Caerphilly Castle, Picture 3, Edited Version, Caerphilly, Wales (UK), 2012

I ended up in Wales for my New Year's break again in 2011-2012, and one of the trips I took there was to Caerphilly Castle, which I surprisingly had not visited yet. It was easy to get there by train, although strangely I don't have photos. Lately, I've been lazy about taking train photos. The original Caerphilly Castle was completed in 1290 by Gilbert de Clare, whose French name was typical of the era, which was Norman-dominated. More notoriously, de Clare is implicated in the Canterbury Pogrom of 1264, which some historians, like Richard Huscroft, claim he led. He also had poor relations with the Roman Catholic church, being excommunicated within months of the pogrom. Biographies of de Clare are available online, both with and without paywalls. One of the free ones is here:

www.ffish.com/family_tree/Pedigrees/5361.htm

The castle, as it currently stands, is a restoration from the 1930's. However, some parts of the castle have been left unrestored. For example, one tower has been left cracked open. I have additional photos of it which will be posted next.