Caerphilly Castle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Caerphilly Castle |
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| Part of the Caerphilly County Borough | |
| Caerphilly, Wales, United Kingdom | |
Caerphilly Castle and moat
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| Type | Medieval concentric castle |
| Area | Around 30 acres (12 ha) |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Cadw |
| Condition | Ruined, with partial restoration |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1268–1290 |
| Built by | Gilbert de Clare |
| In use | Open to public |
| Materials | Pennant Sandstone |
| Events | Welsh Wars Invasion of England English Civil War |
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Listed Building – Grade I
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| Official name | Caerphilly Castle |
| Designated | 28/01/1963 |
| Reference no. | 13539 |
| Official name | Caerphilly Castle |
| Reference no. | GM002 |
Caerphilly Castle (Welsh: Castell Caerffili) is a huge medieval (meaning from the Middle Ages) castle in Caerphilly, South Wales. A powerful lord named Gilbert de Clare built it in the 13th century. He wanted to control the area of Glamorgan. The castle saw many battles between Gilbert's family and the Welsh rulers.
The castle is famous for its amazing water defences. It has huge artificial lakes around it. One historian called them "the most elaborate water defences in all Britain." The castle covers about 30 acres. It is the largest castle in Wales and the second largest in the United Kingdom, after Windsor Castle. Caerphilly Castle was also one of the first castles in Britain to use "concentric" defences. This means it had rings of walls, one inside the other, like an onion. It also has very large gatehouses (fortified entrances).
Gilbert started building in 1268. Most of the castle was built in just three years, costing a lot of money. The Welsh prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd didn't like this. He attacked the site in 1270. Royal officials even took over the castle for a short time in 1271. But Gilbert finished the castle and took control of the region.
The main part of Caerphilly Castle, including fancy living areas, was on a central island. This island was surrounded by several artificial lakes. Gilbert probably got this idea from Kenilworth Castle. The dams holding back these lakes were also fortified. A western island gave even more protection. The castle's design inspired King Edward I when he built his famous castles in North Wales. Historians say it was a "turning point" in castle design in Britain.
The castle was attacked several times. This happened during the Madog ap Llywelyn revolt in 1294. It was also attacked during the Llywelyn Bren uprising in 1316. Later, it was involved when King Edward II was overthrown in 1326–27.
By the late 1400s, the castle started to fall apart. By the 1500s, the lakes had drained. People even took stones from the walls to build other things. The Marquesses of Bute family bought the castle in 1776. The third and fourth Marquesses did a lot of work to restore it. In 1950, the castle was given to the Welsh government. The lakes were filled with water again. Today, the Welsh heritage agency Cadw looks after the castle. It is a popular place for tourists to visit.
Contents
History of Caerphilly Castle
Building the Castle (13th Century)
Caerphilly Castle was built in the late 1200s. This was a time when the Normans (people from France who had conquered England) were expanding into South Wales. They built castles and set up new lordships as they moved west. The powerful de Clare family took over the area of Glamorgan in 1217. They kept trying to conquer the whole region.
In 1263, Gilbert de Clare inherited the family lands. He was called "Red Gilbert" because of his hair. His main rival in Glamorgan was the Welsh prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. Llywelyn had become very powerful during a civil war in England. In 1265, Llywelyn made a deal with some English rebels. This deal gave him power over Welsh leaders in many areas, including Glamorgan. Gilbert de Clare felt his lands were in danger. So, he joined forces with King Henry III against the rebels and Llywelyn.
The English civil war ended by 1267. This allowed Gilbert de Clare to move north into Glamorgan from his base in Cardiff. In 1268, he started building a castle at Caerphilly to control his new lands. The castle was in a valley near the Rhymney River. It was also close to an old Roman fort and many roads.
Building work started very quickly. Workers dug ditches to shape the castle. They put up temporary wooden fences (palisades). They also created large water defences by damming a local stream. The main walls and buildings were built fast. We don't know who designed the castle or exactly how much it cost. But experts think it might have cost as much as £19,000. This was a huge amount of money back then!
Llywelyn tried to stop Gilbert by sending his own soldiers. King Henry III tried to keep peace. But in 1270, Llywelyn attacked and burned the castle site. He probably destroyed the temporary defences. Gilbert started building again the next year. This made tensions rise even more. King Henry sent two bishops to take control of the site. They wanted to find a peaceful solution.
The bishops took over the castle in late 1271. They promised Llywelyn that building would stop for a while. But in February 1272, Gilbert's men took the castle back. They threw out the bishops' soldiers. Gilbert claimed he knew nothing about it and started building again. Neither the King nor Llywelyn could easily stop him. So, Gilbert was able to claim all of Glamorgan. More water defences, towers, and gatehouses were added to the castle.
