History of Conwy

By Iolo Griffiths

The story of the town of Conwy in North Wales, from its origin as a monastery founded in an uninhabited location to the present day.
Edward I saw the strategic potential of the location, as it controlled the estuary of the Conwy river, so founded a castle, with its associated English settlement.
The colourful story includes the betrayal of Richard II, the audacious hijacking of the castle on April Fool's Day 1401, and a Royalist Archbishop who helped the Roundheads in taking the town and castle.
Travel and transport are another major theme for the town's history, being a port, and also a vital link for travellers across North Wales, who needed to cross the river.
While the castle and the town walls are an obvious attraction, being a World Heritage Site, the medieval Aberconwy House, and the Elizabethan Plas Mawr are also a must for history buffs.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Iolo Griffiths
• Release date: Jun 28, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386229131

Iolo Griffiths

Iolo Griffiths was brought up in Anglesey, lives in North Wales and has been working for Trinity Mirror North Wales since 1987, firstly as a librarian and then proofreader, and then a journalist. He is now a Community Content Curator for Trinity Mirror North Wales His main interests are genealogy and local history (mainly North West Wales)

Book preview

Introduction

The town of Conwy is a major tourist attraction, thanks to the castle, while the Quay, three bridges, and various old buildings also contribute to its interest for anyone who cares to dig deeper into its history. Since 1996, Bodlondeb, in a park on the outskirts of the town, is the administrative centre of the present Conwy County Borough, and previously the headquarters of Aberconwy Borough Council.

At the time of Edward I’s conquest, the site now occupied by the town was seen as clearly strategic, controlling an important crossing near the mouth of the river, and the idea had been mooted of having a county governed from Conwy, covering most of what actually later became Caernarfonshire, with another county based on Criccieth. But in the end Caernarfon’s more central position won out.

Being conveniently near to the popular resort of Llandudno, and situated on the main North Wales railway line, Conwy is easily reached from most places in North Wales, and is well worth visiting.

Prehistoric Conwy

The town’s old name is Aberconwy, which means town at the mouth of the river Conwy, although authorities are divided over whether the river’s name is derived from Cynwy, meaning Chief water, or is connected with Kanovium, the Roman fort at nearby Caerhun, a few miles up the river.

On Conwy Mountain there are remains of a prehistoric fortress, called Caer Lleion. During the Iron Age, as society became more organised into larger units, people built themselves defensive compounds, usually on hilltops, often overlooking the sea. It must be warned that little remains of this hill fort, apart from a few hut circles and a scree-like band of stone which represents a relic of the ramparts.

The first farming settlements tended to be located on higher ground, as the valleys, even up to medieval times, tended to be heavily wooded, so the only  open ground suitable for farming or grazing were upland areas.

Conwy Mountain (called in Welsh Mynydd y Dref, Town Mountain), had been allocated by Llewelyn the Great, along with the lands around Aberconwy, to the monks of Aberconwy, and after Edward I removed the Abbey to Maenan, the mountain became vested in the corporation of his new town.

Aberconwy abbey and St Mary’s church

This was founded during the 12th century. A community of Cistercian monks settled at Aberconwy, as a daughter abbey of Strata Florida, in 1186, at a remote spot by the mouth of the River Conwy. The difficulties of crossing the tidal estuary would have contributed to this being an unfrequented area.

Cistercians generally sought remote sites where they could pursue their simple life without disturbance, so Aberconwy was an ideal location. That quiet spot is now the site of the present town of Conwy, and the abbey church is now St Mary’s church in the town centre.

Giraldus Cambrensis refers to this abbey in the account of his itinerary through Wales with Archbishop Baldwin in 1188, when they were encouraging recruits for the crusade.

In 1198 Llewelyn ap Iorwerth (the Great) made a great gift of lands to this in North Wales (Anglesey, Caernarfonshire and Denbighshire), the endowments being confirmed by a charter that was signed and sealed at Conwy. Llewelyn spent much of his time in the neighbourhood and spent the latter part of his life at the abbey, and died and was buried there.

The abbey library became famous for its manuscripts, and was a depository of the public enactments, and the National Library of Wales of the time.

The monks at Aberconwy, like the rest of the Cistercian order, had sided with the Welsh princes in the wars between Wales and the English Crown. One of these hostile actions was in 1245, when Henry III had rebuilt the castle at Deganwy, and was there with his troops, waiting for supplies from Dublin.

The weather was harsh, and the ship was blown off course, so as to land on the western shore of the estuary. At that time the abbey's charter allowed the monks to salvage any vessel that was wrecked on that shore. The monks did not delay in exercising their rights to the food and wine, while some Welsh troops set fire to the ship.

In revenge Henry III and his troops crossed the river, and plundered and set fire to the abbey, thereby destroying many valuable books, and burned down the south side