Conwy Castle

[My Good Babushka]

Shortly after Henry IV took the throne in 1400, rebellion broke out in Northern Wales. In March, 1401, Rys ap Tudor and his brother Gwilym, made a surprise attack on Conwy Castle by pretending to be carpenters coming to fix the castle. They killed two watchmen and took the fortress and town, holding them for three months before negotiating a surrender with pardon from King Henry. For most of its existence, Conwy Castle has been in disrepair or ruins, and as late as the 2002-3 fiscal year, still cost £30,000 to maintain. ($44,140)

I don’t know why, but the “pretending to be carpenters” part cracks me up. I imagine they wore overalls and glued-on moustaches.

[pink-o]

1. Then they'd be pretending to be Mario Brothers!

I love Wales, and Conwy Castle is pretty awesome--even if it's Norman, not Welsh. And those Tudors were always troublemakers, obviously.

Thanks for the pic and the story!

[hunter]

2. The bridges around the castle have a complex history too.

Highway and railroad construction around the castle has always been contentious. The problem was solved by building a tunnel under the river which opened in 1992.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conwy_Suspension_Bridge

It amuses me how things like the suspension bridge, one of the first roadway suspension bridges in the world, become celebrated historical objects themselves. The Eiffel Tower was once considered a horrible eyesore by many people. Local people must not have been too happy when Conwy Castle itself was built during Edward the First's conquest of Wales, otherwise the walls wouldn't have had to be so thick.

[Tobin S.]

3. K&R.

[petronius]

4. Gotta be a pretty gullible castellan to fall for the old "we're carpenters" trick

when your building is made of stone.

Maybe a bit more excusable if they'd said they were masons...