Scheduled MonumentsWalesCastell Caernarfon
Medieval · Castle

Castell Caernarfon

Conwy, Wales
Cadw SAM CN079
Period
Medieval
Site type
Castle
Broad class
Defence
Nation
Wales
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Castell Caernarfon is a medieval castle located in Conwy, North Wales, and is designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument under Cadw reference CN079. The castle dates to the medieval period and represents an important example of Welsh defensive architecture from this era. The site's physical remains testify to its role as a fortification within the landscape of medieval North Wales, and it continues to be a significant point of archaeological and historical interest. As a scheduled monument, the castle is protected under Welsh heritage legislation and remains an important resource for understanding medieval Welsh settlement and defence patterns.

Castell Caernarfon is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CN079. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Castell Caernarfon?

Castell Caernarfon is a medieval castle located in Conwy, North Wales, and is designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument under Cadw reference CN079.

What period does Castell Caernarfon date from?

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

Who is responsible for protecting Castell Caernarfon?

Castell Caernarfon 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 CN079.

What other scheduled monuments are near Castell Caernarfon?

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), Enclosed Hut Circle Settlement West of Votglas (9.1 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Castell Caernarfon

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Castell Caernarfon'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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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Castell Caernarfon

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

The wider landscape

Around Castell Caernarfon

Bryn Celli DduArchaeological site · ~4.9 miles