Beaumaris Castle was the last stone fortress to be founded in Wales, by King Edward I. Designed by the king's mason-architect Master James of St George, it is a perfect example of a concentrically planned castle, which was sadly never completed. The curtain wall of the narrow octagonal outer ward, is flanked by twelve cylindrical turrets and two small gates and is partly encased by the restored moat. In the centre is a large square inner ward, which is flanked by cylindrical angle towers, two mid-wall towers and two opposing great keep-gatehouses, one with a small square barbican. Begun in 1295, the impressive symmetry of 'the castle on the fair marsh' was not attained, at any other Edwardian royal castle. 12 miles south-west is Caernarfon Castle and 2 miles north is Castell Aberlleiniog.