Cardiff Castle Stables,

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, were designed in 1868-69 by the

Gothic revivalist Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century, ...

architect

William Burges William Burges (; 2 December 1827 – 20 April 1881) was an English architect and designer. Among the greatest of the Victorian era, Victorian art-architects, he sought in his work to escape from both nineteenth-century Industrial Revolution, ...

. They stand to the north of

Cardiff Castle Cardiff Castle () is a medieval castle and Victorian Gothic revival mansion located in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales. The original motte and bailey castle was built in the late 11th century by Norman invaders on top of a 3rd-century Roma ...

and on the western edge of

Cathays Park Cathays Park () or Cardiff Civic Centre is a civic centre area in the Cardiff City Centre, city centre of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, consisting of a number of early 20th century buildings and a central park area, Alexandra Gardens. It ...

which then formed part of the castle’s private grounds. Work on the stables continued into the 1870s, and they were not completed until 1928-29. One of only two stable blocks designed by Burges, they now accommodate the

Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor. Considered one of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for List of Anthony Hopkins performances, his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins ha ...

Centre, part of the

Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama () is a conservatoire located in Cardiff, Wales. It has three theatres: the Richard Burton Theatre, the Bute Theatre, and the Caird Studio. It also includes one concert hall, the Dora Stoutzker Hall, and ...

. The stables are a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

History

In 1865, Burges met

John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, (12 September 1847 – 9 October 1900) was a Scottish landed aristocrat, industrial magnate, antiquarian, scholar, philanthropist, and architectural patron. When Bute succeeded to the marqui ...

. This may have resulted from Alfred Burges's engineering firm,

Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People *Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) *Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California * ...

, Burges and Cooper, having undertaken work on the East Bute Docks in Cardiff for the second Marquess. The 3rd Marquess became Burges's greatest architectural patron; both were men of their times; both had fathers whose industrial endeavours provided the means for their sons' architectural achievements, and both sought to "redeem the evils of industrialism by re-living the art of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

". The building of the stables formed part of the reconstruction of

and they were designed by Burges in 1868-69. Construction took place between 1872-75 but they were not completed until 1928-29. They are reputedly one of only two sets of stables Burges ever designed; neither he, nor Bute, were much interested in horses. Nevertheless, the stables formed an essential component of the large-scale

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

into which they jointly transformed the castle. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the stables housed the parks department of

Cardiff City Council Cardiff City Council was the local government district authority that administered the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales, from 1974 until 1996. The district council replaced the Cardiff County Borough Council, pre-1974 county borough council. ...

. In the 1960s a long lease was given to the

. The college had originally been accommodated within the castle itself. Following the construction of a new campus immediately to the north of the stables in 1974, the stables themselves were converted to the

centre which opened in 1999. The Welsh-born Hopkins studied at the Royal Welsh College and is now its vice-president.

Architecture and description

The stables are constructed in stone with a roof of

Welsh slate The existence of a slate industry in Wales is attested since the Roman period, when slate was used to roof the fort at Segontium, now Caernarfon. The slate industry grew slowly until the early 18th century, then rapidly during the Industrial ...

, and designed to a

quadrangular Quadrangle or The Quadrangle may refer to: Architecture *Quadrangle (architecture), a courtyard surrounded by a building or several buildings, often at a college Various specific quadrangles, often called "the quad" or "the quadrangle": North A ...

plan. Wooden galleries surround the interior. The builder was Albert Estcourt of Gloucester. Access to the castle was by way of a carriage tunnel. The pigeon tower referenced by the ''Building News'' was demolished in the 1950s, and there is debate as to whether the fountain Burges planned for the centre of the quadrangle was ever built; no trace of it remains. John B. Hilling, in his 2016 study ''Black Gold, White City: The history and architecture of Cardiff Civic Centre'', considered Burges's design to be uncharacteristically "sober". The stables are designated a

Footnotes

References

Sources

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External links

{{Use dmy dates, date=March 2025 Gothic Revival architecture in Wales William Burges buildings Grade II* listed buildings in Cardiff Castle, Cardiff