stairway of 127
steps that runs down to the foot of the cliffs. In the 13th century, the sea
came up close to the stairway, allowing resupply by sea, but today the sea has
retreated significantly, making it more difficult to envisage the concept in its
original setting. The gatehouse follows the design,
sometimes termed the Tonbridge-style, that became popular during the 13th
century, with two massive "D-shaped" defensive towers flanking the entrance.
The passage into the castle was guarded by three portcullises and at least two
heavy doors. The gatehouse has two upper floors, broken up into various rooms.
Each floor has three large windows overlooking the inner ward; the second
floor has two additional grand windows on the sides of the gatehouse; the
gatehouse was fitted with fireplaces and would originally have had prominent
chimneys. The use of these rooms has been the subject of academic debate:
historian Arnold Taylor argued that the first floor of the gatehouse was used by
the constable as living accommodation, with the second floor used by senior
visitors; Jeremy Ashbee has since challenged this interpretation,
suggesting the high status accommodation may instead have been located within the
inner ward, and the gatehouse used for other purposes.
The inner ward is guarded by four large circular towers. Over time these
acquired various names: in 1343, clockwise from the north-east, they were
called Le Prisontour, Turris Ultra Gardinium, Le Wedercoktour and Le
Chapeltour, but by 1564 they had been renamed the Debtors', Mortimer, Bronwen
and Armourer's Towers respectively. Le Prisontour incorporated a dungeon and
the Le Chapeltour may have contained an artillery workshop in the 16th century.
Several ranges of buildings were built around the inner ward, including a
chapel, kitchen, service buildings, a granary and a great hall. The
battlements may originally have been built with triple finials in a similar
fashion to Conwy, although little remains of these in the modern era.
The architecture of Harlech has close links to that found in the kingdom of
Savoy in the same period. These include semi-circular door arches, window
styles, corbelled towers and positioning of putlog holes, and are usually
ascribed to the influence of the Savoy architect Master James. The links
between the Harlech and Savoy are not straightforward, however, as in some
cases the relevant Savoy structures were built after James had left the region.
The similarity in architectural details may, therefore, be the result of the
wider role played by Savoy craftsmen and engineers on the Harlech project.
See also Castles in Great Britain and Ireland
List of castles in Wales Notes
References Bibliography
External links Official Cadw page for Harlech Castle