Cardigan Castle () is a
castle
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
overlooking the
River Teifi
The River Teifi ( ; , ), formerly anglicised as Tivy, forms the boundary for most of its length between the Welsh counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, and for the final of its total length of , the boundary between Ceredigion and Pembr ...
in
Cardigan,
Ceredigion
Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...
,
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 ...
. It is a Grade I
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 ...
. 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 () 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 on 1 April 1996 under t ...
and now includes a heritage centre and open-air concert facilities. The castle's gardens are listed on the
.
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 eas ...
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 Montgomery, and was probab ...
, a
Norman baron.
In 1110, King
Henry I of England
Henry I ( – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in 1087, Henr ...
took Cardigan from Prince
Owain ap Cadwgan as a punishment, and gave the Lordship of Cardigan and the castle to
Gilbert Fitz Richard. The forerunner of the present castle was built by Gilbert 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 the second son o ...
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 () and the first to be styled "Prince of Wales" and th ...
led the defeat of the Norman rulers in the town of Cardigan at the
Battle of Crug Mawr
The Battle of Crug Mawr (), sometimes referred to as the Battle of Cardigan, took place in September or October 1136, as part of a Norman invasion of Wales, struggle between the Welsh people, Welsh and Normans for control of Ceredigion, West W ...
. The town was taken and burnt, though the castle was successfully defended by Normans commanded by
Robert fitz Martin.
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 or ap Gruffudd (often anglicised to "Griffith"; c. 1132 – 28 April 1197) was the ruler of the kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales from 1155 to 1197. Today, he is commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in Welsh ''Yr Arglwydd Rhys' ...
, 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 ab Iorwerth (, – 11 April 1240), also known as Llywelyn the Great (, ; ), was a medieval Welsh ruler. He succeeded his uncle, Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd, as King of Gwynedd in 1195. By a combination of war and diplomacy, he dominate ...
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 larger ...
in 1216 made it over to the sons of Gruffydd ap Rhys of
Deheubarth
Deheubarth (; , thus 'the South') was a regional name for the Welsh kingdoms, realms of south Wales, particularly as opposed to kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd (Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under ...
, but in 1223
William Marshall the Younger recaptured it. In 1231 the castle was again captured for Llywelyn by
Rhys Gryg 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 or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
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 () 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 on 1 April 1996 under t ...
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, presented by
Griff Rhys Jones
Griffith Rhys Jones (born 16 November 1953) is a Welsh actor, comedian, writer and television presenter. He starred in a number of television series with his comedy partner, Mel Smith. He and Smith came to national attention in the 1980s for ...
.
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. The castle's grounds, set within the ward and including pleasure gardens and a
kitchen garden
The traditional kitchen garden, vegetable garden, also known as a potager (from the French ) or in Scotland a kailyaird, is a space separate from the rest of the residential garden – the ornamental plants and lawn areas. It is used for grow ...
, are designated Grade II on the
.
Further reading
*
See also
*
1176 Cardigan eisteddfod
*
Castles in Great Britain and Ireland
*
List of castles in Wales
*
List of Scheduled Roman to modern Monuments in Ceredigion
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
Registered historic parks and gardens in Ceredigion