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The interior ruins
Caerphilly Castle, covering an area of 30 acres, is the largest
castle in Wales, and one of the biggest in all of Britain. It
was built from 1268 by Red (as he was known after the fiery
colour of his hair) Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, in
an effort to assert his claim to the disputed territory of upland
Glamorgan.
This quick tour of Caerphilly reveals how much had changed since the
12th century, when great towers or keeps were fashionable. When castles
were laid out from scratch in the 13th century, master masons and
their patrons preferred an 'enclosure' model, which allowed them greater
freedom to experiment with new designs. The hall, the chapel, the
kitchens and stables were now arranged around a courtyard, and all
this was surrounded, or 'enclosed', by a circuit of high walls. Caerphilly
is considered to be the earliest and finest example of the true regular
concentric fortification in the British Isles.
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