This is the mightiest of Charles I's iron ring and you can see why, it's pretty impressive. Although the design is a little unusual as it conforms to a figure of 8 style, the castle is absolutely huge. It cost £22,000 to make which isn't a lot when you consider that in terms contemporary finance but when you think about how much the workers were getting paid (3p per day, and there was 240p in one pound) that's a phenomenal amount. The treasury didn't even collect that much in tax for the whole country in a year. The castle has two gatehouses which already give it a great advantage in battle as there was plenty of spaces for archers or for soldiers to pour boiling water and oil down on the intruders, but that didn't seem to stop the Welsh. They were still able to break through the castle's defences in 1294 and were able to occupy the castle. If Charles' iron ring has taught us anything, it's that you can't stop the Welsh.
