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Cardiff & Monmouthshire - Places of Interest
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Cardiff Castle
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Cardiff Castle Grounds, Cardiff,
South Glamorgan CF10 3RB
Tel: 02920 878100
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 Cardiff Castle is an unusual blend of Roman fort, medieval castle
and fanciful Victorian gothic mansion.
The Romans established a fort on the site in the 1 st century
AD, but the square 8 acre fort that remains today was built in the
4th century. When the Normans built their castle in the late 11th century what
remained of the Roman walls was buried under earth ramparts. The walls were revealed
during excavations in 1889, and were rebuilt on the original foundations - clearly visible
in places -between 1922 and 1925.
The Norman motte had a stone shell keep added in the 12th century.
Further reinforcements were added by the De Clare family in the 13th and early
14th centuries. The keep gained a gatehouse and fore-buildings linked by a massive
ward wall to a new tower in the south - the Black Tower. The wall and the keep's
fore-buildings were demolished by `Capability' Brown in the 1770's during
re-development of the site. The moat that surrounded the motte was also filled in, but has since
been restored and modern stone now marks the position of the old wall and fore-buildings.
In 1423, Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, built a new tower and hall block
on the western wall of the site. This was improved in the late 16th century by
the Herbert family who converted it into a luxurious and well appointed house. For most
of the 17th and 18th centuries the house was left empty and fell into disrepair. In
1766 the house came into the possession of Lord Mountstuart, the future 1 st Marquess
of Bute. He began a programme of demolition and re-building that was continued by
his grandson, the 2nd Marquess.
The 2nd Marquess of Bute gained immense wealth through the exploitation
of mineral resources on his Glamorgan estates and his development of Cardiff as
a centre for industrial trade. When he died suddenly in 1848 he left an infant son,
John Patrick Crichton Stuart, as "the richest baby in Britain". The 3rd Marquess was
to become one of the richest men in the world, and he lavished money on
building projects at many of his properties. In 1869 work began to remodel Cardiff Castle
to the designs of the Gothic Revival architect William Burges. The great wealth of
Lord Bute provided Burges with the freedom to design and build his most fanciful
schemes. A visit to Cardiff Castle without viewing the interiors would mean missing out
on some of the most remarkable rooms ever created during the Victorian era. To
fully appreciate the work of William Burges it is worth visiting nearby
Castell Cach which was rebuilt as a summer retreat for Lord Bute and features more of Burges'
gothic fantasy creations.
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 This
entry is in the Country Living Guide to Wales. For further
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