Rhuddlan Castle

Our View

This concentric castle built by Edward I now stands uncomfortably next to a modern housing development. Its once-powerful round towers are crumbling, as time has eaten away at their roofless tops. Yet Rhuddlan was a vital part of Edward I’s campaign in Wales and was designed by master castle-builder James of St George. Indeed, it was here that the Statute of Rhuddlan, also known as the Statute of Wales, was issued in March 1284, proclaiming Edward’s dominance over the defeated country. This statute lasted until the Act of Union in 1536. Rhuddlan Castle is diamond-shaped, with towers at each corner, and has two sets of outer walls. It also has its own dock tower. The building of the castle in its present location necessitated a great feat of military engineering. The site was already historically important owing to being on a ford over the River Clwyd. Edward wanted his new castle to have access to the sea, so that boats might supply it with vital provisions, but the Clwyd was a shallow river that meandered lazily towards the sea. Edward cut a new channel – deeper and straighter than the natural one – and 700 years later it still follows this course.The castle was badly damaged by Parliamentarian forces in 1646 and has been in ruins ever since those days. Photo credit: © Crown copyright (2015) Cadw