CAERPHILLY

'Caerphilly' (Welsh: ''Caerffili'') is a town in South Wales, located at the bottom of the Rhymney Valley, with a population of approximately 31,000. It is traditionally within the county of Glamorgan, on the border with Monmouthshire, but is in the modern ceremonial county of Gwent, and administratively independent as the county borough of Caerphilly. The town gives its name to Caerphilly cheese, which originated in the area.

Caerphilly is the site of Caerphilly Castle, built between 1268 and 1271, which is the largest castle in Wales, and second largest in Britain (after Windsor). In 1899 the Rhymney Railway built their maintenance facilities; however, the expansion of the population in the nineteenth century was more to do with the increasing market for coal. Caerphilly hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1950^[1].
Caerphilly is featured in the Sex Pistols documentary ''The Filth and the Fury''. Protests and a prayer meeting were held outside the Castle Cinema on the evening of December 14, 1976, when the Pistols were playing a concert there. At this point in time, Caerphilly was one of the few city councils that would allow the group to perform (Leeds and Manchester being the others).
Caerphilly is the birthplace of Tommy Cooper,^[2]it was home to Derby County and Wales star Robert Earnshaw, following his family's move from Zambia. Dennis Spargo, creator of the film ''Machen: Then & Now'', lived in Caerphilly for several years until 2006.
The town has a rugby union club, Caerphilly RFC, who play in the Asda League Division 1 EAST.

Contents

Twin towns

References

External links

Twin towns

★ - Ludwigsburg (Germany) since 1960

★ - Pisek (Czech Republic) since 1994

★ - Lannion (France)

References

1. Past National Eisteddfod Locations
2. "Tommy Cooper"

External links

★ Caerphilly County Borough Council

★ Visit Caerphilly

★ Caerphilly Net

★ Caerphilly RFC

★ Mornington Meadows community site

★ YouTube: Ali G visits Caerphilly Castle.

★ The Caerphilly Woodlands Trust

★ Caerphilly Megaday