Home > Edward I, Harlech Castle , Conwy Castle > Iron Ring

The castles and town walls of Edward I found in Gwynedd: Caernarfon Castle, Harlech Castle, Conwy Castle, and Beaumaris Castle all form the 'ring of iron'. They were designed by master architect James of St. George to contain the Welsh during the 13th and 14th centuries. They are acclaimed as being "among the best examples of medieval castles in the world". They have also been awarded World Heritage Site statues by the United Nations.

Most of Edward I's builders were English, some Welsh, and some senior men were from France and Ireland. Half were labourers, the other half masons/quarriers/smiths/carpenters. He brought materials overland by cart and packhorse, but most by sea and hauled up (at least in the case of Harlech Castle ). Every English county provided a quota of workers. The stone and lime materials came from Anglesey, Caernarfon, Eg ryn (7 miles south of Harlech Castle), and the castle ditches. Harlech Castle was one of Edward's smallest projects, costing £9,500 then (the equivalent of £9.5m now). These costs were preserved by the English Treasury in the Public Record Office. Conwy Castle, a more ambitious project on a main route, cost £15,000 and included the town and town walls. The project was completed in a mere 4.5 years.

Edward I had a close family tie with The Savoys of the Swiss/French/Italian Kingdom. He brought the Savoyards to Britain to fight and build castles. This included his Chief Military Architect and many of his senior craftsmen. Thus, scholars observe that it is "not surprising to fine several architectural details which occur both in the castles of Savoy and of North Wales, but which are rarely found elsewhere". Some examples include helicoidal (spiral) scaffolding instead of horizontal staging for construction and the design and position of privies in projecting turrets. In the case of Harlech Castle, Edward I's Chief Military Architect, James of St. George (Savoy) was paid 3 shilling per day and was appointed Constable of Harlech Castle in 1290 and life tenancy of Flintshire Manor of Mostyn in 1295, worth £25.16s.7d per year. St. George died in 1309.

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