Conwy Castle.

Looking toward the
King's Tower, over the
Great Hall at Conwy
Castle.

In 1283 the English
Armies of King Edward I
completed the conquest
of Snowdonia. One
year later the king
divided the land into
shires. The preliminary
draft of the Statute
of Wales proposed
the center of one of the
shires be Conwy (later
changed to Caernarfon).
Work began on 14 March
1283, workers at the
height of summer 1285
numbered 1500, and
costs were not far short
of £15,000. Although
the accounts of work
extend over March 1283
to September 1292, the
majority of the structure
was completed in just
four short summers, 1283
to 1287.

As early as 1321 the
roofs at Conwy fell
into disrepair and in
1627 the whole building
was in decline. It was sold
in that year for £100.