Conwy town wall

Conwy Town Wall

This rubble-stone town wall, dating from the medieval period, forms a complete defensive circuit around Conwy with an internal wall walk supported by corbelling. The wall retains traces of its original embattled parapet with arrow loops, and several stone steps on the inner side provide access to the wall walk.

The wall is entered through three main gateways: Porth Uchaf and Porth y Felin on the inland side, and Porth Isaf facing the quayside. Later openings have been made, with one substantial breach on the north-east side adjacent to the castle. The wall is attached to the castle on its eastern side.

The defensive system comprises 19 subsidiary two-stage turrets and two larger towers. The turrets are rounded on the outer face with a slight batter at the base and feature open gorges. Each retains traces of external curving stone steps to the former parapet. The two larger towers are the Llywelyn Tower and a round tower at the westernmost and uppermost extent of the wall, which has a cantilevered stair to the parapet.

The northern section, attached to the castle's stockhouse tower, has been much altered. The first turret was substantially modified by Thomas Telford as an entrance for the Chester-Holyhead Road and was further altered when Conway Bridge opened in 1958, at which point a toll house was removed. The turret is now overgrown with boarded windows. The south-east front is built of coursed freestone with outer square plain turrets; the lower storey has two windows and the upper storey has three windows below battlements, all now blocked. The faceted south-west front facing Castle Square contains a lancet window in the lower stage. The north-west side facing Custom House Terrace has an inserted lintelled doorway with studded boarded door and strap hinges, with a lancet window to its right; a further lancet window appears in the second stage. On the outer north-east side facing Conway Bridge is a pointed doorway in a chamfered rock-faced surround with studded boarded door and strap hinges; a pointed window to its left has a tooled surround in differently coloured stone.

The adjacent wall section behind Custom House Terrace contains a skewed tooled-stone arch to a footpath. Beside the next turret is an original postern gate with pointed arch. This turret is abutted on the outer side by the Harbour Master's Office and on the inner side by the Towers Restaurant, which has two enlarged windows in the upper stage. The next section facing the quayside contains two turrets, each with enlarged windows in the upper stage and two-storey lean-tos added inside. The parapet is missing in this section.

Porth Isaf comprises rounded two-stage towers. The western tower has glazing to narrow upper storey openings and lean-tos against the front and inside the shell, belonging to the Liverpool Arms. The eastern tower has an inserted round-headed doorway in the lower storey serving public conveniences, above which is a second stage with a pointed sash window with Gothic small-pane glazing belonging to the abutting library, which is partly built on the town wall. The centre of the entrance has pointed arches to both front and rear of the passage; the rear arch has associated portcullis slots. On the inner side is a later cambered arch to High Street.

The wall continues along the quayside to Porth yr Aden (or Wing Gate) with one intermediate turret; the parapet is poorly preserved in this section. The Liverpool Arms has cut through the wall near Porth Isaf. Further north-west, houses numbered 10-18 Lower Gate Street abut the outer side of the wall. At the north-west corner a separate spur wall continues to the shore line, where an end turret originally stood but of which no trace remains. The wall functioned as much as a breakwater for the quayside as for military defence. Porth yr Aden has two stone segmental arches; although much rebuilt, it retains draw-bar sockets on the south reveal and portcullis slots to the inner arch.

The wall then turns in a north-east-south-west direction facing Town Ditch Road and Mount Pleasant for approximately 340 metres, containing seven subsidiary turrets in this section. The steep upper section has an entrance to Berry Street, a 19th-century pointed arch, and a lower pedestrian pointed arch on the north side. The fifth turret is Porth Ffordd Bangor, altered by Thomas Telford for his Chester-Holyhead Road. A castellated entrance portal on the outer side is built of coursed freestone with outer small square turrets containing loops, beneath a central round arch with continuous chamfer and imitation corbelled machicolations. The north side has a round-headed pedestrian arch, and to the south is an irregular opening to Pool Lane. The sixth turret, directly above Conwy railway tunnel, shows large cracks. At the south-west end at the highest and westernmost point stands a round tower larger than the turrets, featuring a cantilevered stair to the parapet.

The wall then turns in a south-east-north-west direction and descends to Porth Uchaf. This gateway has outer drum towers between which is recessed a later basket arch. The passage itself has pointed arches; the rear arch has associated portcullis slots and draw-bar sockets, and the passage contains spy holes on either side. At the far end facing Lower Gate Street is another later cambered arch. The towers are square at the rear with double-depth plan, though only the outer side remains standing to the second stage; both have shouldered-lintel doorways to the wall walk. On the downhill side is a later round pedestrian arch. The south-east tower is abutted on the outer side by rubble-stone walls of a former college.

The wall descends further in a north-west-south-east direction. The upper part of this section has mid-20th-century plaster panels of the Stations of the Cross on the inner side (listed separately). The outer side contains a blocked pointed doorway. The wall then turns approximately east-west towards Porth y Felin. This section includes the higher Llywelyn Tower, originally roofed as shown on the 1889 Ordnance Survey map. The tower is square at the rear and retains a first-floor doorway with shouldered lintel. On the west side, where the ground level is higher on the inner side, the loop reveals incorporate wall seats with segmental rear arches. Further east, at the end of the railway station platform, is a round 19th-century arch with continuous chamfer to tooled red sandstone dressings. Adjacent is a broad Tudor arch built across the Chester and Holyhead Railway, featuring double chamfer and continuing in the style of the original wall with embattled wall walk. Immediately west of Porth y Felin the wall retains a row of corbelled latrine shafts.

Porth y Felin is set at an angle to the wall. It has two-stage towers rounded on the outer sides, between which is a recessed pointed arch; above this the wall has been rebuilt in snecked rock-faced stone. At the rear of the entrance passage is another pointed arch with associated portcullis slots and draw-bar sockets. Both towers have rear doorways with shouldered lintels and retain remains of first-floor fireplaces. The section between Porth y Felin and the castle was partly rebuilt in the late 19th century where it faced a former railway yard. Further east a round arch of tooled-stone voussoirs crosses Llanrwst Road.