John R. Kenyon – författare

This book provides the visitor to the castles of Wales with a history and description of the main castles open to the public. There is an easy-to-understand outline of how castles developed, as well as features that give more detail of the different parts of a castle, such as keeps and gatehouses.

This book acts as a stimulus to further debate and discussion about the archaeology and architecture of the medieval diocese of Llandaff. It presents work at Cardiff and Skenfrith castles and focuses on buildings at Caldicot and Raglan.

This book acts as a stimulus to further debate and discussion about the archaeology and architecture of the medieval diocese of Llandaff. It presents work at Cardiff and Skenfrith castles and focuses on buildings at Caldicot and Raglan.

The Impact of the Edwardian Castles in Wales publishes the proceedings of a conference held in 2007, a year that marked the seventh centenary of the death of King Edward I, which set out to review recent scholarship on castles that he built in north Wales after two wars, in 1277 and 1282-83 and a Welsh uprising in 1294-95, and to rethink the effect that their building had upon Wales in the past, present and future. Building upon the seminal work of Arnold Taylor, whose study of the buildings and documentary evidence has been pivotal to Edwardian castle studies for more than fifty years, the volume includes papers which call into question the role of Master James of St George as the architect of the kings new castles; the role of Richard the Engineer, the nature of royal accommodation in the thirteenth century and a detailed look at how households worked, especially in the kitchen and accounting departments. New approaches to castle studies are encouraging a more holistic understanding of the Edwardian castles and their context and to this end papers consider their impact on Welsh society and its princes in the thirteenth century, notably Llywelyn ab Iorwerth ( Fawr , the Great) and his grandson, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, prince of Wales. Their symbolism and meaning through the words of Welsh poets and the mythology behind Caernarfon Castle are also examined, so too is the role of Welshmen in Edward Is armies. The wider context is considered with papers on the Edwardian towns in Wales, the baronial castles in north Wales and Edward I in Scotland and Gascony. The castles still have powerful resonance and the Minister for Heritage in the Welsh Assembly Government considers their role and presentation in Wales today and in the future. Robert Liddiard concludes that the volume 'not only takes our knowledge of the Edwardian castles forward, but also informs the study of castles in the British Isles'.

The purpose of the book is to give visitors to the medieval castles of Wales a concise but informative description of the main publicly accessible sites in a convenient format. An introductory chapter outlines the development of castle architecture in Britain, drawing on Welsh examples, with a number of ‘box features’ that elaborate more fully on particular aspects, such as gatehouses, or key personalities such as Llywelyn Fawr. Five chapters form a regionally based gazetteer of the castles described. Each entry is prefaced with a key to arrangements at each castle, such as whether there is an entry charge. The know history of any given site is then summarized, and this is then followed by the core of each entry, namely the description of the visible remains, to enable visitors to navigate their way around. Some of the descriptions of the larger sites are accompanied by plans. A final chapter provides a brief overview of castle-like buildings dating from the seventeenth century onwards, and this is followed by a guide to further reading.

This book acts as a stimulus to further debate and discussion about the archaeology and architecture of the medieval diocese of Llandaff. It presents work at Cardiff and Skenfrith castles and focuses on buildings at Caldicot and Raglan.

This book acts as a stimulus to further debate and discussion about the archaeology and architecture of the medieval diocese of Llandaff. It presents work at Cardiff and Skenfrith castles and focuses on buildings at Caldicot and Raglan.

This volume presents a collection of essays providing a picture of the current knowledge of castles in Wales and the Marches. The essays have been brought together to honour a leading scholar in the field of castle studies. The collection is set out in chronological order starting with early earthwork castles and extending through to the 17th-century Civil War. The majority of the papers look at an architectural, archaelogical or histroical aspect of a particular castle. There are in addition three synoptic papers. The interest of the volume goes beyond the medieval period, and six of the essays have particular relevance for post-medievalists.