Edward I's Castles
The Welsh castles built for
Edward I are considered by many experts to be the best military castles in the world. Here
is a look at some of them:
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To the left is one entrance to Beaumaris. Begun in 1295, it was built by Master
James of St. George for Edward I of England. You will find it today on the Isle of
Angelsey in northern Wales. It is one of the best designed castles ever;
unfortunately, it was never finished because of funding problems.
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 As you step through the entrance, be
careful.
There are many machicolations and murder
holes where castle defenders can drop rocks and other things (such as boiling water) on
your head.
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 This is an arch
in Conwy Castle, another castle built by Master James. It leads from the
barbican to the outer bailey.
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 At
Harlech Castle, the most remote of Master James's fortresses, you might want to race up the
steps to a tower. There is a quite unusual staircase at Harlech connecting the
second floor to the top of the castle walk.
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And what about the bathroom? You may know
that medieval toilets left much to be desired--for quite a few reasons. In some castles, the urinal
might simply be a hole in the floor. Castle
toilets were built out of stone (sometimes with
a stone seat, sometimes with wood) and projected out over the castle walls, so that the
waste would drop below-- outside the castle walls. Often some poor soul was 
required to clean out the cesspool. The odor around most castle toilets would have
been quite a stench. The photo above shows a series of toilets (or garderobes) built
into the town wall of Conwy, Wales. The town walls surround the town and connect it
to the castle. These garderobes weren't for anyone, though. They were built
especially for those who oversaw the castle and King Edward I's castle-building program in
Wales. This is the only medieval town wall still in existence where so many garderobes can
still be seen.
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 Another interesting thing about castles built by Master James is
their color. All but one of his castles (Caernarfon) were whitewashed. Even
though you now see a castle made of stone at Conwy and Harlech, they were originally
painted. Here's some whitewash inside a tower at Conwy Castle.
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