Everything about Harlech Castle totally explained
Harlech Castle, located in
Harlech,
Gwynedd,
Wales, is a
concentric castle, constructed atop a cliff close to the
Irish Sea. Architecturally, it's particularly notable for its massive
gatehouse.
Built by
King Edward I during his
conquest of Wales, the
castle was subject to several assaults and
sieges during its period of active use as a
fortification. The
seven-year siege of the castle has been memorialised in the famous song, "
Men of Harlech".
Construction
Begun in
1283 as part of
Edward I's second
Welsh campaign, the castle was part of Edward's iron ring of castles around
Snowdonia, a string of new castles to hem the prince in. Construction began in 1283. Like many of the castles in the area, Harlech was designed by Master
James of St. George. The castle took seven years to build, and cost an estimated £8,190 to build. Following its completion, James was appointed Constable of Harlech Castle, a position he held for over three years.
All the royal castles of Edward's second Welsh campaign were sited so that they could be kept supplied at all times. Harlech wasn't always isolated; the sea used to come to the foot of the cliffs.
Harlech is also notable for an unusual feature: the "way from the sea". Edward's forces were often in danger from land-based attack, but he enjoyed total supremacy on water. Many of his castles included
sally ports which allowed resupply from the sea, but Harlech's is far more elaborate. Here, a fortified stairway hugs the rock and runs almost 200 feet down to the foot of the cliffs, where (at the time of construction) the sea reached. Today, the sea has retreated several miles, making it more difficult to envisage the concept in its original setting. James of St. George's plan was a triumph; when the castle was besieged during
Madoc ap Llywelyn's campaign, this stairway was used to supply the castle.
Like many of Edward's castles, Harlech was originally designed to be attached to a
fortified borough.
After the completion of the castle, Master James was made constable between 1290–1293, a high status job, that gave him time to work on Edward's castles that were also under construction.
History
In
1294, Madoc ap Llywelyn, cousin to Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, 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. As noted above, the "Way to the Sea" helped the defenders survive until the siege was lifted the following spring.
In
1404, the castle fell to
Owain Glyndŵr after a long siege when starvation reduced the determined and fearful garrison to just twenty-one men, becoming his residence and family home and military headquarters for four years. He held his second parliament in Harlech in August
1405. Four years later, after another long siege of eight months, Harlech Castle was retaken in 1409 by Prince Henry (later
Henry V) and a force of 1000 men under
John Talbot the
Earl of Shrewsbury, during which
Edmund Mortimer starved to death and Glyndŵr's wife,
Margaret Hanmer, two of his daughters and four grandchildren were captured, later to be imprisoned and die.
In the
Wars of the Roses in the first part of
Edward IV of England's reign (
1461–
1470), Harlech was held by its Welsh constable
Dafydd ap Ieuan as a Lancastrian stronghold. Following the
Battle of Northampton,
Margaret of Anjou and the infant
Henry VII of England fled to Scotland via Harlech. Following the defeat of the Lancastrians at the
Battle of Towton, Edward controlled the country and Harlech eventually became last major stronghold under their control. Sir
Richard Tunstall arrived as a reinforcement to the Lancastrians in the latter half of the siege in 1465. In
1468 it was the last Lancastrian fortress to surrender; it was able to withstand the seven-year siege through its being provisioned from the sea. It is the longest known siege in the history of the British Isles. This famous siege inspired the song "
Men of Harlech" according to tradition.
During the
English Civil War the castle was the last
royalist fortress to hold out against the
Parliamentary forces. The surrender, on
16 March 1647, over a year after
King Charles had himself been captured, marked the end of the
first phase of the war. The parliamentarians slighted the castle after its fall.
Present day
Harlech is part of the "Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Harlech, Beaumaris, Caernarfon and Conwy (Gwynedd)"
World Heritage site, reflecting its importance and remarkable state of preservation. The castle is now in the care of
Cadw and is open to visitors.
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