A Sad Christmas at Conwy Castle, 1294

hristmas 1294. Edward I was at Conwy Castle when tragedy struck. Was it the Welsh uprising spreading across Wales? The fear of running out of food due to the siege?

No. The tragedy was that he ran out of wine! Not what you want to happen during the festive period!

So what happened?

Edward was at the castle, but he wasn’t there to see the carol singing in Lancaster Square, the firework display at the castle, or even to meet Santa, who has visited the castle every year since 1287 (honest…).

He was there because of the Welsh rebellion. Madog ap Llywelyn had served in Edward’s armies during the wars against Llywelyn ap Gruffudd but had not been granted his ancestral lands after the conquest of Wales. Resentment grew.

The rebellion began in September 1294, with multiple uprisings throughout Wales. Edward advanced from Chester to Conwy and was at the town before Christmas. While there, Edward ventured out and led a raid on the Llyn Peninsula. Upon returning from the raid, the Welsh seized Edward's baggage train, leading to shortages for the English forces stationed at Conwy. The Welsh besieged the castle, and apparently, there was a fierce storm that a chronicler wrote was ‘so terrible that even men who were a hundred years old could recall nothing similar.’

A storm raging, provisions running low, and Edward, with only a single barrel of wine left, shared the last cask with his men. Well, that’s according to the English chronicler Walter of Guisborough...

Okay, it probably didn’t happen. But it’s still a fun image: a sad king, at Christmas, having to share the last of his wine with his workers.

There is far, FAR, more to the rebellion than this, and the complexities of Welsh society under English rule, with its dual (or multiple) loyalties, are fascinating! To find out more, come along on a tour or to one of my talks on the Edwardian Castles of North Wales.

And yes, I gave Edward a Santa hat, a sad face, and some wine.