Conwy castle, with its eight towers, is one of the most impressive castles in Wales. It overlooks the Conwy estuary and one of the finest examples of a medieval walled town in Europe. The castle, and the adjacent town walls, was built for Edward I between 1283 and 1287. It was the most expensive of a chain of castles that Edward built to subjugate the Welsh.

The layout of the castle was dictated by the shape of the rock on which it was built. The interior was divided into two separate wards, the outer ward containing buildings such as the Great Hall and the inner ward housing the Royal apartments.

The castle had started to fall into disrepair within a generation of its completion. Repairs and modifications were made by Edward, the Black Prince, in 1346, but this was the last major work carried out at the castle. The castle saw some activity during the Civil War (1642-51), but when it was slighted at the end of the war the castle was stripped of saleable materials leaving an empty shell.