The English king Edward I is perhaps best known by the motto on his tomb; ‘Hammer of the Scots’. However, he also mounted a fierce military campaign against the people of Wales, in an attempt to prove his supremacy over the Welsh people. Welsh resistance to his rule was fierce and despite his efforts, the battles continued long after the Edward’s death.
Edward I and Llywelyn ap Gryffudd
King Edward’s father Henry III had suffered attacks from the Welsh during his reign but had managed to create a tolerable peace whilst he was king, using a combination of castle building and appeasement. However, for King Edward, problems in his Welsh territories began almost as soon as he took the throne.
As the newly-crowned king of England in 1272, Edward expected a show of loyalty from all of his important subjects, including the Welsh leader Llywelyn ap Gryffudd. When Llywelyn refused to pay homage, the pair became enemies and fought battles against each other until Llywelyn’s death.
The Ring of Iron – Castles built by Edward I in Wales
The problem of ruling Wales was one which would plague Edward throughout his reign. As king, he believed that he ruled Wales as part of his kingdom. However, the territory was very different to the towns and countryside which made up Edward’s English lands. Wales was a mountainous region, heavily wooded and with few decent roads. It was easy for Welsh rebels to mount an attack on English armies and then disappear into the mountains. The English king felt that he needed to prove to his Welsh subjects that he was their leader and to do this, he needed to conquer the territory.
King Edward began a program of large-scale castle building, in an attempt to create English bases in Wales. North Wales was deemed to be the most difficult area to rule and it was here that most of the castles were built. These were strategic fortresses, designed to appear formidable and to be easily defended and supplied.
The design of the new castles differed from the usual keep structure of medieval castles. Most of the new castles were of concentric design and were designed to be lived in as well as being defense structures. The new buildings consisted of rings of walls and towers with the domestic accommodation in the center.
Edward I’s Chain of Welsh Castles
The chain of castles created by Edward, via his architect James of St George, came to be known as the iron ring. The castles of Harlech, Conwy, Caernarfon, Cricieth, Beaumaris and Hawarden were all within a days ride of each other, and all were easily accessible from the sea or wide waterways. Supplying castles in Wales had been a problem before as Welsh rebels knew the land so well and would cut off access roads, leaving the castles vulnerable. Having a sea supply line solved this problem and supplies could continue to arrive, even if land routes were cut off.
But despite this expensive building programme, estimated to have cost as much as ten times Edward's annual income, the king's Welsh castles were regularly attacked. The English king took a hands-on approach and attended many of the battles in person, leading his troops against the Welsh rebels. In one of the rebellions, in 1294, Edward marched into Wales at the head of his armies but became trapped at Conwy Castle by rising flood waters. He was forced to stay a prisoner in his own castle until the waters receded and he was able to continue.
Edward’s Welsh enemy Llewelyn died in 1282, but the cause did not die with him. Edward continued fighting the Welsh throughout his reign and never achieved the peace he so desired. He died in 1307 and was buried beside his wife Eleanor of Castile at Westminster Abbey, London.
Source
Morris, John E, The Welsh Wars of Edward I [Sutton Publishing, 1998]
 |
