Six weapons of war in castles in the Welsh Marches

At Caerphilly Castle
   As far as I know Caerphilly wins the body count with 4 Medieval siege machines in its grounds (to the left as you enter.)
  The trebuchet is probably the best known and many parents will have helped their child construct one out of the inside of loo rolls as a school project. Although the machine started off as a traction engine with men pulling at it (15 to 45 were needed), it later became what is known as a counterweight or counterpoise trebuchet, capable of flinging projectiles of up to 90kg or even more about 300 metres and its use continued well after the introduction of gunpowder.
   This later version has a gravity-powered lever using potential energy so that when the weight box falls, the throwing arm (4 to 6 times the length of the counterweight portion) hurls the object contained in the sling over the castle walls. It could fire a stone every 15 seconds but sometimes plague-ridden corpses were thrown - an early act of biological warfare. Even after it fell into general disuse, it was employed when cannon had too short a range and, I am delighted to relate, there are pumpkin chunking [sic] competitions in the USA which keep it going.
   The mangonel was a type of catapult with poorer accuracy than the later trebuchet and with a lower trajectory and higher velocity. It was used to destroy the walls of a castle rather than hurl objects over them and the items used might be rocks or firepots (vessels filled with burning material to create a fireball) but, when they were employed to send something over, that could be a human or animal carcass or head, probably diseased. This was very effective as conditions inside were cramped, with poor hygiene, shortage of food and crawling with vermin, ideal for the spreading of epidemics. It needed about 20 men pulling on ropes attached to the counterweight and its effectiveness depended largely on those troops being well-trained. No-one wants a bovine head ricocheting!
   The ballista was a highly accurate missile weapon, mentioned in the Bible circa 783-742 BC. It shot darts or spherical stones and assisted the Greeks in warfare and later the Romans in their conquest of Europe. After the time of Julius Caesar, the ballista became a permanent feature of the Roman army, being constantly modified to improve performance usually as an anti-personnel weapon.The largest in the 4th century could fire a dart more than 1200 yards (1,100 metres). It gave way to the trebuchet and mangonel in the Middle Ages and to the cross-bow as a sniper weapon: armies needed machines which were simple and cheap to make and easy to maintain - the ballista needed anointing.
   The perrier (sometimes called a traction trebuchet) had its origins in Ancient China where it needed 6 men in the crew and had a range of 110 metres, a projectile weight of 5 kilos and did damage to walls or attackers. The one in Caerphilly Castle was fired for a TV programme by Dan Snow when it was - as we can see on YouTube - innocuous. It was a counterpoise machine which propelled objects from a sling as did the trebuchet but the perrier was lighter and more transportable than other throwing engines and its use spread to the west during the Crusader wars of the 12th century.

Goodrich Castle - Roaring Meg
   This nifty but powerful little number was built especially for the siege of Goodrich Castle during the Civil War. Colonel Birch ordered the mortar to be made, probably by a local manufacturer near Lydbrook, Howbrook furnace. in 1646. The owner, John Browne supplied the Parliamentarians with arms.
   It has a 15.5 inch barrel diameter, could fire a 2cwt hollow ball filled with gunpowder and was instrumental in the capture of Goodrich Castle by Sir Thomas Fairfax. It is reported that Colonel Birch was so over-excited by this new implement that he insisted on firing the last 19 balls himself. (You can see a pile of cannon balls nearby.) The gun was then taken to Raglan Castle where it was effective in bringing about a bloodless truce.
   In modern times the gun has received homage in Monty Python in a scurrilous joke which I blush to repeat and will hide further down below the links so that the onus is on you not to look!

