Why Study Newborough?

Newborough was an important town in the medieval period. It was founded in 1303 by Edward I as a new borough to accommodate the inhabitants of Llanfaes. They were moved across Anglesey so that Edward could build an English town next to his new castle at Beaumaris.

The town of Newborough was built around a crossroads of two streets and its medieval layout with narrow plots running behind the houses can still be clearly seen. The preservation of the layout of the medieval town in the modern village makes it historically important.

The Wider Setting

The borough was built on land formerly part of the royal manor of the Princes of Wales. The llys, the royal court at the heart of that manor, had stood just west of the town. The llys site was partially excavated in the 1990s, which revealed the remains of a hall and chamber as well as other buildings.

The project will look at the wider landscape around the llys and search for evidence to explain the origins of settlement in the area with its field systems and communication routes.

Excavation at Llys Rhosyr in the 1990s