Exploring GB

This medieval tower at Caerphilly Castle in Wales leans 10 degrees to the right - that’s more than the tower of Pisa!

Caerphilly Castle is Wales’ largest castle - and Britain’s second largest castle behind Windsor.

It was also the first concentric castle built from scratch in Britain (other earlier ones such as Dover Castle were adaptations of existing structures).

With towers to explore, a maze to negotiate, a dragon’s den and The Great Hall to discover; Caerphilly Castle offers the perfect playground for historians!

This medieval fortress, built between 1268 and 1271 by Gilbert de Clare, was ordered by Henry III.

Known as Gilbert ‘The Red’ because of his red hair, denoting his Norman heritage, Gilbert de Clare built the castle to take control of Glamorgan.

It was also created to prevent the Welsh Prince, Llewellyn ap Gruffudd, from achieving his southward ambitions.

Llywelyn launched his first attack against the Castle even before its defences were complete!

The remarkable fortress features an extensive ring of water defences and huge gatehouses.

This mammoth stronghold remains a striking testament to the Anglo-Norman domination of the area.

Though the focus of many Welsh attacks, Caerphilly Castle has remained a formidable fortress and perhaps one of the greatest strongholds of all-time.

The most noticeable landmark here is the ‘Welsh tower of Pisa’.

The tower at Caerphilly Castle leans around 10 degrees to the vertical, that’s more than the Leaning Tower of Pisa (which leans 4 degrees).

The tower looks as if it is about to collapse at any second with two large lumps fallen nearby.

According to the castle’s guidebook, damage to the tower dates back to the mid-seventeenth century.

It’s likely that the tower’s lean is caused by ground subsidence which caused the tower to split.

The cause of the ground subsidence has been linked to the castle’s water defences although this has never been proven.

Some locals claim the lean is due to battle damage, however, this theory is not supported by the evidence because the outer face of the tower remains undamaged.

After restoration work, the leaning tower is now supported by a statue of the 4th Marquis of Bute which prevents it from falling over.

This iconic structure was added in 2013 by sculptor John Merrill.

Caerphilly was situated on a relatively flat terrain in a basin surrounded by mountains.

On the south-west side was the Nant y Gledyr stream, and on the north, the smaller stream Nant y Risca, connecting with Porset Brook in the east.

Undoubtedly, these watercourses were the reason for choosing the location for the construction of the castle, the first, external protection of which was to be a water barrier, not the advantage of height.

For this purpose, after creating a series of dams, the central island with characteristic rounded corners and eastern and western insular outworks were built, created by the damming of Nant y Gledyr, transformed into the vast southern lake.

It bordered with a slightly higher placed, newly founded town, access to which from the castle led through the eastern island.

Throughout the late thirteenth and early fourteenth Century, the Castle continued to be the focus of Welsh attacks.

In 1316, Llywelyn Bren, a noble of Senghenydd, raised an army of ten thousand men and attacked the Castle.

The attackers failed to breach its defences, although much of the town of Caerphilly was destroyed.

The Castle's role in the Civil War is far from clear. Reputedly, its massive medieval defences were damaged by gunpowder, but there is no evidence to support this.

In the late eighteenth Century the Marquess of Bute acquired Caerphilly Castle - and it was restored from 1928.

The moats were dredged, main towers and gatehouses restored, and the bridges rebuilt.

Later in the 20th century, the dams were repaired and the lake reflooded.

The Great Hall has been fully restored and now, with its fine restored windows, it hosts the occasional wedding amongst other events.

Today, it’s open to visitors - and the castle offers something for all ages.

Adults will enjoy the wonderfully preserved historical architecture, while children will love running around the expansive castle and its grounds, listening to the dragon’s tales.

The castle is open from March 1 to June 30 daily from 9.30 to 17.00, in the period from July 1 to August 31 daily from 9.30 to 18.00, from September 1 to October 31, daily from 9.30 to 17.00 and from 1 November to February 28 from Monday to Saturday from 10.00-16.00.

The address is: Castle Street, Caerphilly, CF83 1JD.

The nearest train station is 0.6 miles away at Caerphilly, while the NCN Route No.4 bus service stops 200m from the site.

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