County in Wales
Caerphilly
Caerphilly has a castle that leans more than the Tower of Pisa, a cheese that miners loved, and a comedian in a fez standing guard outside.
Key information
- County
- Caerphilly
- Nation
- Wales
- Population
- about 175,900 (2021 Census)
- Known for
- Caerphilly Castle, Caerphilly cheese, Tommy Cooper, coal-mining heritage
- Famous people
- Tommy Cooper, Manic Street Preachers, James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire
About Caerphilly
The castle that out-leans Pisa
The south-east tower of Caerphilly Castle tilts at around 10 degrees, which is considerably more than the famous tower in Pisa. Subsidence and the wear of centuries are usually blamed. The tower has been leaning for generations and has not fallen down. The castle is the second largest in Britain after Windsor, and the biggest in Wales. It covers about 30 acres, and much of that is water. Gilbert de Clare, the Earl of Gloucester, began building in 1268 to hold back Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the Welsh prince who was expanding his power in the south. De Clare dammed the local streams to create broad artificial lakes, and these became part of the defences. Rings of walls sit inside other rings, with gatehouses guarding every crossing. It is a textbook concentric castle, and it resisted several attacks. Even so, a siege in 1326–27 ended with its garrison surrendering to forces led by William la Zouche. Its story did not end in the Middle Ages. By the 20th century the castle was a half-ruined hulk. The Marquess of Bute began to restore it in 1928, and the work went on for decades. The reflection of those towers in the lake is now one of south Wales's best-known views.
The cheese that kept miners going
Caerphilly cheese is white, crumbly and a little salty, with a fresh, lemony tang. It is traditionally linked with the coal-mining valleys around the town. The usual story is that miners carried it down the pit because its saltiness replaced what they lost through sweat. It was also quick to make and could be sold young, which suited busy farms. The cheese took the town's name because it was sold at the local market. Strangely, a lot of it was later made in Somerset. Welsh farmers turned to selling liquid milk, and the cheese moved across the border. It has since come home, and small Welsh producers make it again. The town's cheese festival has long been a celebration of the link. The Big Cheese was the major festival associated with the castle, with costumed characters, music and plenty of food. In recent years the smaller Little Cheese in the town centre has taken its place while castle redevelopment work took place.
The man in the fez
Tommy Cooper was born in Caerphilly on 19 March 1921. His family moved to Exeter when he was a small child, but Caerphilly has always claimed him. The comedian was a big man in a fez, famous for magic tricks that went wrong on purpose, and for the catchphrase "just like that". He died in 1984, collapsing on stage during a live television show. A statue of him stands near the castle, and visitors often photograph themselves beside it. Cooper is not the only famous voice from the area. The Manic Street Preachers, Nicky Wire and James Dean Bradfield among them, come from Blackwood in the same county. They brought a sharp, political sound out of the old mining valleys.
Coal, cwms and a terrible day at Senghenydd
Caerphilly grew because of coal. The valleys around it filled with collieries and terraced rows in the 19th century, and the population exploded. Towns such as Bargoed, Ystrad Mynach, Risca and Blackwood were largely shaped by the pits. The human cost was severe. On 14 October 1913 an explosion at the Universal Colliery in Senghenydd killed 439 miners and a rescuer. It remains the worst mining disaster in the UK, and the village still remembers it. The last pits have long gone, but the old mining communities keep a strong identity. Brass bands, choirs and Sunday rugby are still part of local life.
A Tudor manor, a mountain and a rugby heartland
Beyond the castle, the county has more to offer. Llancaiach Fawr Manor, near Nelson, is a Tudor house that formerly offered costumed tours set in 1645, with guides who stayed in character as if the Civil War were happening around them. It closed to regular public visits at the end of 2024 as part of council budget cuts. Caerphilly Mountain rises above the town and looks down towards Cardiff. Walkers and cyclists use it to get out of the city and into green hills and big views. Rugby union is the main sport. In the valleys, local clubs are social centres as much as sports teams, and on match days the terraces are full of people who have known each other for years.