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Criccieth Castle
Criccieth Castle ( cy, Castell Cricieth; ) is a native Welsh castle situated on the headland between two beaches in Criccieth, Gwynedd, in North Wales, on a rocky peninsula overlooking Tremadog Bay. It was built by Llywelyn the Great of the kingdom of Gwynedd, but was heavily modified following its capture by English forces of Edward I in the late 13th century. Construction The stone castle had first been built in the 1230s, there were three main building phases plus several periods of remodelling. The earliest part of the masonry castle is the inner ward which was started by Llywelyn the Great. Unlike most other Welsh native strongholds, the inner ward at Criccieth was protected by a gatehouse with twin D-shaped towers that was protected by a gate and portcullis, with murder holes in the passage, and outward facing arrowslits in each tower. Archaeologist Laurence Keen suggested that Criccieth's gatehouse was based on the design of those at Beeston Castle in Cheshire, which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Criccieth Castle At Sunset, Caernarfonshire, Wales - 18-07-2018
Criccieth ( cy, Criccieth ) is a town and community (Wales), community on the Llŷn Peninsula in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd in Wales. The town lies west of Porthmadog, east of Pwllheli and south of Caernarfon. It had a population of 1,826 in 2001, reducing to 1,753 at the 2011 census. The town is a seaside resort, popular with families. Attractions include the ruins of ''Criccieth Castle'', which have extensive views over the town and surrounding countryside. Nearby on ''Ffordd Castell'' (Castle Way) is ''Cadwalader's Ice Cream, Cadwalader's Ice Cream Parlour'', opened in 1927, whilst ''Stryd Fawr'' (High Street) has several bistro-style restaurants. In the centre lies ''Y Maes'' ("The Field", or town square), part of the original medieval common land, town common.Eira and James Gleasure, ''Criccieth : A Heritage Walk'', 2003Cymdeithas Hanes Eifionydd, Wales, 28 pages The town is noted for its fairs, held on 23 May and 29 June every year, when large numbers of people visi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward I Of England
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal of the French king. Before his accession to the throne, he was commonly referred to as the Lord Edward. The eldest son of Henry III, Edward was involved from an early age in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included a rebellion by the English barons. In 1259, he briefly sided with a baronial reform movement, supporting the Provisions of Oxford. After reconciliation with his father, however, he remained loyal throughout the subsequent armed conflict, known as the Second Barons' War. After the Battle of Lewes, Edward was held hostage by the rebellious barons, but escaped after a few months and defeated the baronial leader Simon de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham in 1265. Within two years the rebellion was extin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Concentric Castle
A concentric castle is a castle with two or more concentric curtain walls, such that the outer wall is lower than the inner and can be defended from it. The layout was square (at Belvoir and Beaumaris) where the terrain permitted, or an irregular polygon (at Krak and Margat) where curtain walls of a spur castle followed the contours of a hill. Concentric castles resemble one castle nested inside the other, thus creating an inner and outer ward. They are typically built without a central free-standing keep. Where the castle includes a particularly strong tower (donjon), such as at Krak or Margat, it projects from the inner enceinte. Development Surrounding fortresses or towns with a series of defensive walls where the outer walls are lower than the inner walls is something that has been found in fortifications going back thousands of years to cultures like the Assyrians, Persians, Ancient Egyptians and Babylonians. The ancient city of Lachish, a place in Israel, was ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curtain Wall (fortification)
A curtain wall is a defensive wall between two fortified towers or bastions of a castle, fortress, or town. Ancient fortifications Evidence for curtain walls or a series of walls surrounding a town or fortress can be found in the historical sources from Assyria and Egypt. Some notable examples are ancient Tel Lachish in Israel and Buhen in Egypt. Curtain walls were built across Europe during the Roman Empire; the early 5th century Theodosian Walls of Constantinople influenced the builders of medieval castles many centuries later. Curtain wall castles In medieval castles, the area surrounded by a curtain wall, with or without towers, is known as the bailey. The outermost walls with their integrated bastions and wall towers together make up the enceinte or main defensive line enclosing the site. In medieval designs of castle and town, the curtain walls were often built to a considerable height and were fronted by a ditch or moat to make assault difficult. Walls were toppe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Powys
Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. Geography Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire, and part of Denbighshire (historic), historic Denbighshire. With an area of about , it is now the largest administrative area in Wales by land and area (Dyfed was until 1996 before several Preserved counties of Wales, former counties created by the Local Government Act 1972 were abolished). It is bounded to the north by Gwynedd, Denbighshire and Wrexham County Borough; to the west by Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire; to the east by Shropshire and Herefordshire; and to the south by Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Caerphilly County Bor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montgomery Castle
Montgomery Castle ( cy, Castell Trefaldwyn) is a stone-built castle looking over the town of Montgomery in Powys, Mid Wales. It is one of many Norman castles on the border between Wales and England. Its strategic importance in the Welsh Marches meant it was destroyed and rebuilt a number of times until the early 14th century, when the area was largely pacified. During the First English Civil War, it was the site of the largest battle in Wales on 17 September 1644; the walls were slighted after the Second English Civil War in 1649 to prevent the castle being used again. Motte and bailey castle The original motte and bailey is now known as Hen Domen and was built at the order of Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury, sometime between 1071 and 1074. After the rebellion of his son Robert of Belleme in 1102, the castle was given to Baldwin de Boulers, the derivation of its Welsh name, "Trefaldwyn" or "Baldwin's town". The de Boulers (later known as Bowdler) family held the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ranulf De Blondeville, 6th Earl Of Chester
Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester and 1st Earl of Lincoln (1170–26 October 1232), known in some references as the 4th Earl of Chester (in the second lineage of the title after the original family line was broken after the 2nd Earl), was one of the "old school" of Anglo-Norman barons whose loyalty to the Angevin dynasty was consistent but contingent on the receipt of lucrative favours. He has been described as "almost the last relic of the great feudal aristocracy of the Conquest". Early life Ranulf, born in 1170, in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales was the eldest son of Hugh de Kevelioc and Bertrade de Montfort of Evreux. He was said to have been small in physical stature. He succeeded to the earldom of Chester (like his father before him) as a minor (aged eleven) and was knighted in 1188 or 1189, which gave him control of his estates in England and Normandy. Although he used, not inconsistently, the style ''Duke of Brittany'' on account of his marriage, he never had t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county town is the cathedral city of Chester, while its largest town by population is Warrington. Other towns in the county include Alsager, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Frodsham, Knutsford, Macclesfield, Middlewich, Nantwich, Neston, Northwich, Poynton, Runcorn, Sandbach, Widnes, Wilmslow, and Winsford. Cheshire is split into the administrative districts of Cheshire West and Chester, Cheshire East, Halton, and Warrington. The county covers and has a population of around 1.1 million as of 2021. It is mostly rural, with a number of towns and villages supporting the agricultural and chemical industries; it is primarily known for producing chemicals, Cheshire cheese, salt, and silk. It has also had an impact on popular culture, producin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beeston Castle
Beeston Castle is a former Royal castle in Beeston, Cheshire, England (), perched on a rocky sandstone crag above the Cheshire Plain. It was built in the 1220s by Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester (1170–1232), on his return from the Crusades. In 1237, Henry III took over the ownership of Beeston, and it was kept in good repair until the 16th century, when it was considered to be of no further military use, although it was pressed into service again in 1643, during the English Civil War. The castle was slighted (partly demolished) in 1646, in accordance with Cromwell's destruction order, to prevent its further use as a bastion. During the 18th century, parts of the site were used as a quarry. The castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument owned and managed by English Heritage. The walls of the outer bailey and the gatehouse and curtain walls of the inner bailey are recorded separately in the National Heritage List for England as designated Grade I listed buildings. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laurence Keen
Laurence John Keen (born 1943), is a British archaeologist, historian, author and art expert. He served as the County Archaeologist for Dorset from 1975 to 1999 and was President of the British Archaeological Association from 1984 to 2004. In 2000 he was awarded the Order of the British Empire for 'services to archaeology'. Early life Born in London in 1943, he is the elder son of the late John William Frederick Keen, an engineer, and Dorothy Ethel Keen, ''née'' French. He was educated at Kilburn Grammar School, St John's College York (CertEd, Music), the Institute of Archaeology (PGDip, European Archaeology, Gordon Childe Memorial Prize), and University College London (MPhil, Archaeology). Career He was the Director of the Southampton Archaeological Research Committee before being awarded the post of County Archaeologist for Dorset in 1975. Since then he has served on numerous national and international archaeological committees including the St George's Chapel Fabric Advisor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arrowslit
An arrowslit (often also referred to as an arrow loop, loophole or loop hole, and sometimes a balistraria) is a narrow vertical aperture in a fortification through which an archer can launch arrows or a crossbowman can launch bolts. The interior walls behind an arrow loop are often cut away at an oblique angle so that the archer has a wide field of view and field of fire. Arrow slits come in a variety of forms. A common one is the cross, accommodating the use of both the longbow and the crossbow. The narrow vertical aperture permits the archer large degrees of freedom to vary the elevation and direction of their bowshot, but makes it difficult for attackers to harm the archer since there is only a small target at which to aim. Balistraria, plural balistrariae, from balister, crossbowman can often be found in the curtain walls of medieval battlements beneath the crenellations. History The invention of the arrowslit is attributed to Archimedes during the siege of Syracuse in 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gatehouse
A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the most heavily armed section of a fortification, to compensate for being structurally the weakest and the most probable attack point by an enemy. There are numerous surviving examples in France, Austria, Germany, England and Japan. History Gatehouses made their first appearance in the early antiquity when it became necessary to protect the main entrance to a castle or town. Over time, they evolved into very complicated structures with many lines of defence. Strongly fortified gatehouses would normally include a drawbridge, one or more portcullises, machicolations, arrow loops and possibly even murder-holes where stones would be dropped on attackers. In some castles, the gatehouse was so strongly fortified it took on the function of a keep, som ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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