Cardigan Castle ( cy, Castell Aberteifi) is a
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
overlooking the
River Teifi
, name_etymology =
, image = File:Llyn Teifi - geograph.org.uk - 41773.jpg
, image_size =
, image_caption = Llyn Teifi, the source of the Teifi
, map =
, map_size =
, map_caption ...
in
Cardigan,
Ceredigion
Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cer ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. It is a Grade I
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. The castle dates from the late 11th-century, though was rebuilt in 1244.
Castle Green House was built inside the castle walls in the early 1800s. After falling into disrepair the castle was restored in the early 2000s and opened to the public in 2015. It is owned by
Ceredigion County Council
Ceredigion County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Ceredigion) is the governing body for the county of Ceredigion, since 1996 one of the unitary authorities of Wales. The council's main offices are in Aberaeron.
History
The current council was created ...
and now includes a heritage centre and open-air concert facilities.
History
The first
motte-and-bailey
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...
castle (ca.1093) was built a mile away from the present site,
probably about the time of the founding of the town by
Roger de Montgomery
Roger de Montgomery (died 1094), also known as Roger the Great, was the first Earl of Shrewsbury, and Earl of Arundel, in Sussex. His father was Roger de Montgomery, seigneur of Montgomery, a member of the House of Montgomerie, and was probably ...
, a
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
baron.
The forerunner of the present castle was built by
Gilbert Fitz Richard
Gilbert Fitz Richard (–), 2nd feudal baron of Clare in Suffolk, and styled "de Tonbridge", was a powerful Anglo-Norman baron who was granted the Lordship of Cardigan, in Wales .
Life
Gilbert, born before 1066, was the second son and an heir ...
Lord of Clare after the former was destroyed.
The castle was handed down to Gilbert's son,
Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke
Gilbert fitz Gilbert de Clare (6 January 1148), was created Earl of Pembroke in 1138.He was called 'Strongbow' but his son Richard is much more readily associated with that nickname.
Life
Born at Tonbridge, Gilbert de Clare was a son of Gilber ...
in 1136. The same year,
Owain Gwynedd
Owain ap Gruffudd ( 23 or 28 November 1170) was King of Gwynedd, North Wales, from 1137 until his death in 1170, succeeding his father Gruffudd ap Cynan. He was called Owain the Great ( cy, Owain Fawr) and the first to be ...
led the defeat of the Norman rulers in the town of Cardigan at the
Battle of Crug Mawr
The Battle of Crug Mawr ('Great Barrow'), sometimes referred to as the Battle of Cardigan, took place in September or October 1136, as part of a struggle between the Welsh and Normans for control of Ceredigion, West Wales.
The battle was fou ...
. The town was taken and burnt, though the castle was successfully defended by Normans commanded by
Robert fitz Martin
Robert fitz Martin ( 10?? – c. 1159) was a knight from Devon whose father, Martin de Turribus, was the first Norman Lord of Kemes, in what had previously been the Dyfed part of Deheubarth. Fitz Martin inherited the Lordship of Kemes from his fa ...
.
The castle was later recaptured by the Normans, and was held for
Earl Roger of Hertford. In 1166 it was captured by
Rhys ap Gruffydd
Rhys ap Gruffydd, commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in Welsh ''Yr Arglwydd Rhys'' (c. 1132 – 28 April 1197) was the ruler of the Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales from 1155 to 1197 and native Prince of Wales.
It was believed that he ...
, who rebuilt it in stone in 1171. In 1176 the
first recorded eisteddfod was held at the castle.
After Rhys's death in 1197 his sons,
Maelgwn and
Gruffydd, disputed their inheritance resulting in Maelgwn surrendering Gruffydd to the Normans and selling the castle to
King John. The castle was later held for
William Marshall.
Llywelyn the Great
Llywelyn the Great ( cy, Llywelyn Fawr, ; full name Llywelyn mab Iorwerth; c. 117311 April 1240) was a King of Gwynedd in north Wales and eventually " Prince of the Welsh" (in 1228) and "Prince of Wales" (in 1240). By a combination of war and d ...
captured it in 1215
and at the parliament held at
Aberdyfi
Aberdyfi (), also known as Aberdovey ( ), is a village and community in Gwynedd, Wales, located on the northern side of the estuary of the River Dyfi.
