Edward I began the stone castle in 1283, and the earliest reference to building is June 24, 1283. Master mason James of St George was probably responsible for the design, though some historians credit Walter of Hereford from the outset. Work halted in 1289, the 1294 Madog rising damaged the site, and it resumed after 1295 and continued until 1330.
The castle is narrow and roughly figure-eight in shape, with an upper ward in the east and a lower ward in the west. Polygonal towers line the curtain wall, unlike the round towers of other Edwardian castles, and colored banded stone distinguishes the walls. The Eagle Tower at the western corner was the grandest, with three turrets once topped by eagle statues.
The article gives 20,000 to 25,000 pounds spent on the castle and town walls from 1284 to 1330. Much of the planned interior was never built. UNESCO inscribed it in 1986, and Cadw manages it.
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