Llywelyn's power weakened over the next 20 years. In 1277, King Henry's son, Edward I, invaded Wales. This broke Llywelyn's power in South Wales. In 1282, Edward's second campaign led to Llywelyn's death. This ended independent Welsh rule. More defences were added to Caerphilly Castle until about 1290.
Local problems still happened. In 1294, Madog ap Llywelyn led a rebellion against English rule. People were angry about new taxes. In Glamorgan, Morgan ap Maredudd led the local uprising. Morgan had lost his lands to Gilbert in 1270. He saw this as a chance to get them back. Morgan attacked Caerphilly, burning half the town. But he could not take the castle. In 1295, King Edward put down the uprising. Gilbert de Clare attacked Morgan's forces and took back the region. Gilbert died at the end of 1295. Caerphilly Castle was in good shape. It was connected to a small town and had a large deer park nearby.
Later Years (14th – 17th Centuries)
Gilbert's son, also named Gilbert de Clare, inherited the castle. But he died young in 1314 at the battle of Bannockburn. The family's lands were taken over by the King. Before a new owner could be chosen, a revolt started in Glamorgan. Llywelyn Bren led this uprising in January 1316. He attacked Caerphilly Castle with many men. The castle held out, but the town was destroyed. A royal army was sent. They defeated Bren and ended the siege of the castle.
In 1317, King Edward II gave Glamorgan and Caerphilly Castle to Eleanor de Clare. She had married the King's favourite, Hugh le Despenser. Hugh used his connection to the King to gain more power. He took over lands across South Wales. Hugh hired builders to make the Great Hall at the castle bigger and more beautiful. It had richly carved windows and doors.
In 1326, King Edward's wife, Isabella of France, overthrew his government. The King and Hugh had to run away. They stayed at Caerphilly Castle in late October and early November. Then they left, leaving behind many supplies and £14,000. William la Zouche then attacked the castle with 425 soldiers. They trapped the castle's leader, Sir John de Felton, Hugh's son (also named Hugh), and 130 soldiers inside. Caerphilly held out until March 1327. The soldiers surrendered when they were promised that the younger Hugh would be forgiven. His father had already been executed.
Problems between the Welsh and English continued. In 1400, the Glyndŵr Rising (a Welsh rebellion) began. We don't know exactly what part the castle played. But it seems to have survived. It was captured by Glyndwr's forces during the rebellion. Later, the castle passed through different noble families. In 1416, Isabel le Despenser and her husband invested a lot in the castle. They repaired it and made it a main home.
After 1486, the castle started to decline. Cardiff Castle became more popular. The water defences probably drained away when the sluice-gates (water controls) broke. A writer named John Leland visited Caerphilly Castle around 1539. He said it had "walls of a wonderful thickness." But it was mostly in ruins and surrounded by marshland. A later owner, Henry Herbert, used the castle for his local court. In 1583, the castle was rented to Thomas Lewis. He took many stones from it to make his own house bigger. This caused a lot of damage.
In 1642, the English Civil War began. This was a fight between King Charles I's supporters (Royalists) and Parliament's supporters. South Wales mostly supported the King. During the war, a small fort (sconce) was built overlooking Caerphilly Castle. It was on the site of the old Roman fort. We don't know if Royalists or Parliament's army built it. But its guns could have controlled the castle. It's also unclear if Parliament deliberately damaged the castle to stop it from being used again. Some towers had fallen by the 1700s. This might have been from damage, but it was probably because the ground sank (subsidence) when the water defences dried up. There is no clear proof of deliberate destruction.
Restoration and Today (18th – 21st Centuries)
The Marquesses of Bute family bought the castle in 1776. John Stuart, the first marquess, tried to protect the ruins. His great-grandson, John Crichton-Stuart, was very rich from coal mines in South Wales. He loved the medieval period. He had the castle surveyed by an architect. In the 1870s, he put a new roof on the Great Hall. The marquess also started buying back houses built close to the castle. He wanted to clear the area around it.
The fourth marquess, John Crichton-Stuart, was very keen on restoring old buildings. He started a big restoration project between 1928 and 1939. Workers carefully repaired the stonework. They made moulds to recreate missing parts. The Inner East Gatehouse was rebuilt, along with several other towers. The marquess also worked on the landscape. He wanted to fill the lakes with water again. After buying land for many years, he could finally tear down the local houses that blocked the view of the castle.
By 1947, when John Crichton-Stuart inherited the castle, the Bute family had sold most of their land in South Wales. John sold the rest of the family's property. In 1950, he gave Caerphilly Castle to the Welsh government. The lakes were filled with water again. The last parts of the restoration were finished in the 1950s and 1960s.
