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120 Mediaeval Military Architecture in England. Conway and Caernarvon, though superior in magnificence to these and less symmetrical, are chiefly remarkable because they form a part of the defences of the towns attached to them, the whole being of one date and parts of one plan. The reign of Edward much diminished the value of English castles. Even the fortresses erected by him in North Wales, when their end was attained and the province reduced to subjection, ceased to be of value and gradually fell into decay, and in England when once his rule was established and his power realised, the lords even of the strongest castles did not venture to garrison them against him.
