Places of Interest

Cardiff Castle

Cardiff Castle Grounds, Cardiff, South Glamorgan CF10 3RB

Tel: 02920 878100

website: nationaltrust.org.uk

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 1st 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.

In the late 16th century the Herbert family onverted 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, Marquess of Bute. His son gained immense wealth through the exploitation of mineral resources on his Glamorgan estates and his development of Cardiff as a centre for industrial trade. On his death he left an infant son, John Patrick Crichton Stuart, as "the richest baby in Britain"who 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. 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.

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