Video Hub 5 > Dolbadarn Castle, Llanberis, North Wales, UK (On Location Video)
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Dolbadarn Castle, Llanberis, North Wales, UK
Dolbadarn Castle is a fortification built by the Welsh prince Llywelyn the Great during the early 13th century, at the base of the Llanberis Pass, in northern Wales. The castle was important both militarily and as a symbol of Llywelyn's power and authority. The castle features a large stone keep, which historian Richard Avent considers "the finest surviving example of a Welsh round tower". In 1284 Dolbadarn was taken by Edward I, who removed some of its timbers to build his new castle at Caernarfon. The castle was used as a manor house for some years, before falling into ruin. In the 18th and 19th centuries, it was a popular destination for painters interested in sublime and picturesque landscapes. It is now owned by Cadw and managed as a tourist attraction, and is protected as a grade I listed building.
Dolbadarn Castle comprises a courtyard, surrounded by several towers and a round keep. The castle is built from purple and green slate stone, mainly constructed in a dry stone fashion without mortar, except the keep. The courtyard follows the natural shape of the hill and is protected by a curtain wall; originally perhaps 15 feet (5 m) high, it is now only at most 3 feet (1 m) high. Of the castle buildings, only the keep remains at any significant height.
The keep today is 46 feet (14 m) high and is modelled on early 13th-century English round towers built in the south of the Welsh Marches. As with other Welsh-constructed towers, the entrance is on the first story, not at ground level; it may originally have been protected by a porch. The keep had a portcullis which would have been drawn up past the window on the second story of the tower. While the castle's flooring has long since disappeared, its interior staircase to the upper story may still climbed. This second story would have formed the main chamber in the keep and had a large fireplace and a latrine. Originally the keep would have had a parapet and battlements, since destroyed. Historian Richard Avent considers it "the finest surviving example of a Welsh round tower".