Caerphilly Castle: Explore Gilbert de Clare's Concentric Castle Defenses in Caerphilly, Wales

On our first trip Mom and I parked in a lot on the back side of the castle and across the street. On the second trip we parked in a Sainsbury lot across the street from the front. It rained much of the time on the second trip, so those shots look a little different from the others.
Shortly after the Norman conquest of England, animosity arose between the Normans and the Welsh. The Earls of Gloucester were tasked with subduing the region of Glamorgan. In 1217 the de Clare family acquired the earldom and attempted to conquer all of Glamorgan. Gilbert de Clare began building a castle in the Rhymney Valley in 1268. Gilbert was known as "The Red" and "Red Gilbert" due to the color of his hair. Caerphilly is the first fortification in Britain to use concentric defenses, in this case consisting of rings of walls/fortified dams and artificial lakes. Edward I based some of the castles he built in Wales on this design. Caerphilly is also the second largest castle in Britain.
De Clare’s chief rival was Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, a Welsh prince. Llywelyn attacked Caerphilly Castle several times during construction, even burning it down at one point. The skirmishes got so bad that King Henry III sent two bishops to arbitrate. The bishops took possession of the castle, and promised construction would stop until negotiations were complete. However, de Clare's men retook the castle, which Gilbert claimed to be innocent of, and he continued building.
An uprising in 1294 of Welsh, led by Morgan ap Maredudd resulted in the burning of half the town, but the castle was not taken. Gilbert the Red died the next year. His son, also Gilbert, inherited the castle but died at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. A brief rebellion again resulted in the destruction of the town, but it was put down by King Edward II and the inheritance was settled on Eleanor de Clare who had married Hugh le Despenser. In 1326 Edward’s wife, Isabella of France, overthrew him so he and Hugh le Despenser fled to Caerphilly Castle. The two fled again just before a siege by William la Zouche which lasted several months until the garrison surrendered in March of 1327.
In 1416 the castle passed to Richard de Beauchamp, Earl of Worcester, through his marriage to Isabel le Despenser, then to her second husband, Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick. It passed to Richard Neville in 1449. After the building of the residence at Cardiff Castle, Caerphilly was of less importance. It eventually fell into ruin, including the draining of the lakes which probably caused the tower to collapse, and stone was removed for use in other buildings. The 3rd and 4th Marquesses of Bute, both named John Crichton-Stuart, made extensive restoration at Caerphilly and other castles. The statue that appears to be holding up the leaning tower is of the 4th Marquess “saving” the castle. The castle is now owned by the Welsh government and operated by Cadw.
At around 30 acres, Caerphilly Castle is the second largest in Britain. Wooden bridges have replaced the drawbridges, and the portcullises have been removed, but the south and east gatehouses have been restored. The north-west tower has been restored, but we did not see a way in. Most of the exhibitions are in the east gatehouse tower, which is the main entrance, and the Great Hall. The North Bank seems to be a popular spot from which to fish in the North Lake.
Our Gilbert "The Red" de Clare page:
www.missouri-mu..."the%20Red%20Earl"%20de%20Clare
Our Edward II page:
www.missouri-mu...
Our Despenser page, though we are not descended:
www.missouri-mu...
The Official Caerphilly Site at Cadw
cadw.gov.wales/...
Caerphilly Castle at Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.o...
At the Caerphilly Government Site
www.caerphilly....
Filming of Doctor Who, Torchwood, and The Sarah Jane Adventures at Caerphilly Castle
www.doctorwholo...

[@abdulazizclare9545]

My ancestor is William Clare of Jamaica but his origins are in the UK. The Normans are mix with Vikings and Franks? de Clare family would have some link to Rollo. Normandy and Norway play big part in root of these people. The Normans loved falconry I keep that tradition. Good video.

[@mistydelaine6088]

Thanks so much for making these videos. They are very well done. I have been learning my ancestry and these first two videos you did are of castles that my great-greats (going back 800 years great :=) grandparents. There were several, beginning with Aoife of Leinster who was the daughter of the King and Queen of Leinster in Ireland and she married Strongbow a De Clare who helped get her father's kingdom back. They had a daughter named Isabel De Clare who married "The Greatest Knight" Richard Marshal. There is a video about him here on youtube. She was a ward of the King of England and he thought William would make her a great husband. By marrying her he became one of the wealthiest men in England and they had tons of castles and lordships. Without him the Magna Carta would just be another paper known only to historians. The both of them built the castle of Kilkenny in Ireland among others. Chepstow was already built when they were married. Since I cannot go see these places at the moment, these videos mean the world to me. Thank you!!!

[@momsuktrip9729]

+Misty DeLaine Thank you. I'm glad you enjoy them. We share many ancestors so my future videos should be of interest as well. We went to Kilkenny, but the current castle is "new", not the one William Marshall built, so I won't have a video on it alone (we didn't go in). He did build most of Chepstow, though, and, of course, Pembroke. I will also have one on Tintern Abbey, Ireland, which was built by William Marshal. And one on Tewkesbury Abbey where Gilbert and Richard de Clare are buried. I have gotten sidetracked with research, which has turned into a six month long overhaul of our Web site, but I hope to get back to the videos soon. You may want to subscribe to my channel if you have not done so, then you will be notified when new videos are posted.

[@mistydelaine6088]

I will subscribe. I know that I will find the future videos interesting. It was just a few months ago that I began researching, after my ex-stepmother went as far back, as those that left England. I decided to go further on my own and have literally become consumed with it. The more I look the more interesting it becomes, as I am sure you are aware of!

[@samclare3765]

@@momsuktrip9729 thanks for the video. I recently visited Pembroke Castle and saw the stone keep with the dome roof. Learnt about Isabelle de Clare and Strongbow and of course The greatest Knight, so interesting. I wondered if I am somehow related, given my family name: Clare

[@momsuktrip9729]

@@samclare3765 I wouldn't be surprised if you are related. It would be interesting to find a connection. My connection to all of the royal families in Europe comes from the de Clare line. From the mid 15th century back to the 12th there was a de Clare in nearly every noble family.