Cardiff Castle - Castell Caerdydd

The text below is taken from Cardiff Castle’s official website. The photos illustrating this brief history, are the ones taken during our third project meeting in Cardiff, in October 2010.

Cardiff Castle is one of Wales’ leading heritage attractions and a site of international significance. Located at the heart of the capital, within beautiful parklands, the Castle’s walls and fairytale towers conceal 2,000 years of history.

The Roman fort at Cardiff was probably established at the end of the 50s AD, on a strategic site that afforded easy access to the sea. Archaeological excavations made during the 1970s indicate that this was only the first of four forts, each a different size, that occupied the present site. Remains of the Roman wall can be seen today.

After the Norman conquest, the Castle’s keep was built

,

Norman Keep; North Gate on the right

re-using the site of the Roman fort. The site was divided into inner and outer wards, separated by a huge stone wall.

The first keep on the motte

Mound with on top Norman keep

was erected by Robert Fitzhamon, the Norman Lord of Gloucester, and along with many of these early defences was probably built of wood.

Norman Keep, inside

More medieval fortifications and dwellings followed.

Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (c. 1090 – October 31, 1147)

Banqueting Hall, chimneypiece

Robert the Consul

The former wooden castle was replaced with stone by Robert the Consul during the twelth century. In 1121 or 1122 his father created him Earl of Gloucester. He became second Lord of Glamorgan, and gained posession of Cardiff Castle, and was responsible for the building of the stone keep there, which remains as the best preserved Norman shell keep in Wales, and one of the best in the British Isles. Robert had considerable authority and autonomy, to the extent that he even minted his own coinage, today preserved in the British Museum.

The Castle passed through the hands of many noble families until in 1766, it passed by marriage to the Bute family. The 2nd Marquess of Bute was responsible for turning Cardiff into the world’s greatest coal exporting port. The Castle and Bute fortune passed to his son John, the 3rd Marquess of Bute, who by the 1860s was reputed to be the richest man in the world.

From 1866 the 3rd Marquess employed the genius architect William Burges to transform the Castle lodgings.

He created Gothic Towers.

Gothic Towers, a Victorian skyline

Castle Apartments

Rebuilding began with the Clock Tower in the south-west corner,

planned 1866–1868 and begun in 1869. The towers continue westward, the Tank Tower, the Guest Tower, the Herbert Tower. - In the sixteenth century Cardiff Castle was granted to William Herbert (died 1570), and it remained in the Herbert family until the eighteenth century. - and the Beauchamp Tower, also called Octogan Tower, a 15th-century tower restored by Burges.

Inside these towers he created lavish and opulent interiors,

Banqueting Hall

Castle Apartments

rich with murals,

Banqueting Hall

The walls are painted with murals depicting events in the lives of Robert Consul, the Empress Matilda and King Stephen. This theme is continued on the great castellated chimneypiece.

Banqueting Hall

woodcarving; mural

stained glass,

The stained-glass windows depict the lords of the Castle through the ages.

Banqueting Hall

marble,

Arab Room, chimneypiece

white marble; lapis lazuli

gilding

gilding, library

and elaborate wood carvings.

Banqueting Hall, woodcarving

Each breathtaking room has its own special theme, including Mediterranean gardens and Italian and Arabian decoration.

Arab Room, 1881, castle apartments

The Arab Room is in the Herbert Tower and was used as a sitting room. It shows how Lord Bute and his architect, William Burges, were interested in an eastern design. The ceiling had been decorated with leaf gold. William Burges’ favourite bird was a parrot, so he decorated the ceiling with them. This room was specifically for the ladies so the men were not allowed in there and the parrots told people that the ladies used to talk a lot.

The 3rd Marquess died when he was only 53 in 1900. He had transformed the Castle into a Welsh Victorian Camelot - now regarded as being of international significance. Despite huge death duties on the estate, the 4th Marquess completed many of his father’s restoration projects including the reconstruction of the Roman wall. The Bute family continued to stay at the Castle throughout the 1920s and 1930s, although they had sold off many of their business interests in South Wales. Following the death of the 4th Marquess of Bute, the family decided to give the Castle and much of its parkland, known as Bute Park,

Bute Park

viewed from Norman Keep

to the city of Cardiff. For 25 years, the Castle was home to the National College of Music and Drama and since 1974 has become one of Wales’ most popular visitor attractions.

If you’re interested in the Castle’s wartunnels, read the article from BBC News.