symbolic action, demonstrating Norman power over one of the most important possessions of the Welsh princes. 14th – 21st centuries The remaining parts of the castle continued to be used as a manor house into the 14th century. By the 18th century, however, Dolbadarn Castle was ruined and uninhabited. From the 1760s onwards, however, it became a popular topic for painters interested in the then fashionable landscape styles of the Sublime and the Picturesque. Typically the castle was painted in the middle ground, allowing the viewer's eye to contrast its ruined outline with the lakes and mountains of Snowdonia; frequently the landscape was misrepresented by the artist, to create a more striking or dramatic effect. J. M. W. Turner's 1800 work Dolbadarn Castle depicted the back-lit castle looming over the landscape and became particularly famous, but the paintings of the castle by Richard Wilson and Paul Sandby also represent important artistic works of the period. In 1941 the castle was given to the State by Sir Michael Duff. It is now maintained by Cadw and is protected as a Grade I listed building and as a scheduled monument. In the light of Welsh devolution and other political changes, the history of Dolbadarn Castle and similar Welsh castles has become increasing prominent. In response, Cadw have noted that they intend to give an increased priority to communicating the history of these castles and the Welsh princes. Architecture Dolbadarn Castle comprises a courtyard, surrounded by a number of towers and a round keep. The castle is built from purple and green slate stone, mainly constructed in a dry stone fashion without mortar, with the exception of the keep. The courtyard follows the natural shape of the hill and is protected by a curtain wall; originally perhaps 15 feet (5 m) high, it is now only at most 3 feet (1 m) high. Of the castle buildings, only the keep remains to any significant height. The keep today is 46 feet (14 m) high and is modelled on early 13th-century English round towers built in the south of the Welsh Marches. As with other Welsh-constructed towers, the entrance is on the first storey, not at ground level; it may originally have been protected by a porch. The keep had a portcullis which would have been drawn up past the window on the second storey of the tower. While the castle's flooring has long