Journey through Wales 3

Being a record by Ifor of Gwent of his journey through the Welsh March with the Sheriff of Blackwater and others, illustrated by the author.

Caerffili (1) lies in a basin between hills, with a fair view of the Rhymney Valley. The Romans erected an auxiliary fort here in 75AD, but abandoned it in the second century. The area remained largely unoccupied until the thirteenth century, when the mediæval castle was built. The Normans had occupied the coastal region of the cantref of Senghennydd, in the region of Caerdydd, from around 1090, but they were content to leave the hill country to the native people. However, in 1262 the Marcher baron Richard de Clare died and the prince of Gwynedd, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, began a revolt. Henry III gave the young earl Gilbert de Clare (2) authority to take over the lands of those Welshmen in Morgannwg who supported Llywelyn, and in 1266 he seized upland Senghennydd from its ruler, Gruffudd ap Rhys. Nevertheless, by 1267 Llywelyn had become master of the greater part of Wales. He made peace with Henry III and was recognised in the Treaty of Montgomery as Prince of Wales, the feudal lord of all the other Welsh princes. This treaty was ambiguous regarding the status of upland Morgannwg: was it subject to the Welsh lords, and thus to Llywelyn, or to Gilbert, the Norman lord of the region? The earl foresaw that he might lose control of Senghennydd, at least as far south as Caerffili, all too near his headquarters at Caerdydd.	INCIPIT PARS TERTIA
On 11 April 1268, scant months after the Treaty of Montgomery had been sealed, Gilbert's workmen began building at Caerffili. Originally, the site was a narrow spit of gravel between the marshy courses of two streams. Ditches were cut across this spit to create a central island. The spoil from the digging was used to level the island and to create curved embankments, turning the streams into a moat. Next, the area of gravel to the East of the central island was extended to dam the Nant y Gledyr stream, thereby flooding the whole valley. A ditch was dug to isolate the western section of the spit, and the three areas of land were revetted around in stone. Most of the impressive stone walls, towers and gatehouses were also constructed during this initial phase of building, which ended in 1271.
The construction was not achieved without interruption, however, for Llywelyn occupied northern Senghennydd in the summer of 1268. The King arranged a truce, but the Norman earl continued his building. On 13 October 1270, Llywelyn lost patience and fired the castle, although this was more a token burning of palisades, floors and other timber than a substantial destruction of the works. Construction recommenced the next summer, and Llywelyn prepared for war. Another truce was negotiated: de Clare handed the castle to the bishops of Lichfield and Worcester, and it was stipulated that no additions to the castle should be made, whether in walls, ditches, or garniture, nor should any walls be raised, crenellated, bretached or changed. The constable of Castell Caerdydd soon took back the castle on Gilbert's behalf, and Llywelyn was eventually forced back to Aberrhonddu (3).
Henry III died in 1273, and Edward I proved less accomodating to the Welsh. Llywelyn was killed in December 1282 during Edward's second campaign, and with him died all hope of Welsh independence until the uprising in 1400 under Owain Glyndw^r. Meanwhile, Castell Caerffili was extended somewhat during the comparatively untroubled period from 1277 to 1290.
Ponam faciem meam contra vos et corruetis coram hostibus vestris. (4)
Maybe God set His face against the obstreperous Gilbert de Clare, for his future was to prove turbulent. In 1287 he began another castle at Morlais, near Merthyr Tudful (5), which brought him into conflict with Humphrey de Bohun, the earl of Hereford. As lords of the March, de Clare and de Bohun were allowed to conduct their affairs without royal control. However, the weaker Earl Humphrey was entitled to appeal to the king, who ordered a cessation of hostilities. Skirmishes continued, and both earls were imprisoned until they paid substantial penalties; Gilbert was fined 10,000 marks. This set a precedent, and the Marcher lords nevermore enjoyed their former independence.
In the Autumn of 1294, the Welsh broke into revolt under Madog ap Llywelyn. In Morgannwg the uprising was led by Morgan ap Maredudd, whom Gilbert had dispossessed in 1270. Morlais Castle was captured and half the town of Caerffili was burnt, though the castle held out until the rebels surrendered in June 1295, not to de Clare but to the King. Earl Gilbert died in December of that year and his heir was killed in the battle of Bannockburn in 1314, extinguishing the male line. The estates were thereafter administered by agents of the Crown, who treated the inhabitants so badly that Llywelyn Bren rebelled in 1316. He attacked Caerffili with maybe 10,000 men, burning the town and its mills and besieging the castle. Edward II managed to relieve the castle, despite vigorous Welsh resistance. Although Llywelyn Bren surrendered on terms, the treacherous English murdered him at Caerdydd in 1318.
The husband of the eldest de Clare heiress, Hugh le Despenser the younger, was granted the castles of Caerdydd and Caerffili; he extensively remodelled the great hall at the latter. The Despencers proved as avaricious as their predecessors, and they soon came to a woeful end, along with their king. Hugh le Despencer was hanged from a gallows fifty feet high, and Edward was forced to abdicate in favour of his young son, before being murdered early in 1327. May such a fate befall all oppressors of the Welsh people!
The castle largely fell into disuse. In 1539 John Leland recorded ruinus waulles of a wonderful thiknes, with just a single toure kept up for prisoners. Much damage was done by one Thomas Lewis, who was given permission in 1583 to remove stone to enlarge his house at Y Fan. Once the sluicegates were neglected, the lakes drained and the embanked islands slumped as they dried out. The wall on the north dam may be seen to have parted from its towers, and the south-east tower has split and now leans outward at 10° from the vertical.
In our current century, the fourth marquess of Bute undertook much restoration of the castle, painstakingly reassembling fallen masonry wherever possible and, where not, scrupulously marking off reconstructed sections with composite stone or red tiles. While mindful that it is not my place to judge such goodly works, I confess I found the square-cut replacement sections around the great hall somewhat incongruous alongside the original worn stone.
Castell Caerffili
So it was that we found Castell Caerffili well tended, with all but two towers repaired. A hourd (6) has been constructed over part of the northern wall and on the south dam platform stand four siege engines: a ballista, a trébuchet, a mangonel and a perrier (7). It was evident that Robert had no need to secure this place or offer it guardianship, so we departed. Entering the town which has grown up about the castle, we found it mean and dirty, its streets clogged with carts and wagons. We therefore repaired to the old courthouse, which is now an inn.	EXPLICIT PARS TERTIA

1	Caer Ffili, 'Ffili's fortress'; known in English as Caerphilly. (back)
2	Gilbert de Clare (1243-95), known as 'the Red' after the fiery colour of his hair, was the son of Richard de Clare. (back)
3	Brecon, which will be treated in a later part of this opus. (back)
4	'I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies' (Leviticus 26:17). This appears to be a later addition as a gloss to the next paragraph. (back)
5	Merthyr Tydfil, 'grave of Tudful the martyr'. (back)
6	A wooden extension to the wall-walk, being a gallery overhanging the outside of the wall. (back)
7	Descriptions of these siege engines can be found in Engines of War : Replica Medieval Siege Weapons at Caerphilly Castle by P. H. Humphries, published 1992 by Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments, ISBN 0-948329-90-4. Alternatively, you can look here. (back)