Conwy Castle is a fortification build by Edward I between 1283 and 1289 as part of a project to create the walled town of Conwy, a large defensive structure. It’s considered by UNESCO as one of “the finest examples of late 13th century and early 14th century military architecture in Europe“.
The castle played an important part in several events, such as the siege of Madog ap Llywelyn in 1294–95 and the imprisonment of for Richard II in 1399.
The rectangular castle is built from local and imported stone and occupies a coastal ridge. It’s divided into an Inner and an Outer Ward and defended by eight large towers and two barbicans, and it originally overlooked an important crossing point over the River Conwy.
Conwy Castle retains the earliest surviving stone machicolations in Britain and what’s been described as the “best preserved suite of medieval private royal chambers in England and Wales“.