#23 & #100 Caerphilly Castle
Mid-Glamorgan, Wales
1268-1326
This is NOT an official Lego site

Caerphilly was the first concentric castle to be built from scratch in Britain and, despite sieges and neglect, remains one of the most specacular military ruins in the world. She was begun in 1268 by wealthy Marcher Lord Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester and Hereford, to counter the rebellious activity of Llywelyn, Prince of Wales. Llywelyn attacked and 'burnt' the infant castle in 1270, but construction continued and when Llywelyn besieged Caerphilly just a year later, he was defeated. The two outer gatehouses were completed in 1277, with construction of the hornwork, lake and some buildings continuing until at least 1326.
In 1326 Edward II was on the run from his estranged wife Isabella and her paramour Roger Mortimer and took refuge in Caerphilly. By the time Isabella's siege resulted in the castle's surrender, the king had long since fled, leaving half his treasure and clothes behind.

General Plan
Castle Plan


Photos of the Lego Model
Built November 1988
North View
Northeast View
South Southeast View


Photos of the Lego Model
Under construction beginning January 2005
Construction began January 8. This
is the layout from the southeast, with
the Dam Platform & Main Outer
Gatehouse in the foreground.
On January 17 the Dam Platform
and Main Outer Gatehouse are
complete. Note the Sluice outlet
on right center.
On January 30 the island upon
which the inner is seated is
complete.
Here is some detail of the
hoardings on the north curtain
wall under construction.


Photos of the completed Lego Model
Built January - February, 2005
The photographs are arranged from east to west. My Centennial Castle has happily turned
out to be my biggest as well, not only in regards to size, but also by number of Lego pieces
required: Caerphilly was built from 31,950 blocks, larger than Chillon on Lake Geneva,
Switzerland by more than 1,250 bricks! I needed 23,495 light gray Lego pieces, including
449 3x3x6 castle wall corners, and 8,455 Lego of other colors for the infrastructure, grass,
etc. including 850 blue bricks and plates for the lakes.
This is a general view of
Caerphilly from the eastsoutheast.
I built the castle to fit my table...
with both extensions in place!
From the eastnortheast
prospective, the castle is
awesome.
Here is the Dam
Platform - much
wider than I could
replicate [see plan].
The central entrance
to the castle complex
from the east is the
Outer Main Gatehouse
The view from the Dam
Platform side reiterates the
complexities tof the Tower.
To the south is the Guard
Tower, overshadowing the
grist mill.
Another view of the
mill emphasizes the
physical structure with
outlet to the outer lake
The huge upper lake
complex is also drained
via a sluice.
The main castle is
entered from the east
via another bridge
and drawbridge.
This is the first bridge-
drawbridge complex I've built
on an upward slant.
On the left side of the
island is the Kitchen
Annex and the South
Tower complex.
Beyond the Outer East Gatehouse
is the massive Inner East Gatehouse
and its flanking towers!
The inner view of these towers
details their beauty as well as,
potency. Note the murder slots
above each door.
The very complex turret at
the back of each corner
tower is a reminder of the
creativity of this castle!
And from the military to the
opulent: the fabulous vestings
of 13th and 14th century Wales.
Over the Buttery and
Pantry is a pristine
Chapel for the devout..
The windows are
medieval stained glass -
all the more impressive.
The Great Hall with quarters to the
right are so beautiful they were
thought to be a cathedral!
The Inner West Gatehouse
is notably smaller than its
eastern counterpart.
Hoardings on the curtain wall
guard the postern in the north-
west corner of the courtyard.
Its my first attempt to build
hoardings and I think they
look quite functional.
The postern stair in the
Transverse Block leads
directly from the Great
Hall.
The Inner West Gatehouse is
windowless on the exterior.
The corner towers are identical
to those on the east end.
The bridge from the huge Western
Island into the Outer West Gate-
house is thought to have been the
original entrance to Caerphilly.


Build Your Own
Lego Plan for the
1988 model
Lego Plan for the
2005 model
Elevation of the Outer Main Gatehouse and Dams
Elevation of the East Gatehouses
Elevation of the West Gatehouses
N-S Cross-section through the castle
Elevation of the Chapel, Great Hall and Apartments
Plan for the
East Gatehouses
Plan for the South and
SE Towers & the Kitchen
Plan for the
West Gatehouses



Other Caerphilly pages:
http://www.castlewales.com/caerphil.html
http://vi.uh.edu/pages/caerphilly/caerphillytxt1.html


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main castle page.

Castles created by Robert Carney
Page designed by
Anne Sullivan
Page maintained by
Robert Carney