Caldicot Castle: Nelson's gun

   Just as you go into Caldicot Castle, you pass a gun from Nelson's flagship, HMS Foudroyant, which my schoolgirl French tells me means "blaster" or "thunderer". Designed by Sir John Henslow and constructed in Plymouth, she was launched on 31st March 1798, one of only 2 British-built 80-gun ships of the period, (the other being HMS Caesar). She was Nelson's flagship from 6 June 1799 to the end of June 1801 but it cannot be boasted that she took part in any major fleet action. After serving 17 useful years she became a boys' training vessel.
   Under Nelson, in 1799,  she was involved in attempts to return the Neapolitan royal family to Naples and it was there that Nelson began his affair with Emma, Lady Hamilton. The Neapolitan king and queen later boarded her as well as the Hamiltons. There was some involvement against 2 French ships during the Napoleonic Wars.
   After her period as a gunnery training vessel from 1862-1884, she was placed on the Sales List in 1891 and went for £2,350 to J. Read of Portsmouth who resold her to German shipbreakers. This caused public protest and Wheatley Cobb bought her as a training vessel for boys. The restoration cost £20,000 and the money had to be found somehow.
   HMS Foudroyant was therefore taken on tour to be exhibited at British seaside resorts and was being towed to Blackpool in June 1897 when a huge storm blew her ashore, damaging the North Pier and needing the lifeboat to rescue all 27 men aboard. It was impossible to refloat her and so the guns were removed and the wreck sold for £200. December gales caused further final damage and local craftsmen used the flotsam to make furniture and wood panelling: the bell is in Blackpool Town Hall and a gun here in Caldicot.

You can see all these machines by visiting the castles by bus but, unfortunately, they will not let you fire them for fun unless you happen to be Dan Snow. Details of transport are given on the blog articles for each castle: Caerphilly Castle, Goodrich Castle and Caldicot Castle. Raglan Castle is also worth a detour.

Monty Python joke: "The whole garrison banged roaring Meg and shot their balls into the French." I did warn you - and now that you have taken a naughty peek you do not deserve any CAKE.

Caerphilly Castle: huge and imposing

Overall
  If the surrounding lakes are taken into account, Caerphilly Castle is the largest in Wales, second largest in Britain, and is stunning in its grandeur. Although guidebooks make much of its not being situated on a crag, it is sufficiently elevated from the town side to have overwhelmed me as I stepped off my bus.
   It was not built by or for a king but by "Red" Gilbert de Clare, a man of enormous wealth and fiery hair, hence the nickname (in the Middle Ages it did not do to have physical oddities or else you were liable to be called Curthose - short-arse - or Wry-neck.) It rose with amazing speed between 11th April 1268 and 1271 to counteract the political and military threat posed by Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd to the Marcher lords of South-East Wales, although its function as a fortress was relatively short-lived. The concentric design preceded and inspired that of the castles built by Edward I in North Wales. Although Gilbert, Earl of Gloucester, was only 25 when the castle was started, it was a huge and visionary undertaking. It was both the result and cause of strife in Glamorgan.

Design
   This concentricity was a development from earlier castles which had relied on a strong keep for their defence: attack strategies had caught up with that and, from the 12th century onwards, builders trusted instead to double circuits of high walls with even taller round towers thrusting outwards so that arrows could be shot right down to their base. These walls would have crenellations, arrow loops and, at Caerphilly, the main gatehouse is as large as a traditional keep. The idea of having 2 gatehouses was modern, the overhead space being used for the guard and for accommodation.
   The surrounding artificial lakes, which are much wider than a moat, were defensive because they made the castle very difficult to storm directly as it was impossible to bring siege engines close or to undermine the walls. The waters prevented a blind spot at the foot of the walls where attackers could remain hidden. It is thought that de Clare had noted the water defences at Kenilworth and applied similar here.

