were not very interesting, till ascending Thorn Hill, the beauties of the
vale below, with the Flat and Steep Holmes rising in the distant
prospect, the ruins of Cardiff Castle, and the ivy-mantled walls of
Landaff cathedral, amply compensated for the trouble of climbing this
eminence. A little farther on, Caerphily Castle burst upon our sight,
and
—“seemed to frown
In awful majesty on all around.”
The founder, and the time of its erection, are very uncertain; but I
refer my readers to the first volume of the _Archæologia_; to an
ingenious Dissertation, by Daines Barrington, where it is satisfactorily
proved to have been the work of King Edward I. This castle is one of the
noblest ruins of ancient architecture now remaining in the kingdom, and
exceeds all in bigness, except that of Windsor. The hall and the chapel
may still be traced; the former measures about seventy feet in length,
thirty-four in breadth, and seventeen in height. The roof is vaulted
about eight feet high, and supported by twenty arches. On the north side
is a chimney ten feet wide, with two windows on each side, extending down
to the floor, and carried above the supposed height of this room. At
each angle was originally a round tower of four stories, communicating
with each other by a gallery. On the west side of the hall stairs is a
low round tower, of one story, called the Mint-house, with three painted
arches on the south side, and a square well on the west. The leaning
tower, towards the east end, more particularly engaged our notice: it is
divided into two separate parts by a large fissure, which runs from the
top down almost to the middle. Its lineal projection is supposed to be
on the outer side about eleven feet and a half. On the west and north
are visible vestiges of a draw-bridge.
The east wall, on the south side of the principal entrance, is fluted
between the buttresses, with battlements on their tops, to protect the
intermediate walls.
This castle was that to which the Spensers retired in the reign of Edward
II. but being taken, there were discovered within the walls, 2,000 fat
oxen, 12,000 cows, 25,000 calves, 30,000 fat sheep, 600 horses, 2,000 fat
hogs; besides 2,000 beeves, 600 sheep, and 1,000 hogs salted: 200 tons of
wine, 40 tons of cider, and wheat for 2,000 men for four years.