More pics of North Wales, no doubt with the usual bizarre spacing Blogger likes to put in my photo posts! Click on the pics to see a larger version (I hope, fingers crossed, if it's in the right mood).
3 pics of St Mary's Church in Caernarfon, built into the town walls by Henry Ellerton, master mason of 
the castle, in 1307. He had received a licence some years before from none other than Edward of Caernarfon.
the castle, in 1307. He had received a licence some years before from none other than Edward of Caernarfon.
More of the medieval town walls of Caernarfon (could that sky possibly be any more dismal?):
The south porch of the church, where the tomb stands.
A luxuriantly mustachioed statue of Llywelyn the Great (died 1240) in the centre of Conwy.
The village of Aberffraw on Anglesey, formerly - not that y
ou'd ever know to look at it - a royal court of the princes of Gwynedd; one of Llywelyn the Great's titles was 'Prince of Aberffraw'.
St Mary and All Saints Church in the ce
ntre of Conwy - formerly the abbey church of the Cisterc
ian Aberconwy Abbey, burial place of, among others, Llywelyn the Great and his sons Dafydd and Gruffydd. The abbey was removed to Maenan by Edward I in the 1280s.
Medieval town walls of Conwy (4 pics). The sun came out a little bit while we were there, amazingly.
This is the Church of St Mary and St Nicholas in Beaumaris on Anglesey, which contains the tomb of Edward II's great-aunt Joan (or Joanna, or Siwan in Welsh), illegitimate daughter of King John, who married Llywelyn
the Great in the early 1200s and died in 1237. Joan - heroine of Sharon Penman's Here Be D
ragons - was 
originally buried at Llanfaes Priory.
the Great in the early 1200s and died in 1237. Joan - heroine of Sharon Penman's Here Be D
ragons - was 
originally buried at Llanfaes Priory.
The south porch of the church, where the tomb stands.
A luxuriantly mustachioed statue of Llywelyn the Great (died 1240) in the centre of Conwy.
The village of Aberffraw on Anglesey, formerly - not that y
ou'd ever know to look at it - a royal court of the princes of Gwynedd; one of Llywelyn the Great's titles was 'Prince of Aberffraw'.St Mary and All Saints Church in the ce
ntre of Conwy - formerly the abbey church of the Cisterc
ian Aberconwy Abbey, burial place of, among others, Llywelyn the Great and his sons Dafydd and Gruffydd. The abbey was removed to Maenan by Edward I in the 1280s.Views from Beaumaris on Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the Welsh mainland, towards Llanfairfechan and Abergwyngreg
yn. These pics would be far more spectacular without the low-lying cloud obscuring the mountains.
(Grrr.)
yn. These pics would be far more spectacular without the low-lying cloud obscuring the mountains.
(Grrr.)Coming soon: pics of the castles of Conwy, Beaumaris, and - of course! - Caernarfon.
Very cool pictures - what wonderful places to visit! And Llywelyn is one hot guy!
ReplyDeleteThank you!!! You know my obsession with effigies and churches. Llew & Joanna were my ancestors, so it's personal to me. Thanks for being my Vacation Vicar!
ReplyDeleteDaphne: thanks, and glad you like them! I find Llywelyn really hot in so many ways, too. *Sighs yearningly*
ReplyDeleteChristy: you're welcome! That's so great that L and J are your ancestors - I didn't know that.
I'm enjoying these!
ReplyDeleteFantastic .. It's a bit like reliving history, all through the maze of a blogger-photo-puzzle-post.
ReplyDeleteThanks =)
Its great to find other people that enjoy visiting Castles, tombs etc!
ReplyDeleteMy visits to historical sites are rationed, due to my wife finding it all totally boring!
But at least your blog Alianore not only has the pics but the historical detail to keep us informed. Thanks Alianore!
Hi, not sure if I left my comment in the right place. My name is Katharine (Leia is my cat who has a blog LOL) and I am descended from Edward I through the youngest daughter Elizabeth! Would love to be in touch, as I share you obvious passion for British history! My website with my genealogy and more is:
ReplyDeletehttp://ladykatharine.net
You can find my email there, would love to hear from you. Such a wonderful website & blog you have!
K.
Thanks, all! I have the same problem with a partner who's not the least bit interested in history, unfortunately. :)
ReplyDeleteLeia: lovely to hear from you, thank you for the kind comments, and I'll email you asap!
That really was dismal weather, poor you! Did you manage to see Llywelyn's sarcophagus too by the way? I can't remember where it was now, but I do have some photos of it somewhere. Also, did you manage to get to Penmon Priory? I love Llywelyn's land - it always feels like a second home to me - and seeing these photos brought back lovely memories of when I was last there :-)
ReplyDeleteHow about thinking of the sky as 'brooding and evocative', rather than 'dismal'?
ReplyDeleteWhen was Joan's tomb moved from Llanfaes? I didn't know about that.
Lady D: I'm not sure where Llywelyn is buried now, and I didn't see it. We didn't get to Penmon either, unfortunately, as Beaumaris was a pretty long drive from our cottage and we couldn't face driving any farther, especially as it was so chilly and windy that day!
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could post your pics of Llywelyn's sarcophagus on your blog, if you can find them? I'm sure Sharon's readers would love to see them.
Carla: unfortunately, I've spent far too many years in the Lake District to think of skies like that as anything but 'dismal'. :)
ReplyDeleteI presume Joan's tomb was moved after the Dissolution, but I'm not sure - must check that out.
I don't mind if the sky is 'dismal' or 'dull' or 'threatening'...I would still love to visit Wales. Thanks for posting Alianore, the pics are wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI can sympathise :-) Yes, the Dissolution is probably quite likely.
ReplyDeleteLol, I'm with Carla about calling the sky brooding. Should steal that for my NiP some time. *grin*
ReplyDeleteBoy, that's some moustache Llywelyn got there. More like Vercingetorix than a Welsh prince. ;)
I haven't been to North Wales since I was about 9 - and I was carsick every day we went out and about! I need to visit again - especially as I grew out of car sickness:) Fantastic pictures! Many of us Welsh still cling to Llewelyn as 'the true price of Wales', and it's still a hot topic of discussion.
ReplyDeleteKate: hope you get to Wales one day!
ReplyDeleteCarla: Gah, wretched Lakes weather. :)
Gabriele: LOL!
Anerje: it does seem that Llywelyn is still very popular in Wales. Hope you get the chance to visit the north again sometime!
I wish I'd been there as well.
ReplyDeleteLovely!
Llywelyn's sarcophagus or one that is purported to be his is in St Grwst's church in Llanrwst. Llanrwst is just up the road from Maenan Abbey.
ReplyDelete