The Castle Chronicles: An Introduction
- Apr 19, 2022
- 6 min read
Hello! Welcome to my first ever blog post!
Let me introduce myself, my name is Holly. I’m a PhD student at the University of Exeter. My specialism is castles in modern British history, and my thesis explores the nineteenth-century history of King Edward I’s Welsh castles.
An Introduction to ‘The Castle Chronicles’
Castles can be found in all corners of the British Isles. Whether they are shielding cities, guarding river valleys, defending the coastlines, or perched on hill tops, castles are synonymous with British landscape, identity, and history. Arguably more than any other collective of historical buildings, the castles of the British Isles tangibly narrate the complex, contentious, and completely captivating history of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.
Castles, in many ways, have a collective nature. They can be grouped together chronologically through their association with historical figures and events, for example the Henrician Castles built by Henry VIII along the south coast of England. Castles situated close geographically also form a collective, as they often share historical associations or are used together to attract visitors to a region, such as castles across the North Welsh coast. Castles can also be categorised culturally, socially, and economically, for example through shared ownership, including those held by the crown or charity organisations.
A castle, however, is ultimately a unique building with its own tangible and intangible presence. Architecturally, no two castles are identical (in spite of what my family and friends, who get persuaded to join me on lots of castle visits, may think!). The landscape on which castles were built to defend differ drastically. Beyond their dominating physicality, castles are crucial to the histories and identities of the surrounding communities. Their walls have protected people and infrastructure, served as spaces of local and national celebration and commemoration, alongside being of critical importance to economies and heritage.
My research demonstrates that castles are not just medieval buildings, their histories continue as long as they remain standing (and even when they are just remnants of their previous selves). Many castles have centuries of history which are seldom considered in comparison to their military histories and are unappreciated in their value as a method of understanding the past and its people.
I’ll give you an example…
Last year, partly for research and partly for fun, I visited a few of Edward I’s ‘iron ring’ of castles in North Wales, among them was Rhuddlan Castle in Denbighshire. Arguably a lesser known castle of Edward I, when compared with the likes of Caernarfon and Conwy, Rhuddlan Castle began to be constructed during the Edward’s first attack on Wales in 1277. Guarding the coastline and the River Clwyd, Rhuddlan became a residence of the King and a centre of parliamentary administration for his new territories.
As expected, I found the story told by the information boards situated about the castle was principally its military history of English conquest, Welsh resistance, and its ultimate destruction following Parliamentarian victory in the Civil War. I found one interior wall of the castle featured a timeline, detailing the castle’s chronology, however at the culmination of its military use in 1648 it abruptly stops. Does a castle cease to be a castle once its use as a military object has ended? I for one don’t think so. Why then does the timeline being displayed at Rhuddlan end at 1648? As I walked around, I considered the research I have undertaken up to now on Edward’s Castles in the nineteenth century. I reflected on the events of the unaccounted for 374 years. Did you know Rhuddlan Castle was instrumental in attracting tourists to the region, from Romantic era artists and poets to Victorian day trippers? How about that the Eisteddfod, a Welsh literature and music festival, took place within the castle walls in 1850 (a decade before the festivals annualization)?
Ultimately, I concluded that to not tell the full ‘biography’ of a historical building to visitors is a missed opportunity. I don’t doubt that the medieval significance of castles, especially Edward I’s Welsh castles, will quite rightly be its primary association, however by revealing the post-military history of these buildings it will become apparent that they symbolise more than past conflict.
And that’s where this blog comes in…
I’ll be exploring the seldom told history of this collective of distinct buildings. Beginning with Welsh castles (it is my specialism after all!), most blog posts will be a castle case study. They will uncover the roles each castle has played since the Industrial Revolution and explore how its history has been understood and retold through scholarly, literary, and visual means. It is my objective that this blog will broaden understanding of the significance of castles in the British Isles and generate multi-disciplinary lines of inquiry regarding historical buildings in a post-medieval world.
About my project: ‘Castles of Contention’
Wales is known as ‘the land of castles,’ according to CADW there are 427 spread across the country, yet those constructed and occupied by Welsh rulers are the exception not the rule.[1] King Edward I’s castles of North Wales, including the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Caernarfon, Conwy, Beaumaris and Harlech, represent the ultimate phase of an English conquest of Wales that was begun two centuries earlier by William the Conqueror. The scale and ferocity of castle construction in late thirteenth century Wales denotes a watershed moment in Anglo-Welsh history and demonstrates the unparalleled importance of these buildings – and not just to medievalists!
