Beaumaris, on Anglesey’s island, is known as the finest castle ever built. It was the last of Edward I’s royal fortresses in Wales, and possibly his finest.
The ‘beau mareys’ or ‘beautiful marsh’ alongside the Menai Strait provided Edward and his architect James of St George with a blank canvas. They’d already built the magnificent castles of Conwy, Caernarfon, and Harlech by this time. The castle to end all castles was to be their crowning pride.
The end result was a massive fortification with near-perfect symmetry. There were four concentric rings of strong defences, each with its own pier and a water-filled moat. There were 300 arrow loops on the outside walls alone.
However, by the 1320s, building activity had slowed due to a shortage of funds and unrest in Scotland. The south gatehouse and the inner ward’s six great towers never reached their full height. Before being abandoned, the Llanfaes gate was scarcely started.
Beaumaris’ unique squat form talks of a dream that never fully materialised. As part of the Castles and Town Walls of Edward I World Heritage Site, it retains its proper place on the global stage.
Because this castle is unique, both in terms of its scope and the aesthetics of its proportions. The gloriously unfinished Beaumaris is probably the pinnacle achievement of the age’s finest military architect.
