Photographs of Harlech Castle

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The longest siege in British history (1461-1468) took place here during the War of the Roses. Edward I’s tried and tested ‘walls within walls’ model was built in super-fast time between 1283 and 1295 by an army of nearly a thousand skilled craftsmen and labourers. The Castle has two rings of walls and towers, with an immensely strong east gatehouse. It was impregnable from almost every angle. The entrance was protected by a succession of no less than seven obstacles, including three portcullises and on either side of the passage were guardrooms.