Today, the Welsh heritage agency Cadw manages the castle. It is a popular tourist attraction. In 2006, over 90,000 people visited. The castle is protected as a scheduled monument (an important historical site) and a grade I listed building (a building of special architectural or historical interest). The Great Hall can even be used for wedding ceremonies.
Castle Design (Architecture)
Caerphilly Castle has several parts. There are eastern defences, protected by the Outer East Moat and the North Lake. Then there are fortifications on the Central Island and the Western Island. Both of these are protected by the South Lake. The whole site is about 30 acres, making it the second largest castle in Britain. It is built on a natural gravel bank. The castle walls are made from Pennant sandstone.
The castle's design is very famous and important in history. Caerphilly was the first castle in Britain to use "concentric" defences. This changed how military buildings were designed in the country. It also has huge gatehouses. The castle also had a clever system of moats (ditches filled with water) and dams. Historian Allen Brown called them "the most elaborate water defences in all Britain."
You would reach the eastern defences through the Outer Main Gatehouse. This gatehouse had round towers with special pyramid-shaped bases. This design was common in South Wales castles. Originally, you would cross two drawbridges to get to the gatehouse. There was a tower between them, but it is now destroyed. North of the gatehouse was the North Dam. It had three strong towers protecting it. This dam might have held the castle's stables. Even with some ground sinking, the dam still holds back the North Lake.
The South Dam was a massive structure, 152 meters long. It ended in a huge wall with supports. The remains of the castle mill are still there. It was powered by water from the dam. Four replica siege engines (machines used to attack castles) are on display. The dam ended at Felton's Tower. This was a square fort designed to protect the sluicegates. These gates controlled the water levels of the dam. The South Gatehouse, also called Giffard's Tower, was originally reached by a drawbridge. It led into the town.
Caerphilly's water defences were probably inspired by Kenilworth Castle. Gilbert de Clare had seen Kenilworth's similar lakes and dams during a battle in 1266. Caerphilly's water defences were very good at protecting against mining. This was a tactic where attackers dug tunnels under castle walls to make them collapse. Caerphilly's water defences are considered the most advanced of their kind in Britain.
The central island held the castle's inner defences. This was a roughly square area with an inner and middle ward (courtyard), both surrounded by walls. The inner ward had four towers at its corners. The walls of the inner ward were taller than those of the middle ward. This created a concentric defence of two rings of walls. In the Middle Ages, the middle ward walls would have been much taller than they are today. Caerphilly was the first concentric castle in Britain. It was built a few years before King Edward I's famous concentric castles. Its design influenced Edward's later castles in North Wales. Historian Norman Pounds says it was "a turning point in the history of the castle in Britain." The south-east tower in the Inner Ward leans outwards by 10 degrees. This is probably because the ground underneath it has sunk.
You would enter the central island over a drawbridge. Then you would go through two gatehouses on the eastern side. Caerphilly Castle's Inner East Gatehouse was based on the one at Tonbridge Castle. This gatehouse was very strong. It had defences both outside and inside. This meant it could still be defended even if the castle's outer walls were broken. Two huge towers stood on either side of the entrance. The entrance was protected by portcullises (heavy grilles that drop down) and murder-holes (holes in the ceiling to drop things on attackers). The gatehouse was so big that it was also used for living. It was very comfortable and probably housed the castle's leader and his family. Another pair of gatehouses protected the west side.
Inside the inner ward were the castle's Great Hall and living areas. Caerphilly was built with very fancy, high-status rooms. These were similar to those built at Chepstow Castle around the same time. In the medieval period, the Great Hall would have had wooden screens and colourful decorations. It had detailed carvings and a large central fireplace. Some carved medieval corbels (stone supports) shaped like heads are still in the hall today. They might show the royal court from the 1320s, including King Edward II, Isabella of France, Hugh Despenser, and Eleanor de Clare. East of the Great Hall was the castle chapel. It was above the buttery (for drinks) and pantry (for food). On the west side of the hall were the castle's private apartments. These were two "solar blocks" (private rooms) with luxurious fittings.
Beyond the central island was the Western Island. You probably reached it by drawbridges. The island is called Y Weringaer or Caer y Werin in Welsh. This means "the people's fort." It might have been used by the town of Caerphilly for protection during conflicts. On the north-west side of the Western Island was the site of the old Roman fort. It covered about 3 acres. The remains of the 17th-century civil-war fort are also in the same spot.
See also
In Spanish: Castillo de Caerphilly para niños
- Castles in Great Britain and Ireland
- List of castles in Wales
- Castell Coch, also restored by the Marquesses of Bute
