Caerphilly

Alternative Name: Caerffili
Morphology: caer+ffili as in the personal name Ffili
Phonetic: kairr-phil-ee

Famous for its castle and its cheese, the town dates back to at least the 13 th century. The castle was built between 1268 and 1271 by Gilbert de Clare to subdue the local Welsh lords. The identity of Ffili remains a topic of debate, despite the town being named Ffili’s Fort, which may refer to the Roman auxiliary fort in the castle grounds. One possible explanation is that there was a bishop Ffili, who may have had a monastery at Caerphilly and whose existence is confirmed by an 8th century memorial stone found near Ogmore Castle. The discovery of the stone was noted in Archaeologia Cambrensis journal in the mid-1930s. Due to its long history, the town has appeared on most maps of the area for many centuries, such as Caerfilly in the Chorographia Britanniæ by T. Badeslade & W H Toms in 1741 and as Caerphilly by John Ellis in Ellis's English Atlas in 1766.