The population of the community was 878 at the 2011 census. The electoral ward had a large ...
in 1216 made it over to the sons of Gruffydd ap Rhys of
Deheubarth
Deheubarth (; lit. "Right-hand Part", thus "the South") was a regional name for the realms of south Wales, particularly as opposed to Gwynedd (Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under the House of ...
, but in 1223
William Marshall the Younger recaptured it. In 1231 the castle was again captured for Llywelyn by
Rhys Gryg
Rhys Gryg ('Rhys the Hoarse') (died 1234), real name Rhys ap Rhys, also known as Rhys Fychan ('Rhys the Younger') was a Welsh prince who ruled part of the Kingdom of Deheubarth.
Lineage
Rhys was the fourth son of Rhys ap Gruffydd (The Lord Rhy ...
and his allies. Llywelyn held it until his death in 1240. On Llywelyn's death it fell back into Norman hands, and in 1244 Earl Gilbert of Pembroke rebuilt it with town walls for added protection. It is the remains of this building that still stands overlooking the river.
It was badly damaged during the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
in Wales and until the 18th century it was only used as a prison.
Sometime between 1805 and 1808 the castle owner, John Bowen, arranged the construction of Castle Green House within the castle walls. The front range was added in 1827.
In 1940 the castle and house was bought by a shipping magnate
His daughter, Barbara Wood, and her mother moved into Castle Green House but this slowly fell into disrepair
and was allowed to decay further by the owner to the extent that the outer castle walls needed supporting. Miss Wood continued to occupy the castle for almost 60 years, despite attempts by the local authority to take over the castle in 1971
and Castle Green House being declared unfit for human habitation in 1984.
21st century
Miss Wood, the castle's last occupant, finally left the castle in 1996 to be cared for in a nursing home.
Faced with six years of nursing costs, she put the castle up for private sale in 2001.
The castle was purchased by
Ceredigion County Council
Ceredigion County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Ceredigion) is the governing body for the county of Ceredigion, since 1996 one of the unitary authorities of Wales. The council's main offices are in Aberaeron.
History
The current council was created ...
in April 2003 and repairs began as part of the regeneration of Cardigan. In 2004 Castle Green House appeared on the BBC's second series of
Restoration
Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to:
* Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
** Audio restoration
** Film restoration
** Image restoration
** Textile restoration
* Restoration ecology
...
, presented by
Griff Rhys Jones
Griffith Rhys Jones (born 16 November 1953) is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, and television presenter. He starred in a number of television series with his comedy partner, Mel Smith. Rhys Jones came to national attention in the 1980s for h ...
.
Renovation work continued for some years after its purchase by the Council,
and the castle was opened to the public on 15 April 2015
with a concert held in July 2015. The new facilities include bed-and-breakfast and self-catering accommodation, a heritage centre with education facilities, a restaurant (named "1176" in reference to Lord Rhys's eisteddfod in that year), an events and open-air concert area, and rooms for hire for classes.
Further reading
*
See also
*
1176 Cardigan eisteddfod
*
Castles in Great Britain and Ireland
Castles have played an important military, economic and social role in Great Britain and Ireland since their introduction following the Norman invasion of England in 1066. Although a small number of castles had been built in England in the 1050 ...
*
List of castles in Wales
Wales is sometimes called the "castle capital of the world" because of the large number of castles in a relatively small area. Wales had about 600 castles, of which over 100 are still standing, either as ruins or as restored buildings. The ...
*
List of Scheduled Roman to modern Monuments in Ceredigion
Ceredigion is a large rural county in West Wales. It has a long coastline of Cardigan Bay to the west and the remote moorland of the Cambrian Mountains in the east, with the mountainous terrain of Plynlimon in the northeast. Ceredigion has a tota ...
References
External links
Cardigan Castle website
{{Authority control
Buildings and structures completed in the 12th century
Castles in Ceredigion
Grade I listed castles in Wales
Grade I listed buildings in Ceredigion