13th century Before the English construction of the town of
Caernarfon, the area had been occupied first by the
Romans, who built the fort of
Segontium, and later by both the
Normans and the Welsh princes. As a result of this long history, depicted in the Welsh saga of
Mabinogion, the site was both culturally and politically significant to the medieval Welsh. The English kings and Welsh princes had vied for control of North Wales since the 1070s and the conflict had been renewed during the 13th century, leading to
Edward I intervening in North Wales for the second time during his reign in 1282. Edward invaded with a huge army, pushing north from
Carmarthen and westwards from
Montgomery and
Chester. By summer 1283 Edward had secured Caernarfon and the surrounding area. The king decided that the location would become the centre of a new
county and the capital of the
principality of North Wales, with a new castle and walled town forming the administrative centre. Edward's plan was a
colonial enterprise and placing the new town and walls on the Caernarfon site was in part a symbolic act to demonstrate English power; the walls also symbolised the town's status as the capital of North Wales. Traditionally Caernarfon's design and defences have been thought to have been inspired by the growth of the
bastides. The bastides were new
planned towns created in both
France and English-held
Gascony during the period, characterised by grids of straight streets, often defended by combinations of castles and town walls. More recent research, however, has shown that English town design played a more significant role in shaping Caernarfon and other Edwardian town plans. In the case of Caernarfon, the town plan and walls were adapted to fit around the site of the former Norman castle on the site, which lay just outside the new town and was used a market place. The walls of Caernarfon were built at the same time as the castle, under the overall supervision of Master
James of Saint George, Edward's chief architect in North Wales. Between 1283 and 1284, Richard the Engineer acted as James' deputy on the site; later, between 1295 and 1308, Walter of Hereford performed a similar role, and may have also been responsible for earlier work on the walls as well. Huge amounts of labourers were mobilised from across England for the task, massed at Chester and then brought into Wales for each summer building season. Work on the walls progressed quickly, albeit in uneven bursts: local houses were demolished to make way for the fortifications and the stone walls and gates were probably finished by 1292. The cost of building the town walls was around £3,500, a large sum for the period.
Otto de Grandson, a favourite of Edward I, was appointed as
constable of Caernarfon and
justiciar of North Wales, with responsibility for security in the region. In 1294, however,
Madog ap Llywelyn revolted against English rule and undertook a wide campaign across North Wales, attacking the town of Caernarfon. Despite the walls, the town was overrun, the walls badly damaged, and the castle—still largely unfinished —was easily taken and set on fire. Edward responded with military force the next year: he retook Caernarfon and ordered the town walls to be fully repaired by November 1295, at a cost of around £1,195. The town of Caernarfon did not prove a successful settlement, however; by 1298 it had only 59
burgage tenements—properties paying rent to the king—making it far less prosperous than either neighbouring
Conwy or
Beaumaris, and the situation did not improve during the 14th century. In 1400 Welsh prince
Owain Glyndŵr rose in rebellion against English rule, but despite attempts to take Caernarfon in 1403 and 1404, the town's defences held out. The ascension of the
Tudor dynasty to the English throne resulted in a change in the way Wales was administered. The Tudors were Welsh in origin, and their rule lessened hostilities between the Welsh and English, reducing the need to maintain Caernarfon's castle and walls and easing the restrictions on Welsh access to the town—the Welsh were finally allowed to live inside Caernarfon in 1507. Around 1800, Caernarfon's local corporation undertook a programme of modernisation work, inserting several new gateways in the town walls; other changes were also made to the walls during the period, with some towers being converted for use as administrative buildings and the gatehouses altered to accommodate more modern offices. During the 19th century the town of Caernarfon grew considerably, prompted by the
slate trade and the construction of the Chester to
Holyhead railway line. As a result of this population pressure, by the 20th century housing had encroached along the inside and outside of the town walls, so that in many places the walls had vanished from view. During the 20th century the walls were gradually acquired by the state and these houses demolished. Today Caernarfon's walls are managed by the Welsh heritage organisation
Cadw as a tourist attraction, although only a small part of the wall-walk is open to the public. The walls require ongoing maintenance; in the financial year between 2002 and 2003, for example, maintaining the historic fabric of the walls and the castle cost £4,500 (£5,710 in 2010 terms). The walls were declared part of a
UNESCO world heritage site in 1986 and hold
scheduled monument status. They are considered by archaeologists Oliver Creighton and Robert Higham to be "a remarkably intact walled circuit". ==Architecture==