Beaumaris. The fourth of Edward’s great castles was a bit of a historical footnote. Squat and square, this castle (whose name means “fair marsh”) occupies low land on the northeast coast of the island of Anglesey, just across the Menai Strait from Bangor. In Edward’s day this was the main ferry to Anglesey, and travelers used it to reach the Holyhead boat to Ireland, just as they do now. Edward started Beaumaris much later than the others, and despite 37 years of off-and-on work, it was never close to completion.

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Beaumaris was an afterthought, the result of the Revolt of 1294 that saw Harlech resist and Caernarfon fall. The rebels quickly took over Anglesey and executed its chief official, the sheriff—a particular friend of Edward’s. Edward reacted with typical forcefulness and ferocity, launching a devastating campaign in the dead of winter that caught the rebels by surprise and routed them. At that point, Edward realized that he’d better have a castle on Anglesey.

Modern Beaumaris gets its squat appearance from the fact is was never completed. It is a square, symmetrical castle, surrounded by a flooded moat. Inside the moat is an octagonal outer curtain wall with 15 towers, intentionally built rather low to catch crossfire from the much higher inner walls. About 60 feet behind this is the main castle, with 35-foot curtain walls, six large towers and two huge gatehouses set opposite each other. These towers and gatehouses were meant to match Harlech in size and scale, but none was completed, and no tower ever came close to full height.

Brilliant and brutal, Edward Longshanks had one goal: to unify Britain under the English monarchy, as (he believed) Arthur had unified it eight centuries before. That he was the new Arthur, and fully capable of building a whole series of massively oppressive Camelots, he wanted no one in Wales to doubt. Today, his four greatest castles may have long lost their power to terrorize, but they retain their power to awe.

This article by Jim Hargan was originally published in the March 2008 issue of British Heritage Magazine. For more great articles, subscribe to British Heritage magazine today!

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