ABSTRACT
Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln and Salisbury, was one of the most powerful barons of his time, and a favourite of Edward I. At Denbigh, as at Conway and Caernarvon, town and castle were planned together. As at Caernarvon, the castle stands in a corner of the town site, so that part of the town wall also forms part of the castle. The great gatehouse of Denbigh Castle shows similar decorative treatment, only it is done by blocks of dark and light stone arranged chequerwise. Gilbert de Clare, the Red Earl of Gloucester, who founded Caerphilly Castle, also possessed an important castle at Tonbridge in Kent. Tonbridge Castle is one of the most instructive in England. Castles had to find quarters for standing garrisons of mercenaries. West of Kidwelly in Wales, across the sandy estuary of the Towy, perched on a green hilltop is the noble castle of Llanstephan.
