Conwy Castle

Built by Edward I between 1283 and 1287 during his conquest of Wales, as part of a wider scheme that walled the town at the same time; the combined defences came to around £15,000, an enormous sum then. It held out against Madog ap Llywelyn’s siege in the winter of 1294–95, sheltered Richard II in 1399, and was held for several months by men loyal to Owain Glyndŵr in 1401. Royalist forces kept it until 1646, after which Parliament partly slighted it, and in 1665 the remaining iron and lead were stripped and sold, finishing the job.