— Edward's stone idea of an empire.
“A 13th-century fortress raised by Edward I after his conquest of Gwynedd, set where the River Seiont meets the Menai Strait. The polygonal towers and bands of pale and dark stone echo the walls of Constantinople. The Eagle Tower still carries its three small turrets above the harbour. Across the strait, the slate hills of Anglesey hold the western light.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
Caernarfon Castle stands on the Menai Strait in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, where the River Seiont meets the sea. Edward I of England began construction in 1283, immediately after defeating Llywelyn ap Gruffudd and annexing the Principality of Wales. The castle and its walled town were a single defensive scheme intended to hold the Welsh coast. Together with Beaumaris, Conwy, and Harlech, Caernarfon forms part of the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed in 1986.
The walls are built from local Carboniferous limestone banded with darker sandstone, a deliberate echo of the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople. The polygonal towers are unusual in Edward I's Welsh castles, which otherwise favour drum towers; the choice was symbolic, signalling Roman imperial inheritance. The Eagle Tower, at the western end, rises three storeys and once carried gilded stone eagles on its turrets. Master James of St George, the king's chief castle-builder, oversaw the work from 1283 until his death in 1309.
The castle is managed by Cadw, the Welsh government's historic environment service. It is open to visitors through most of the year, with shorter hours in winter; standard adult admission is around £14.30 as of 2026. The Eagle Tower interior carries an exhibition on the investiture of the Prince of Wales — the ceremony was held within the castle walls in 1911 and again in 1969. The town walls remain almost complete and can be walked from the castle in under fifteen minutes.