Conwy Day Off 4/29/26

 

Good morning. Today, I made a command decision.  I really wanted to spend some time in this historic castle town, and I knew I wouldn’t get back from hiking until 4:30ish, so I took the day off. I think I have only ever done this like never. I have scheduled days off, but to not walk part of the hike and play tourist?  Plus, I have 18+ miles tomorrow, so I couldn’t see Conwy and then walk,

I read up on the history of Conwy, and this is what I found. Llywelyn ap Iorwerth or Llywelyn the Great (1173-1240) founded an abbey at Conwy, and he was later buried there. However, the town of Conwy was founded by the English King Edward the I. After subduing Wales, Edward decided to build a chain of castles in Wales to hold down the Welsh. In 1283, he visited Conwy and decided to build a castle and a new town there. In a record-breaking time, it took only 4 years (1283 to 1287) to build Conwy Castle. It took 15,000 men to build it, and the 8 towers that protected it. Think about that: no modern tools, no cranes or dump trucks, just the backs of men and animals

Looking out one of the gunnery ports on a lower level.

The Guard is constructed from Welsh oak beams and carved with details representing the wooden vaulting, ribbing, and flourishes that might have once adorned the rooms of the castle.

For many years, the castle was believed to be impenetrable. It didn't take war machines, battering rams, or a long, drawn-out siege to capture Castell Conwy - just guile and planning. On April 1st, 1401, the castle's garrison attended the Good Friday service at St. Mary's Church. Supporters of Owain Glyndwr, disguised as carpenters, talked their way into the castle and killed the two guards left on watch. This coup was a mighty boost for Glyndwr's war against English rule, causing a wave of rebellion across Wales. For fifteen weeks, the castle held out until a surrender was negotiated. But it came at a cost. Nine of the freedom fighters were handed over to the English and executed.

At the top, Llywelyn's sword and coronet rest on a mound of armor and weaponry. The work embodies the burning spirit of the Welsh people as the sculpture rises from the dungeon's darkness. 

This is actually the bottom of Llywelyn’s Coronte, down by the dungeons.

 On one hand, if you were an invited guest of the King, enjoying a feast with good company and fine food in front of the warming fireplace would have been a delight. On the other hand, if you were summoned here when the constable of the castle was doling out justice, it wasn't such a pleasure. You might find yourself on a short trip behind the fireplace, to the Prison Tower, followed by a 12-foot drop into the dark, dank dungeon at its base. You didn’t always know which one of the choices you had been invited to.

A view of the upper levels.

A view from the King's Tower.  It would have looked a lot different when George the 1st was in power.

The middle bridge was the long entrance to the castle, followed by a bridge over the moat.

Spring is certainly in evidence here.

Cistercian monks founded the Church of Saint Mary and All Saints, as Aberconwy Abbey, in 1172. It became central to Welsh learning and national identity because of its connections with the Princes of Gwynedd. Henry the III cemented his victory over the Welsh by evicting the monks in 1283. He relocated the Abbey to Maenan and used the former Abbey to house the workers building the castle within.  In 1284, the former Abbey became the Parish Church of Conwy and is a Christian church. The church is more than 100 years older than the castle.

The stunning stained glass window behind the pulpit.

In the center of Lancaster Square is a statue of Llewelyn ap Iowerth (or Llewelyn the Great), who stands proudly above a fountain painted in his heritage colors. 

From Plas Mawr website, "Never was a building better named. Plas Mawr, or the Great Hall, is quite simply the finest surviving Elizabethan town house anywhere in Britain. This was a golden age when fabulously wealthy merchants invested in mansions, rich fittings, and lavish entertaining. Robert Wynn, third son of a local landowner, wanted a piece of the action. He entered the service of Tudor diplomats and traveled to the most splendid royal courts of Europe. His fortune made, he bought a mansion house in Conwy for £200 and, between 1576 and 1585, turned it into a celebration of his life, times, and wealth.”  Above is one of the gardens.

His attire.

He was married to Dorothy Griffith, and this was one of her outfits.

Dorothy’s bedroom.

The hearth in the great room and yes it was painted those colors. I asked one of the guides.  I loved the plaster ceilings in most of the rooms.

This would not go over in our house. It says, "Keeping cats in bedrooms was particularly unhealthy, for their breath 'consumed the radical humours... and therefore they which keep their Cats with them in their beds have the Air corrupted, and fall into several Heckticks and Consumptions'. Topsell, 'History of Four-Footed Beasts’ 1607”

Time to eat and I found the perfect named place - “Love to Eat”.  That would be me.

I ordered the Welsh Rarebit.   It seemed like the thing to do in Wales.  On the menu it said, Spiced cheese sauce, made with caramelized onion & mustard.”   I added ham to my lunch.  It was quite good.

 

Lastly, I visited the Smallest House in Great Britain. The door was only 5 feet tall.  I was told that among its inhabitants over the years, a 6’3 man lived there for ten years

The downstairs

The upstairs. 

I am going to publish this early today since it is already so long. I will publish an addendum or tell you about dinner in tomorrow's blog.  I am going to a very special restaurant tonight.  

Until then.