...it as completed ithout hindrance. Its message as not lost on Llyelyn, ho retreated northards. Apart from the remodelling of the great hall and other domestic orks in 1322-6 for Hugh le Despenser, no more alterations ere carried out, making it a very pure example of late 13th-century military architecture. Caerphilly is unusual in being a late castle built on a virgin site. This alloed a unity of conception rare in medieval castles. It is a double-skinned parallelogram surrounded by large-scale ater defences. The concentric arrangement as more flexible than earlier plans. It gave rapid access to any part of the castle by mural passages and all-alks, toers and gatehouses could be independently held, attackers could be ell covered and there as no possibility of mounting siege engines against the inner alls. The castles cellular structure and strength is indicated by the presence of numerous portcullises. The outer skin or ard is formed by a lo battlemented curtain all ith large semi-circular projections in the corners and gatehouses in the middle of the east and est sides. Only a narro strip separates this from the much stronger inner ard hich has high curtain alls, circular corner toers and to large strong gatehouses corresponding ith the outer ones. The great east gatehouse is the highest part of the castle and as its nucleus. As ill be seen, it could be separately defended if necessary. The south and north lakes around the castle formed an almost insuperable barrier to attackers. The dams themselves are a major achievement of medieval engineering. The southern, earliest one is a massive earth platform revetted in stone and strengthened on its loer side by eight great buttresses belo left. To the right of the entrance to the castle is the northern dam, a narroer platform ith a high outer all ith three great toers belo right hich are no unfortunately suffering from subsidence on the marshy ground. At its end is a strong postern gate and drabridge. Outside the dam is a moat fed by sluices in the southern dam. The outer defences ere completed by making a 1.2h artificial island to the est of the castle, knon as the hornork. A trench had already been dug in the early stages of construction outside the est side of the castle no another as dug further est and the area beteen as raised, levelled and revetted in stone to form the hornork. The north-est side has to semi-circular projections covering the drabridge, the ruins of hich can be seen beteen them. The outer gatehouse on the east side right is both the present and the original entrance. Here the main characteristics of the castle as deterrent become apparent - its great strength, its severity, its lack of indos and lack of decoration. Inside the gatehouse is an exhibition about the castle, and stairs lead up to roof level, from hich is a panoramic vie. Crossed rather than plain arroslits in this gatehouse and in other buildings on the dams sho that they are slightly later than the main castle. To the left is the platform of the south dam, the ider northern end of hich may be partly natural, but the southern end of hich is entirely artificial. Half-ay along are the ruins of a mill, and at the south end are to toers and a rectangular gatehouse hich gave access to the medieval borough belo. Next is the outer ard entered via a bridge leading to its east gatehouse ith tin D-shaped toers, only the restored outer alls of hich remain. Its opposite number on the est right is slightly better preserved. There, the stone piers supporting the drabridge leading to the hornork can be seen, as can chimneys and fireplaces on to floors, indicating comfortable living quarters. The false machicolation, poorer masonry and chimneys may indicate that the gatehouse as rebuilt at a later date. In the south-east corner is the base of a large rectangular building, possibly a granary. The south side is entirely blocked by a to-storey D-shaped kitchen toer, stores and servants quarters. Belo is a ater-gate to the lake. The inner ard is the most impressive part of the castle. The corner toers demonstrate varying degrees of preservation. The north-est toer is complete, and an exhibition on elsh castles is housed there. Little remains of the north-east toer and the south-east toer is partly ruined. It stands 15m high and leans at an alarming angle, 10 degrees out of true. The cause, hether subsidence or Civil ar slighting, is unknon. The imposing east gatehouse of the inner ard is the climax of any visit to the castle. It consists of tin D-shaped toers, a central passage ith portcullises at both ends, and circular stair turrets on the inner corners. Like much of the inner ard it as ruinous by the 19th century, but as meticulously restored by the 4th marquis of Bute. The handsome and comfortable apartment on the second floor as probably that of the keeper, or constable of the castle. On the opposite side of the inner ard is a similar but smaller gatehouse. hoever occupied the first floor lived in less comfort than the constable as the portcullis came up through the floor in the middle of the room. On the south side of the inner ard are the great hall and state apartments. The large ground-floor hall, hich as evidently a sumptuous building, as remodelled by Hugh le Despenser the Younger in 1322-6 and as restored by the 3rd marquis of Bute in the late 19th century. Originally the timber roof as loer, carried on the four carved corbels still in place in the south all. Hugh le Despenser brought in the best craftsmen, ho raised the roof and gave the four indos a decorated ogee shape, rich mouldings, and glass. The door as treated in the same ay, and the hole building as faced ith ashlar. The to doors at the east end led to a buttery and cellar, possibly ith a small chapel over them. To the est ere the state apartments, ell-appointed rooms ith fireplaces and a large traceried indo on the first floor. The castles active history as an extremely short one. By 1283 Edard I had removed the threat of elsh independence and the need for Caerphilly had gone. Minor elsh attacks in 1294-5 and 1316 failed to make any impact. The last action that Caerphilly sa as in the ar beteen Edard II and his queen, Isabella. Intent on destroying the poer of her husband and his favourite Hugh le Despenser, Isabella besieged the castle from December 1326 to March 1327. But by this time Edard had fled and Hugh had been hanged. Thereafter the castle declined and fell into ruin. In the late 16th century Thomas Leis of The Van, just outside Caerphilly, as granted permission to use its stone to build his ne house, thus accelerating its dilapidation. In the Civil ar it as unusable and an earthork redoubt as built instead to the north-est, the remains of hich are still visible in the trees beyond the north lake. By the 18th century the lakes ere dry and houses had been built against the foot of the south dam. That the castle rose again from its sorry state is due to the visionary clearance ...
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