Conwy Castle was built in only 7 years. After his conquest of Wales in 1283, Edward I set out to hold down the country with a series of magnificent castles of which Conwy, guarding the crossing of the river Conway, was one of the largest. Not only was there a castle, but also a fortified town: the town walls still survive in their entirety, making this one of the finest surviving fortified medieval towns in the world.
At the heart of mediaeval Conwy stands Plas Mawr, the "Great Hall", built between 1576 and 1585 for Welsh merchant Robert Wynn. This richly decorated building is an architectural gem, the finest surviving town house of the Elizabethan era in Britain.
