Scheduled Monuments›Wales›Caernarfon Town Walls
Medieval · Town Wall

Caernarfon Town Walls

Conwy, Wales
Cadw SAM CN034
Period
Medieval
Site type
Town Wall
Broad class
Defence
Nation
Wales
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Caernarfon Town Walls is a medieval defensive structure enclosing the historic town of Caernarfon in Conwy, Wales. The walls were constructed in the late thirteenth century following Edward I's conquest of North Wales, forming part of the strategic fortification programme that secured English control over the region. The circuit comprises substantial stone masonry with rectangular towers at intervals, reflecting contemporary military engineering practices designed to defend both the town and its castle. The walls remain substantially extant and represent a significant example of late medieval urban fortification in Wales, demonstrating the integration of town defence with the broader castle and garrison network established during the Edwardian conquest.

Caernarfon Town Walls is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CN034. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Caernarfon Town Walls?

Caernarfon Town Walls is a medieval defensive structure enclosing the historic town of Caernarfon in Conwy, Wales. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference CN034.

What period does Caernarfon Town Walls date from?

Caernarfon Town Walls dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a town wall. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Caernarfon Town Walls?

Caernarfon Town Walls is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is CN034.

What other scheduled monuments are near Caernarfon Town Walls?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Early Habitation Site 180m West of Pen-Yr-Allt (8.7 km), Penbryn Mawr standing stone (9 km), Maen Llwyd in Glynllifon (9.1 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Caernarfon Town Walls

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Caernarfon Town Walls's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Nearby

Other scheduled monuments within 10 km

Early Habitation Site 180m West of Pen-Yr-Allt
Prehistoric · Concentric enclosed hut circle8.7 km
Penbryn Mawr standing stone
Bronze Age · Standing Stone9 km
Maen Llwyd in Glynllifon
Bronze Age · Standing Stone9.1 km
Enclosed Hut Circle Settlement West of Votglas
Prehistoric · Enclosed hut circle settlement9.1 km
Blaen y Cae Slate Quarry
Post Medieval/Modern · Quarry9.2 km
Pen Y Bryn Quarry and tips
Industrial · Quarry9.3 km
Pen y Bryn / Cloddfa’r Lôn water-driven pump system
Industrial · Quarry9.6 km
Cloddfa'r Lon Slate Quarry
Post Medieval/Modern · Slate Mill9.7 km
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Caernarfon Town Walls

Caernarfon Town Walls stands on Precambrian mica, bedrock that formed in the Precambrian. The rock here is mica schist; undifferentiated metamorphic.

The wider landscape

Around Caernarfon Town Walls

Bryn Celli DduArchaeological site · ~4.9 miles
All Scheduled Monuments