Castles / GB / Wales
Castell Conwy
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 | Built by Edward I from 1283 as "a secure residence for the king and a seat for the royal court" (a royal lord is still a lord). Active defence: a 3m-thick, up-to-27m-high curtain wall with eight round towers, a continuous wall walk, a west barbican and an entrance defended by drawbridge and portcullis. Residence: a great hall range, royal apartments and a vaulted royal chapel — "the most intact set of residential buildings left by the medieval English monarchy". |
| 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 cites the castle's designation as a World Heritage Site and its standing as exceptional "not only for the grandeur of its high towers and curtain walls, but also for its excellent state of preservation" — public standing well beyond a mere naming convention. |
Facts
| Tradition | european medieval |
|---|---|
| Location | Conwy, Conwy, 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 —
CN004· Scheduled Monument — SiteType: Castle · entry
Location
Approximate. © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Notes
Assessed against the Cadw full report (CN004). fortified_residence yes — a fortified royal residence and seat of the royal court with a full Edwardian defensive circuit. popular_castle yes — the report's own World Heritage citation and reputation for preservation evidence broad public standing. state_fortification is not assessed: though crown-built, the report frames the work as a royal residence, and that band targets post-medieval state military works. Confidence held at medium per the single-source rule (one official report plus register), however emphatic the report is.
Sources
- Scheduled Monument Full Report — Castell Conwy — Cadw, 2026-07-22
Cadw's full scheduled-monument report (CN004); detailed fabric, royal residential function and World Heritage citation.
Signals
Raw per-source observations behind this record (2):
sig-20260721-cadw-cn004,
sig-20260722-report-cn004
Record file · dataset licensed CC BY 4.0 — see provenance.