At the height of construction in 1286, the figures given for Harlech include roughly 550 laborers and 115 quarrymen. The skilled workforce is put at about 30 blacksmiths, 25 carpenters and 220 to 230 stonemasons. The craft totals are disputed between the accounts being compared, and some masons refused to work at certain points. Monthly expenditure is given as nearly £240. The castle was essentially complete by 1289, at an estimated cost of £8,190. That amount was about a tenth of Edward I's roughly £80,000 castle-building expenditure in Wales between 1277 and 1304.
Notable Point · 19:04-20:17
Harlech's workforce and construction budget
Hundreds of laborers and specialist trades worked on Harlech, whose approximate headcounts varied while monthly expenditure approached £240.