Royal Caernarfon Castle

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Castles, Photography, The UK

While Staying at The Bath Tower we did of course visit Caernarfon Castle which is part of the same fortification.  Started in 1283 and finished although not completed in 1330 it is considered one of the finest remaining buildings of the Middle Ages.

Caernarfon Castle from The Bath Tower

Commissioned by Edward I to secure the recently captured lands or northern Wales it is one of a series of castle built to defend the area, it also shows the ways of a shrewd and clever king.  Caernarfon was the grandest of these series of castles and its multi coloured walls, like those of Constantinople and grand Eagle Tower with stone eagles perched on its battlements made both a bold claim with comforting security.  The locals in northern Wales held their last conquerors, the Romans in great respect, now their new conqueror used a famous Roman city and the Roman’s emblem to adorn his administration castle for the area.

The Eagle Tower from King's Gate

It is said that while visiting the Castle on 25th April 1284 Queen Eleanor gave birth to Edward I’s son within the far from complete castle walls.  Later in 1301, again in a shrewd move to quell rumblings, Edward I would declare his son Edward, who had been born in Wales within the great Caernarfon Castle, Edward or Caernarfon Wales’ new Prince, there was still a Prince of Wales and what is more as Edward I’s oldest surviving son that Prince would one day be King of England.  In the castle there is a stained glass window that marks this link between the castle and the title Prince of Wales.

Caernarfon Castle Stained Glass

The current Prince of Wales is the 21st to hold the title since Edward of Caernarfon, his investiture as Prince of Wales took place at Caernarfon Castle on 1st July 1969, it took a lot of planning and preparation and the large slate dias that was built for the occasion is still in place in the castle.

The Black Tower with the slate plinth for the investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales

Slate Dias at Caernarfon Castle

Thanks to Hubby for the picture directly above, I was having a rest so didn’t get this view of the dias from above Queen’s Gate.

In 1911 Edward VIII is the only other Prince of Wales to have been invested at Caernarfon Castle.

Caernarfon Castle from The Eagle Tower with Snowdonia in the distance

Inside the Castle walls is a large area and on the day of Prince Charles investiture it was filled with invited guests.  Some sat on staging with cushions made out of Welsh tweed which they were then allowed to keep as mementoes.  Others sat on special designed chairs also with specially commissioned Welsh tweed cushion.  In The Bath Tower were we were staying were two of these chairs.  Now I must admit at this point that when I originally saw them I thought they were out-of-place and wasn’t too keen on them, still not really my thing, but now I don’t think they are out-of-place, especially as they sit beneath the window that has a view of the castle.

Investiture Chair

Which brings me full circle from where I started only this time the picture is of The Bath Tower (shrouded in green and scaffolding) from Caernarfon Castle.

The Bath Tower from Caernarfon Castle

p.s.

As we left The Bath Tower to go to the Castle we met a neighbour of the Tower.  ‘Did you see the Queen?’  she asked.  Apparently she had been at the castle an hour or so before us.  However as Hubby had stood next to her admiring a horse at Royal Ascot in the 90′s and I had spoken to her and shook her hand in the 70′s neither of us felt we had missed out on that particular aspect of our royal trip to Caernarfon Castle.

The Bath Tower

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Castles, Landmark Trust, Photography, The UK

While away Hubby and I stayed in another Landmark Trust property, this time The Bath House part of Caernarfon Castle and Walls.

The walls around Caernarfon like the castle itself were built in the late 13^th century.  In was part of a Bath House although not believed to house the baths themselves, although since this period it has been called the Bath Tower.  In 1856 the North Wales Theological (later the St Mary’s) Training College, obtained the Bath House through the efforts of the Bishops of Bangor and St Asaph at a Crown rent of 4d a year.  The lower floors were used as a pantry and for the cleaning of shoes and knives and by 1871 the first floor was the chapel with stained glass being placed in what is now the kitchen and bathroom.  It became a private house in 1894 and was lived in until 1907 and ran into disrepair before Landmark Trust purchased it in 1967.  While several other of the bastion towers on Caernarfon town walls have been lived in, in the past, it is now only the Bath Tower that is habitable.

To be absolutely honest, I was a bit disappointed by this property, not because of the property itself or it’s situation which has many pluses, but because it was clad in scaffolding and netting, an entrance wasn’t available to us and men appeared outside our bedroom window first thing in the morning; if this had been my first Landmark Trust Property visit I wouldn’t have been recommending them as I have been.

Hubby was less perturbed by the pointing work than I was so you can read a more enthusiastic report about our stay there over at Hubby’s blog, for me I am just going to stick to the history and post pictures of the stained glass from when the first floor was a chapel (ps I slightly disagree with Hubby and Landmark Trust’s notion of floor counting I think it’s starts with a basement – I will explain my reasoning to anyone who is interested!)

The Bath Tower Kitchen Window

The Bath Tower Bathroom Window