Beaumaris, Anglesey - Castle from air Barton Airport postcard real photo

Postcard
• Picture / Image:  Beaumaris Castle from the air - real photo type
• Publisher:  Airviews, Barton Airport, Manchester poss. c.1930s
• Postally used:  no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s): n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes / condition: 

Please ask if you need any other information and I will do the best I can to answer.

Image may be low res for illustrative purposes - if you need a higher definition image then please contact me and I may be able to send one.

------------------------------------------------

Postage & Packing:

UK (incl. IOM, CI & BFPO): 99p

Europe: £1.60

Rest of world (inc. USA etc): £2.75

No additional charges for more than one postcard. You can buy as many postcards from me as you like and you will just pay the fee above once. (If buying postcards with other things such as books, please contact or wait for invoice before paying).

Payment Methods:

UK - PayPal, Cheque (from UK bank) or postal order

Outside UK: PayPal ONLY (unless otherwise stated) please.   NO non-UK currency checks or money orders (sorry).

NOTE: All postcards are sent in brand new stiffened envelopes which I have bought for the task. These are specially made to protect postcards and you may be able to re-use them. In addition there are other costs to sending so the above charge is not just for the stamp!

I will give a full refund if you are not fully satisfied with the postcard.

----------------------------------------------

Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

*************

Beaumaris Castle, located in the town of the same name on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, was built as part of Edward I's campaign to conquer the north of Wales after 1282. Plans were probably first made to construct the castle in 1284, but this was delayed due to lack of funds and work only began in 1295 following the Madog ap Llywelyn uprising. A substantial workforce was employed in the initial years under the direction of James of St. George. Edward's invasion of Scotland soon diverted funding from the project, however, and work stopped, only recommencing after an invasion scare in 1306. When work finally ceased around 1330 a total of £15,000 had been spent, a huge sum for the period, but the castle remained incomplete.

Beaumaris Castle was taken by Welsh forces in 1403 during the Owain Glyndwr rebellion, but recaptured by royal forces in 1405. Following the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642, the castle was held by forces loyal to Charles I, holding out until 1646 when it surrendered to the Parliamentary armies. Despite forming part of a local royalist rebellion in 1648 the castle escaped slighting and was garrisoned by Parliament, but fell into ruin around 1660, eventually forming part of a local stately home and park in the 19th century. In the 21st century the ruined castle is managed by Cadw as a tourist attraction.

Historian Arnold Taylor has described Beaumaris Castle as Britain's ""most perfect example of symmetrical concentric planning"".^[1] The fortification is built of local stone, with a moated outer ward guarded by twelve towers and two gatehouses, overlooked by an inner ward with two large, D-shaped gatehouses and six massive towers. The inner ward was designed to contain ranges of domestic buildings and accommodation able to support two major households. The south gate could be reached by ship, allowing the castle to be directly supplied by sea. UNESCO considers Beaumaris to be one of ""the finest examples of late 13th century and early 14th century military architecture in Europe"", and it is classed as a World Heritage site.^[2]

The kings of England and the Welsh princes had vied for control of North Wales since the 1070s and the conflict had been renewed during the 13th century, leading to Edward I intervening in North Wales for the second time during his reign in 1282.^[3] Edward invaded with a huge army, pushing north from Carmarthen and westwards from Montgomery and Chester.^[4] Edward decided to permanently colonise North Wales and provisions for its governance were set out in the Statute of Rhuddlan, enacted on 3 March 1284. Wales was divided into counties and shires, emulating how England was governed, with three new shires created in the north-west, Caernarfon, Merioneth and Anglesey.^[5] New towns with protective castles were established at Caernarfon and Harlech, the administrative centres of the first two shires, with another castle and walled town built in nearby Conwy, and plans were probably made to establish a similar castle and settlement near the town of Llanfaes on Anglesey.^[5] Llanfaes was the wealthiest borough in Wales and largest in terms of population, an important trading port and on the preferred route from North Wales to Ireland.^[5] The huge cost of the building the other castles, however, meant that the Llanfaes project had to be postponed.^[5]

In 1294 Madog ap Llywelyn rebelled against English rule.^[6] The revolt was bloody and amongst the casualties was Roger de Pulesdon, the sheriff of Anglesey.^[6] Edward suppressed the rebellion over the winter and once Anglesey was reoccupied in April 1295 he immediately began to progress the delayed plans to fortify the area.^[6] The chosen site was called Beaumaris, meaning ""fair marsh"", whose name derives from the Norman-French Beau Mareys, and in Latin the castle was termed de Bello Marisco.^[7] This was about 1 mile (1.6 km) from Llanfaes and the decision was therefore taken to move the Welsh population of Llanfaes some 12 miles (19 km) south-west, where a settlement by the name of Newborough was created for them.^[6] The deportation of the local Welsh opened the way for the construction of a prosperous English town, protected by a substantial castle.^[8]

The castle was positioned in one corner of the town, following a similar town plan to that in the town of Conwy, although in Beaumaris no town walls were constructed at first, despite some foundations being laid.^[9] Work began in the summer of 1295, overseen by Master James of St. George.^[6] James had been appointed the ""master of the king's works in Wales"", reflecting the responsibility he had in their construction and design. From 1295 onwards, Beaumaris became his primary responsibility and more frequently he was given the title ""magister operacionum de Bello Marisco"".^[10] The work was recorded in considerable detail on the pipe rolls, the continuous records of medieval royal expenditure, and, as a result, the early stages of construction at Beaumaris are relatively well understood for the period.^[11]

A huge amount of work was undertaken in the first summer, with an average of 1,800 workmen, 450 stonemasons and 375 quarriers on the site.^[12] This consumed around £270 a week in wages and the project rapidly fell into arrears, forcing officials to issue leather tokens instead of paying the workforce with normal coinage.^{[13][nb 1]} The centre of the castle was filled with temporary huts to house the workforce over the winter.^[15] The following spring, James explained to his employers some of the difficulties and the high costs involved:

In case you should wonder where so much money could go in a week, we would have you know that we have needed – and shall continue to need 400 masons, both cutters and layers, together with 2,000 less skilled workmen, 100 carts, 60 wagons and 30 boats bringing stone and sea coal; 200 quarrymen; 30 smiths; and carpenters for putting in the joists and floor boards and other necessary jobs. All this takes no account of the garrison ... nor of purchases of material. Of which there will have to be a great quantity ... The men's pay has been and still is very much in arrears, and we are having the greatest difficulty in keeping them because they have simply nothing to live on.^[16]

The construction slowed during 1296, although debts continued to build up, and work dropped off further the following year, stopping entirely by 1300, by when around £11,000 had been spent.^[17] The halt was primarily the result of Edward's new wars in Scotland, which had begun to consume his attention and financial resources, but it left the castle only partially complete: the inner walls and towers were only a fraction of their proper height and the north and north-west sides lacked outer defences altogether.^[18] In 1306 Edward became concerned about a possible Scottish invasion of North Wales, but the unfinished castle had already fallen into a poor state of repair.^[19] Work recommenced on completing the outer defences, first under James' direction and then, after his death in 1309, Master Nicolas de Derneford.^[20] This work finally halted in 1330 with the castle still not built to its intended height; by the end of the project, £15,000 had been spent, a colossal sum for the period.^[20] A royal survey in 1343 suggested that at least a further £684 would be needed to complete the castle, but this was never invested.^[21]

type=real photographic (rp)

theme=topographical: british

sub-theme=wales

county/ country=anglesey

number of items=single

period=1945 - present

postage condition=unposted