Castles / GB / Wales
Beaumaris Castle
Castell Biwmares
Which definitions does it satisfy?
This dataset does not record whether something “is a castle”. It records a verdict against each named definition, with the reasoning that produced it.
| Definition | Verdict | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Fortified residence | yes | Cadw report AN001 describes a concentric castle of Edward I with four rings of defences, gatehouses north and south built to be held, corner and buttressing towers giving flanking fire, and a water-filled moat with a dock. Domestic buildings stood within the inner ward (since removed), evidencing the residence of the royal builder; a royal lord is still a lord under this band. |
| Enclosure fortification | unassessed | No source consulted so far speaks to this definition. Unassessed is not the same as no. |
| State fortification | unassessed | No source consulted so far speaks to this definition. Unassessed is not the same as no. |
| Palatial seat | unassessed | No source consulted so far speaks to this definition. Unassessed is not the same as no. |
| Revival and folly | unassessed | No source consulted so far speaks to this definition. Unassessed is not the same as no. |
| Popularly a castle | yes | The report records the monument's designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and its "national and international importance" — a major, universally recognised monument a general audience would unhesitatingly call a castle. This is usage evidence (WHS citation), not merely the register's naming. |
Facts
| Tradition | european medieval |
|---|---|
| Location | Beaumaris, Isle of Anglesey, Wales, GB |
| Built | Medieval |
| Confidence | medium |
| First recorded | 2026-07-21 |
| Last updated | 2026-07-22 |
In the registers
Where this structure appears in official inventories. This is what turns an individual record into evidence about a count.
- Cof Cymru — National Historic Assets of Wales —
AN001· Scheduled Monument — SiteType: Castle · entry
Location
Approximate. © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Notes
Assessed 2026-07-22 against Cadw scheduled-monument full report AN001 (sig-20260722-report-an001). fortified_residence and popular_castle set to assessed yes. state_fortification was considered — the report frames Beaumaris as a royal stronghold completing a "chain of fortifications" to control conquered Gwynedd — but that band is aimed at post-1500 state/artillery works, and the report also affirms domestic residence in the inner ward; per the band's explicit inclusion of royal residences, it is treated as a fortified royal residence, and state_fortification is OMITTED rather than set. palatial, revival and enclosure bands OMITTED. Confidence medium: a single official report (however detailed) is not high on one source.
Sources
- Cof Cymru - National Historic Assets of Wales — Cadw, 2026-07-21
Register entry and full scheduled-monument report; the assessment source.
Signals
Raw per-source observations behind this record (2):
sig-20260721-cadw-an001,
sig-20260722-report-an001
Record file · dataset licensed CC BY 4.0 — see provenance.