Caernarfon Castle’s £5m revamp takes its story beyond English imperialism

Gatehouse project opens with viewing platform, and new exhibits explore lives of people who built medieval fortress

Over the centuries Caernarfon Castle, built by Edward I of England from 1283 as he battled the Welsh princes, has come to be been seen as a symbol of imperial military might and economic power.

But a 5m conservation and development project completed on Thursday seeks to give a fresh perspective, focusing not on Edward but on the ordinary people who built and helped run the north Wales fortress - and suggesting that the belligerent king's empire-building ambition has, ultimately, been defeated.