Scheduled MonumentsWalesCastell Conwy
Medieval · Castle

Castell Conwy

Conwy, Wales
Cadw SAM CN004
Period
Medieval
Site type
Castle
Broad class
Defence
Nation
Wales
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Castell Conwy is a late thirteenth-century castle built by Edward I as part of his military campaign to subjugate North Wales following the defeat of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd. Constructed between 1283 and 1287, the castle occupies a prominent rocky outcrop overlooking the town of Conwy and the estuary, with eight towers integrated into its curtain walls and two barbicans controlling access to the inner ward. The fortress was designed as a concentric castle with an inner and outer ward, employing advanced contemporary military architecture to project English royal authority and garrison an English military presence in a strategically important location. The castle has been continuously maintained as a military structure and, since its acquisition by Cadw, stands as one of the finest surviving examples of Edwardian castle architecture in Wales.

Castell Conwy is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CN004. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Castell Conwy?

Castell Conwy is a late thirteenth-century castle built by Edward I as part of his military campaign to subjugate North Wales following the defeat of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference CN004.

What period does Castell Conwy date from?

Castell Conwy 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 Conwy?

Castell Conwy 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 CN004.

What other scheduled monuments are near Castell Conwy?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Bryn Castell (5.5 km), Maen Penddu (5.9 km), Cefn Maen Amor stone circle (5.9 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Castell Conwy

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Castell Conwy'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 Conwy

Castell Conwy stands on Ashgill Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Ashgill. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.

The wider landscape

Around Castell Conwy

Bryn Celli DduArchaeological site · ~17.7 miles