The English-built castles of conquest, that dominate the Welsh landscape, have maintained a relevance for society, politics, and culture in post-medieval Britain. Even in the past five years alone the continued significance of the medieval conquest of Wales and its consequences is evident to see...
A proposed plan for an ‘Iron Ring’ sculpture to be built at Flint Castle was paused and scraped in 2017, as a result of a 9000-signature strong petition that claimed the artwork ‘celebrates the “subjection and oppression” of the Welsh people.’[2]
The title ‘Prince of Wales,’ which Edward I bestowed upon his son, born in Caernarfon Castle following the conquest, has been in continued use by subsequent heirs to the crown and is a topic of debate.
In 2020, actor Michael Sheen spoke out about why he felt he had to return his OBE after conducting research into Welsh medieval history for a lecture. Speaking to columnist Owen Jones, Sheen said of the conquest of Wales and the ‘Prince of Wales’ title, that ‘these things have power, the idea of the Prince of Wales and that being an Englishman, and the history of that’ continue to be ‘resonant’ in modern Wales. He added that when the ‘Prince of Wales would become a new person, and a new Englishman, it would be, I think, a really meaningful and powerful gesture, let’s say, for that title to no longer be held in the same way as it has before.’ It would ‘put wrongs of the past right’ and put an end to ‘the tradition that was started as a humiliation to our country.’[5]
In April 2022, journalist for Nation Cymru and lecturer at Bangor University, Ifan Morgan Jones speculated over the future use of Caernarfon Castle for investitures. A royal ceremony, which is, according to Jones, ‘past its sell-by date,’ where the heir to the throne is proclaimed ‘Prince of Wales,’ which would follow on from those held in 1911 and 1969.[6]
The continued importance of the medieval conquest enshrouding these contentious fortresses makes the exploration of their post-medieval chronology critical to understanding the complete history of Wales and England. In my thesis, I am addressing the complex cultural implications of fortress architecture geographically positioned in one nation but constructed by another by exploring Edward’s castles between 1775 and 1910, an age of mass change. My research examines the roles the fortresses played as sights of tourism, celebration, and romance, and reveals how people’s receptions of the physical ruins, and their histories, highlight the continued prevalence of the medieval conquest in modern Anglo-Welsh relationships.
Footnotes:
[1] CADW. ‘Castles of Wales.’ Places to Visit. CADW. < https://cadw.gov.wales/visit/places-to-visit/castles-wales> [2] Matthew Stevens. ‘To see the Iron Ring simply as a symbol of Welsh oppression is short-sighted and underscores a troublesome lack of self-confidence.’ Wales Online. 2nd Aug 2017. <https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/news-opinion/see-iron-ring-simply-symbol-13406659> (accessed 12/03/2021) [3] Office of the Secretary of State for Wales, Department for Transport, Highways England, and the Rt Hon Alun Cairns MP. Severn Crossing officially renamed The Prince of Wales Bridge’ News story, Business and industry. GOV.UK. (2nd July 2018). <https://www.gov.uk/government/news/severn-crossing-officially-renamed-the-prince-of-wales-bridge> (accessed 12/03/2021) [4] ITV News. ‘Charles celebrating Prince of Wales investiture ‘quietly.’ Wales. South Wales. Prince Charles. ITV News. 3rd July 2019. <https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2019-07-03/charles-celebrating-quietly-on-50th-anniversary-of-investiture-as-prince-of-wales> [5] Owen Jones. Michael Sheen: Why he gave back his OBE, Welsh Independence, Brexit and the year of COVID. (Dec 2020). Post: 40.00. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hxs64FRSkDY> (accessed 12/03/2021) [6] Ifan Morgan Jones. ‘Plans to slim down the Prince of Wales role show that another divisive investiture is far from inevitable.’ Opinion. Nation. Cymru. 4th April 2022. <https://nation.cymru/opinion/plans-to-slim-down-the-prince-of-wales-role-show-that-another-divisive-investiture-is-far-from-inevitable/>
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