A great deal of detail is put into the descriptions, and he describes the workers and tools that would have been needed for the construction of a medieval castle.

There are two gatehouses, one, defended by a drawbridge leading to the town, the other to a fortified dock (to allow the garrison to be supplied by ship in the event of a siege).

The inner gatehouse protects the main entry, with a portcullis and a fortified corridor lined with arrow loops and murder holes and closed by huge doors at both ends.

He explains its evolution over the centuries showing how, while the castle, at last obsolete with the acquiescence of the Welsh population to English domination, is eventually abandoned to become a ruin, the town itself lives on to become a prosperous and peaceful community.

"[2] The book was later adapted in a combined television documentary and animated dramatization in 1983 hosted by Macaulay himself and Sarah Bullen.