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Unlike many other Welsh castles, Caerphilly castle was not built by Edward I in his crack-down on the Welsh lords, but by Gilbert 'the Red' de Clare, a powerful, redheaded nobleman of Norman descent as a response to a dispute between him and a nobleman of Welsh origin, Llywelyn who was later a supporter of Simon de Montfort.
At first the dispute was mediated by Henry III ( 1216- 1272), remembered by some as pious but feeble, who sent a Bishop to take temporary control of the castle until matters were settled. Through a fairly straightforward deceit, Gilbert regained control of the castle. Henry, perhaps typically, did little or nothing about it.
So things remained until the reign of Edward I ( 1272- 1307Events October 13 All Knights Templar in France are simultaneously arrested by agents of Phillip the Fair, to be later tortured into "admitting" heresy. November 18 (Legendary) William Tell shoots an apple off his son's head. Edward II becomes King of Eng). When Llywelyn failed on five occasions to provide services demanded of him by the King, he was stripped of his lordship and his lands were invaded by Edward. This removed much of the requirement for the castle, and from then on it was principally used as a base of operations for the de Clares and later the DespensersHugh le Despenser (or Hugh Despenser was the name of five English lords during the 13th and 14th centuries, in a direct line of descent. The 3rd and 4th of these are by the far the best-known, for their prominent role in the reign of Edward II. Sir Hugh l. Towards the end of the 14th century13th century 14th century 15th century more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was that century which lasted from 1301 to 1400. Events The transition from the Medieval Warm Period to the Little Ice Age Beginning of th, the family moved to a more comfortable location and much of the castle was abandoned. Some maintenance was done by its subsequent owners, Richard BeauchampRichard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick (1382 April 30, 1439) was an English nobleman and military commander. He was the son of Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick, and Margaret, daughter of the 3rd Lord Ferrers of Groby. Soon after reaching his (d. 1439Events Battle of Grotnik, which ended the hussite movement in Poland Eric of Pomerania, King of Sweden, Denmark and Norway is declared deposed in Sweden. Karl Knutsson Bonde continues to serve as Regent of Sweden November 12 In England, Plymouth becomes t), Richard Neville (d. 1471) and Jasper Tudor (d. 1495), probably because of its strategic usefulness, but this petered out at the end of the 15th century.
The castle gradually fell into disrepair though some maintenance was done on parts of it, notably the Eastern gate house which was used as a prison. Despite being mostly untouched by the Civil War of 1642- 1648, damage inflicted by the parliamentary army in 1648 led to one of the most notable features of the castle, its leaning south-east tower. The castle's condition worsened until the later part of the 18th century when the first Marquess of Bute began preservation work. Three generations of Marquesses recorded the details of the castle, cleared structures built against its walls as leases ended and eventually undertook painstaking analysis and restoration of the fallen masonry. Finally it was handed over to the government in 1950 and restoration and preservation is continued to this day by Cadw (Welsh Historic Monuments).
Several replica siege engines are on display in the castle.
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