History

  De Clare was apparently headstrong and impetuous as a youth and initially supported Simon de Montfort in his struggle against King Henry III. De Montfort, in turn, was backed by Prince Llwyelyn ap Gruffudd. Gilbert then became disillusioned with that faction as the power of the Welsh Prince posed a threat to his massive interests in the Marches. He went over to Prince Edward, later Edward I, and fought with him at the Battle of Evesham in which de Montfort was defeated and savagely slaughtered. His supporters fled to Kenilworth where de Clare, attacking, encountered the defensive value of waterworks in a siege lasting from Easter to Christmas 1266. Edward, on becoming king, reacted with outrage to the failure of the Welsh Prince to obey 5 summonses to pay homage and drove him out of his possessions: his final defeat and death came in 1282.
   Caerphilly Castle could then become a more peaceful site as a centre of administration for the de Clares although there were further less serious troubles including a fine imposed on Gilbert of £6,666 by the king. A later revolt by Llewellyn Bren led to an attack by 10,000 men but the castle suffered only in having its gate and drawbridge damaged or burnt, although the town and its mills were destroyed. Gilbert's son, Gilbert who inherited, was killed at Bannockburn.
   The next main story is that of Hugh le Despenser the younger, a royal favourite, who married Eleanor, Earl Gilbert the Red's eldest daughter. Hated by almost everyone, he caused the surrendering Llewellyn Bren to be hanged, drawn and quartered, which led to a rebellion by powerful Marcher lords against him. He was banished but returned and used his influence over Edward II to amass huge wealth and power: it was at this time that he spent effort and money on the Great Hall at Caerphilly. Isabella of France, Edward's estranged queen, and her lover, Roger Mortimer, then landed in Suffolk and undermined the position of Hugh le Despenser. The king and Despenser sheltered at Caerphilly and left much of the royal treasure there when they moved on, both to barbarous deaths.
   Isabella's force besieged the castle and an inventory shows how well provided the fortress was: 800 lance shafts; 14 Danish axes; 1,130 crossbow bolts fitted with hedgehog quills; 118 quarters of wheat; 118 quarters of beans; 78 ox carcasses; 280 of mutton; 72 hams; 1,856 stockfish; 6 tuns of red wine and 1 white (though the clerk noted that 10 inches of the white were lacking!) In all £14,000 of treasure was found as well as nearly 600 silver vessels. Amongst the king's personal affairs was a black cap decorated with butterflies and pearls - how such details bring history to life! Later again, the castle fell into disrepair and was described by John Leland in 1539-ish as having "waulles of a wonderful thiknes." It became an attraction for seekers of the picturesque, being then restored to some extent by, most importantly, the 4th Marquis of Bute.

Main Features

   For the modern visitor, the general impression of the castle is one of immense power and grandeur and this extends to the Great Hall. In many castles, one has to imagine this amenity but here it is visible and redolent of the lavish entertainment for which it was built and restored.       We have already admired the lakes created by the damming of the Nant y Gledyr stream and have passed under the gateway where once our arrival would have been observed with suspicion by the guard. There are lots of little doorways and nooks to peer into and potter down, murder holes, arrow slits and portcullis grooves to notice but, before you leave and head for your large slice of CAKE, it is worth pausing to gaze at the leaning tower and inspect the 4 impressive replica Medieval siege weapons which include a trebuchet. This war machine is full-sized and has a 20 foot throwing arm which would hurl a 25 pound missile capable of smashing a wooden building in a bailey or crashing through a lead roof. In Caerphilly the missile would drop into the lake - but what a splash! The tower leans probably because of ground subsidence and has attained an angle of 10 degrees. Almost incredibly its outer face is undamaged and its features are original.

Your visit
  Caerphilly is well served by buses, including the frequent no 50 from Newport, Gwent.
To see opening times, click here.  Other castles of interest in South-East Wales include Chepstow Castle and Raglan Castle, whilst, for a sample of the type of entertainment that might be provided in the Great Hall, you could read my article on Roland le Pettour, the favourite jester of the second Henry. Your dog would love a walk in the parklands surrounding Caldicot Castle and could learn a good deal of useful history as it gambols. A little further afield is the impressive Goodrich Castle with excellent walking nearby.