Edward I built the castle during his invasion of Wales, between 1282 and 1289, at a cost of £8,190, with the Savoy military engineer James of St George directing the work. It stands on a rock spur almost 200 feet (61 m) high, with a concentric plan of inner and outer wards.
The walls are local grey-green sandstone, with softer yellow sandstone for decorative work. The gatehouse has two large D-shaped towers and three portcullises, though scholars disagree about who lived in it. A water gate reaches a stairway of 127 steps, which let the castle be resupplied by sea during sieges.
It withstood a siege in 1294 and fell to Owain Glyndŵr at the end of 1404. It was retaken in 1409 and again taken after a month-long siege in 1468. Royalists surrendered it in 1647, and Parliament ordered it slighted. It became a UNESCO site in 1986 and is managed by Cadw.
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