Beaumaris: the ultimate concentric

Hello peeps! We will talk about Beaumaris the last and largest castles to be built by King Edward 1 in Wales. This castle begun in 1295 and it possibly the most sophisticated example of medieval military architecture in Britain.

                This castle built with almost mostly with geometric symmetry and undoubtedly as the ultimate ‘concentric’ castle. This castle has a high inner ring of defenses that surrounded by a lower outer circuit of walls, combining an almost unprecedented level of strength and firepower. The one that attacked the castle would surely have been faced with an impregnable fortress at that time, before the age of canon. But the work of construction was never fully completed, and the castle saw little action apart from the Civil War in the 17th century.

A castle was almost certainly planned when King Edward visited Anglesey in 1283 and designated the Welsh town of Llanfaes to be its seat of government. Then, in 1294-95, the Welsh rose in revolt under Madog AP Llywelyn. The rebels were crushed after an arduous winter campaign, and the decision was taken to proceed with a new castle in April 1295. The extent of English power is demonstrated by the fact that the entire native population of Llanfaes was forced to move to a newly established settlement, named Newborough. The castle itself was begun on the "fair marsh," and was given the Norman-French name Beau Mareys. That's how the castle gets its name.

Structure plan of Beumaris

   Do you want to know a little about the design? Here we go, the first line of defense was provided by a water-filled moat, some 18ft wide. At the southern end was a tidal dock for shipping, where vessels of 40 tons laden weight could sail right up to the main gate. The dock was protected by the shooting deck on the Gunner's Walk. Across the moat is the low curtain wall of the outer ward, its been circuit by 16 towers and two gates. The gate is on the northern side and next to the sea. Unfortunately, the Llanfaes gate, which at the northern side was probably never completed. On the other hand, the gate next to the sea preserves evidence of its stout wooden doors and gruesome "murder holes" above. If you want to be attacker to attack the castle, it’s not too late to forget about it. Why? Because once you through it, you need to face 11 further obstacles before entering the heart of the castle. These included the Barbican, further "murder holes," three portcullises and several sets of doors. As a result, the attacker that caught hesitating between the inner and outer walls could not have survived for long and a rain of heavy crossfire would have poured down from all directions.

Okay, now let’s talk about inner ward. The inner ward has great size that covering about 3/4 of an acre, it was surrounded by a further six towers and the two great gatehouses. Both gatehouses were planned to have grand arrangements of state rooms at their rear, much as those completed at Harlech. The north gate, on the far side, was only raised as far as its hall. The highlight of the castle is the little chapel in the tower. Its vaulted ceiling and pointed windows and also in this tower there is a fascinating exhibition on the "Castles of Edward I in Wales, and this provides much background to the building of Beaumaris itself.

If you want to know, Baumaris is a special castle. Some of the tourists said that it's the most beautiful in all of Wales, and some appreciate the almost perfect symmetry Beaumaris possesses. Its exterior beauty is the most striking aspect of the castle. So, much of Beaumaris' beauty can actually be appreciated before setting foot inside the castle! Beaumaris' large exterior towers are impressive, their formidability enhanced by handsome patterns of stone in shades of dark gray to white, adorning the exterior walls and towers. The main entrance to the castle that full with ducks and swan make the setting more attractive and also the wooden bridge.  The wall walks at Beaumaris represent a fascinating aspect of the castle and being surrounded by countryside that are both interesting and beautiful. Therefore, it is my pleasure to share the beauty of Beaumaris Castle.

A video of Beumaric castle.