Llywelyn Fawr died this day 1240.

Llywelyn was one of Wales's greatest  rulers,  combining the use of necessary force with diplomacy. He united Wales without oppression, and without provoking an English invasion.

1173    Llywelyn was born  in  at  Dolwyddelan in Gwynedd, the son of Iorwerth  ap  Owain, Prince of Gwynedd.

1174    His father died and Gwynedd came under the rule of his two uncles, Dafydd and Rhodri.

1194    Llywelyn defeated his uncles in battle at Aberconwy.  

1198 His illegitimate son Gruffydd ap Llywelyn was born, who would become  the father of Llywelyn  ap  Gruffydd (Llywelyn the Last) who ruled after the death of Gruffydd's brother Dafydd

1200    Llywelyn captured Mold Castle and assumed the title of Prince of all north Wales,

1201    Llywelyn  took an oath of allegiance to King John, in exchange for which Llywelyn would maintain his lands.

1205    Llywelyn married Joan, daughter of King John, which  and  gave him protection from the Marcher Lords who guarded the Welsh / English border.

1208    When the Prince of Powys, Gwenwynwyn was stripped of his lands, Llywelyn moved in to occupy them, gaining control of  southern Powys and northern Ceredigion.  

1210    Llywelyn attacked lands belonging to the powerful Earl of Chester 

1211    King John sided with the Earl and prepared to invade Wales.  Llywelyn averted disaster by sending Joan to intercede with her father and  remained in power.

1212    Dafydd ap Llywelyn was born, the only son of Llywelyn by  Joan.  Llywelyn had Dafydd recognised as his heir by his uncle King Henry III in 1220. He became Prince  of  Gwynedd  from 1240 until his sudden death in 1246.

1214    When King John faced a revolt by his Barons, Llywelyn allied with them.

1215    Llywelyn conquered the castles of Cardigan and Carmarthen and marched over the border to capture Shrewsbury.

1216    King John  died  and  Henry III became king.

1216    Llywelyn allied himself with the powerful Marcher Baron Reginald de Breos, and he was recognised as the ruler of Wales. At a meeting at Aberdovey, he ended the warring among the Welsh Princes and they recognised him as their Overlord. This offered the prospect of unity and peace for the Welsh under their own ruler.

1217    The revolt of the barons came to an end in England

1218    Llywelyn paid homage to the English king on behalf of the other Welsh leaders.

1223    The powerful Earl of Pembroke invaded west Wales from Ireland and took Cardigan and Carmarthen, defeating Llywelyn's army.

1234    Llywelyn made an alliance with the new Earl of Pembroke with the Earl of Abergavenny, marrying his son Dafydd to the Earl of Abergavenny's daughter.

1240      April 11th , Llywelyn died and was buried at the Cistercian Abbey at Aberconwy. His sarcophagus was later moved to the church at Llanwrst, where it can be seen  today , but the whereabouts of his remains is uncertain.  

Work began on the construction of Caerphilly Castle  ( Castell  Caerffili) on 11th  April 1268

Caerphilly Castle  is the second largest castle in Britain. It also has the most elaborate water defences of any castle in Britain.

A History of Caerphilly Castle

After the Norman conquest of England, attempts were made to subdue Wales, with the construction of castles and the establishment of regional lordships being key strategies.  The task of subduing Glamorgan was given to the earls of Gloucester and efforts continued throughout the 12th and early 13th centuries. The de Clare family became earls of Glamorgan in 1217 and attempted to quell the whole region.

1263 - Gilbert de Clare inherited the family lands. Opposing him was Llywelyn  ap  Gruffudd, who had taken advantage of the chaos of the civil war in England to expand his power across the region.

1265 - Llywelyn allied with rebel English barons in return for power in Wales.

1268 - The baronial revolt was overthrown, leaving de Clare free to construct a castle at Caerphilly.

1270 Llywelyn attacked and burnt the site, probably destroying the temporary defences and stores.
1271 - de Clare began work again, raising tensions and prompting Henry to send two bishops to take control of the site and arbitrate a solution to the dispute.

1272 - de Clare seized back the castle, threw out the bishops' soldiers, and continued work on the castle.

1276 - Edward I, invaded  Wales,  reducing Llywelyn's power in South Wales.

1282 - Llywelyn was killed. 

1290 - Local disputes continued between de Clare and  the earl of Hereford, resulting in the temporary royal seizure of Caerphilly.

1294 - Madog  ap  Llywelyn attacked but failed to take the castle.

1316 - Llywelyn Bren rose in revolt, attacking Caerphilly Castle. The intervention of a royal army broke the Welsh siege.

1317 - Hugh le Despenser the younger used his relationship with Edward II to expand his power across the region, claiming land throughout South Wales including Caerphilly Castle.

1326 Edward's wife, Isabella overthrew his government, forcing the king and Hugh to flee. They were besieged in Caerphilly Castle until  March 1327 , after which Hugh was executed.

1403 - The forces of Owain Glyndwr captured Caerphilly Castle, but the occupation lasted only one hundred days.

1405 - At the height of the rebellion, Glyndwr with additional  French,  retook the castle, holding it for a year.

1486 - Ownership of the castle was given to Jasper Tudor, the earl of Pembroke.

1776 - The Marquesses of Bute acquired the castle, which had gone into decline.

1928 - The fourth marquess commissioned a major restoration project.

1950 - The fifth marquess gave Caerphilly Castle to the state. The  final stages of the restoration work were completed in the 1950s and 1960s. The castle is now managed by Cadw as a tourist attraction and is a grade I listed building.  

On 11th April 1877, an underground flood at the Tynewydd Colliery, Rhondda, caused the death of five miners. Four other miners were rescued after eighteen hours, but a further five were trapped underground for four days. After the resulting rescue, twenty five men were awarded the Albert Medal for bravery, the first to be awarded for gallantry on land.   The medal had been introduced to honour life-saving efforts in rescues at sea and has since been replaced by the George Cross.  

Born this day 1969 in Cardiff,

Cerys Matthews , singer, songwriter, broadcaster and author. She is best known for being the lead singer of the rock band Catatonia, for her 1998  Christmas  duet "Baby it's Cold Outside" with Tom Jones and for being a judge for the Dylan Thomas Literary Prize.  

Born this day 1986 in Felinfoel,

David "Dai" Greene , an athlete who is 400-metre hurdle World Champion and European Gold medalist.  He was captain of the Great Britain athletics team for the London 2012 Olympics.   

On Tuesday 11 April 1893 an underground fire at Great Western Colliery, Pontypridd led to the deaths of 63 men and boys. There would have been many more casualties but for the bravery of district fireman Thomas Prosser, who braved the dense smoke underground to open air doors, diverting poisonous fumes out of the mine.