CARDIFF CASTLE

The very beginning

The heart of Cardiff, its immortal soul and the most significant and well-known of all places of interest of the Welsh capital is the imposing Cardiff Castle.

The history of Cardiff Castle goes back almost 2000 years when the Romans built their first fort on the site. According to the recent excavations their legions arrived in the area as early as A.D. 54-68. They rebuilt their Cardiff fort around A.D. 75. Another new fort with ten-foot thick stone walls was built on the site around the year 250. It had an excellent strategic position being a naval base for the protection of the Empire against sea-borne invasions and served until the 5^th century when the Roman Army finally left the area. The Roman presence in Cardiff was confirmed in 1889 when the third Marquess of Bute excavated and exposed the remains of the Roman Wall for the first time in hundreds of years. The numerous visitors of Cardiff have the opportunity to see these Roman portions of the wall outlined in red stone from both outside and inside the castle. The excavations continued in 85 years. They have been carried out annually by students of University College of Cardiff headed by Janet and Peter Webster. Unfortunately almost nothing is known off the castle and its life during the centuries after the Roman withdrawal. Experts believe that it has been destroyed by the sea-raiders. Nevertheless it was just the beginning of the future Wales pride.

The Normans. The name of Robert Fitzhamon, the Norman Lord of Gloucester, appeared in the history of Cardiff Castle in 1091. Seeing the strategic value of the site of the old Roman fort he built his Norman Castle in the western part of the area. A mound, forty feet high was surrounded by a moat. On the top of the mound there was a timber stockade giving shelter and protection to the wooden buildings inside of it. The lord, his household and his garrison felt quite safe there.

The rest of the former fort area became the outer bailey of the Castle. Robert Fitzhamon died of wounds in 1107.

The Owners. The Clare family owned Cardiff Castle in the thirteenth century and played a significant part in the struggle between the King and the barons. After the Clares the Despensers contributed their sordid mite to the history of the castle to be followed by such noble families as the Beauchamps, the Nevilles and even the Tudors. The Castle was the witness of the bloodiest acts during the tenure of Philip Herbert the 7^th earl in late 17 century. Saint John Lloyd and Saint Philip Evans were imprisoned in the Black Tower and then hanged, drawn and quartered. Murderers and their victims are threaded in the substance of the stone edifice. But no family seemed to love the Castle so much as the Butes.

The Butes. The Butes descended from one of the noblest families in Scotland. They held the Lordship until 1947 (from 1776). In 1947 the Castle was given to the City of Cardiff. This Scottish family completely modified the Castle’s image as well as the life of the whole city. The brightest time connected with the Castle’s reconstruction started in 1865 when Lord Bute (John, 3^rd Marquess of Bute) invited the architect William Burges to transform Cardiff Castle. Their very friendly partnership lasted 16 years. The result of it was the erection of the Clock Tower on the site of a Roman bastion, redecoration of Lord Bute’s Sitting Room, in the Lesser North Wing. William Burges also enlarged the Stables, built the Chapel in the Castle in memory of the late 2^nd Marquess. Burges restored the 15^th century Octagon or Beauchamp Tower and inserted the Octagon Staircase inside. The gifted architect built the new Library and the Banqueting Hall on the site of the old mediaeval Hall. William Burges died in 1881 and then his assistant William Frame continued the work at Cardiff Castle. In the first half of the 20^th century (after the death of Lord Bute in 1900) other architects tried to alter the Castle’s image. Today the area of Cardiff Castle includes the Keep, Castle Apartments, Black Tower, Welsh Regiment Museum, Barbican Tower, Roman Wall, Barbican Wall, Outer Ward, North Gate, Clock Tower and West Gate. To render tribute to the genius of William Burges the Cardiff City Council is restoring his wonderful creations and all the Castle visitors can admire the outstanding ideas of the brilliant architect incarnated in the main building of the Welsh capital.