76 HISTORY OF 



DESCRIPTION OF THE CASTLE AND TOWN. 



The beauty and magnificence of Conwy castle is 

 probably unrivalled, and it makes a noble picture 

 from every point of view, backed as it is by varied 

 and the most picturesque scenery. It might just- 

 ly be deemed impregnable, by reason of its natu- 

 ral and artificial strength, during the mode of war- 

 fare prevalent at the time of its erection. It was 

 built by Edward I. in 1284, and Henry de Eire- 

 ton, the same who built the castle of Carnarvon, 

 was the architect employed. Its form is oblong, 

 ami it is erected on a high rock at one corner of 

 the triangle, which encloses the town. One side 

 is bounded by the river, another by a creek which 

 is full of water at every tide, and into which the 

 river Gyffin flows; the other two sides are within 

 the town walls. On the outside, eight massive 

 and enormous towers, forty-feet in diameter, pro- 

 ject ; four on each side; and there was a winding 

 staircase to the summit in a smaller tower con- 

 tained in each, which in the four nearest the ri\er 

 issue out to the height of several feet, and form an 

 exceedingly beautiful addition. The summit of 

 these commands an extensive view of the adjacent 



