Carnarvon

Caernarfon stands beside the Menai Strait, where a great castle and walled town proclaim Edward I's conquest of Gwynedd. Work on the stone castle began in 1283, and its angular towers and bands of coloured masonry gave the royal stronghold an imposing appearance. Edward's son, the future Edward II, was born here in 1284. The town and its defences faced Welsh resistance after the conquest. During Owain Glyndŵr's rising, Caernarfon Castle withstood sieges in 1403 and 1404. Its garrison held the fortress for the English Crown, while the conflict spread through much of Wales. The castle remained a powerful symbol of the royal authority it had been built to secure.