Harlech Castle
N 52° 51.611 W 004° 06.560
30U E 425313 N 5857293
Harlech Castle is one of the many castles built by Edward 1st of England in his campaign to control the Welsh people. Four of them have been selected for this UNESCO World Heritage site.
Waymark Code: WM342
Location: United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/26/2005
Views: 32
Harlech castle, which is on the west coast of Wales is on a rocky outcrop, which when it was built, may have been right on the coast. But today it is about a mile inland from the sea.
The castle's construction began in 1283, and over 900 men were working on it – stone masons, smiths, quarry workers, labourers and carpenters.
The master craftsman behind the construction was James of St. George d'Esperanche. He was the most important military architect of his age. The construction costs were huge, and the king enquired about them. In reply James of St George wrote:
In case you should wonder where so much money could go in a week, we would have you know that we have needed - 400 masons, both cutters and layers, together with 2000 less skilled workmen, 100 carts, 60 wagons and 30 boats bringing stone and sea coal; 200 quarrymen; 30 smiths; and carpenters for putting in the joists and floor boards and other necessary jobs. All this takes no account of the garrison mentioned above, nor of the purchase of material, of which there will have to be a great quantity... The men's pay has been and still is very much in arrears, and we are having the greatest difficulty in keeping them because they simply have nothing to live on (McNeill, 1992).
There are three other castles in this UNESCO World Heritage series – at Conway, Caernarfon and Beaumaris
Type: Building
Reference number: 374-004
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