Beaumaris, Anglesey, North Wales

Beaumaris is one of the principle towns on the Island of Anglesey and has a prominent and strategic position at the North East end of the Menai Strait.

(I was lacking inspiration here as these were taken during the last hour of a long day .... and I had to seriously motivate myself to publish this post over the last few days. There were two reasons for coming here, firstly it was a final destination to my journey looking for a coastal viewpoint in between the houses of Bangor Pier (earlier post - title photo) and secondly to show that there is a normal place on the island other than the previous post of Llanfair P.G. !)

North Wales coast from the sea front (Menai Strait to the right)

The name Beaumaris originated from French builders in the late 13th century who thought the town resembled a "beautiful marsh".

It may be surprising to know that when the castle was built in 1295, firstly the focus of the town moved a little to the south away from an old Viking village...

... and secondly, Edward I built a series of castles as a conquering English king to control the local Welsh people. It is interesting to think that on the face of it, these buildings nowadays promote Wales and everything Welsh even though after examination, it is an English building built by French workers !

Victoria Terrace, seafront

Joseph Hansom was a famous architect in town during the 19th century and was responsible for a few of the buildings. Unfortunately, this terrace was impossible to photograph from a distance as there were too many cars parked on the overflow car park in front so I present to you the essential house design instead.

Awaiting sentence in The Old Court house since 1614

Alleyway behind Court House

The old Grammar school was established in 1602/3 by David Hughes whose story is a bit vague but it appears that he was born in the area, educated in Oxford and lived for a while in Norfolk. Circumstances would suggest that he left a legacy in the area where he was brought up providing free education both in his lifetime and in his will.

These days the authorities are not so keen that builders should indulge in such grand buildings but they seem to allow the multiple duplication of other turrets...