How the English defeated the Welsh
Conwy Castle (above) was built in only 7 years. After his conquest of Wales in 1283, Edward I set out to hold down the country with a series of magnificent castles of which Conwy, guarding the crossing of the river Conway, was one of the largest. Not only was there a castle, but also a fortified town: the town walls still survive in their entirety, making this one of the finest surviving fortified medieval towns in the world. But note the railway, constructed in 1846, running just along the edge of the castle: we shall be seeing this later. Note too to the far right, how this enters Robert Stephenson's famous 'Tubular Bridge' over the river, the entrance suitable adorned with mock fortifications.
	The Bridge that Never Was In 1972, it was proposed to run a new dual-carriageway road along the coast of North Wales. How to take it over the River Conway? The initial plan was to construct a giant suspension bridge, as shown in the photo. Arnold Taylor, the Chief Inspector of Ancient Monuments, (and source of our article) was aghast. He was allowed to see the model, and while his fellow inspectors detracted the attention of the road planners, he surreptitiously took this photo. There was an outcry against the proposals (supported behind the scenes by the Chief Inspector) and the road now runs in a tunnel on the bed of the river, and the photo above shows how the castle has survived today.