File:Caerphilly Castle - 46781613355.jpg

English: Caerphilly Castle (Castell Caerffili), Glamorgan, 19 April 2019. It was built, next to the site of an old Roman fort, by Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, in 1268-90 as part of the Norman invasion of Wales, although the local Welsh prince, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, burnt the partly constructed castle in 1270 but subsequently he was defeated and later killed in 1282. It was again attacked by Morgan ap Meredudd during the rebellion by Madog ap Llywelyn in 1294 and again by Llywelyn Bryn in his rebellion of 1316 but ultimately the Anglo-Norman conquest of Wales succeeded. In the English Civil War, South Wales was Royalist but the Parliamentarians took Caerphilly in 1646. They may have subsequenly slighted the Castle although subsidence may have been the main cause of it's partial collapse. The Marquess of Bute restored the castle in 1928-39. The castle is the biggest in Wales, second in the UK. It had the most elaborate water defences of any British castle and introduced the concentric wall defences to Britain. Pictured is the castle from the south with the South Lake and, to the right, the Outer Main (Eastern) Gatehouse. To the left is the bridge to the Western Island, an important part of the defensive system and may have been to shelter the town's population in time of seige.