The Norman keep

Cardiff Castle (Welsh: Castell Caerdydd) is a medieval castle and Victorian revival mansion, transformed from a Norman keep erected over a Roman fort in Cardiff, the capital of Wales

History

The Roman fort

The lower wall is from the original Roman fort

Main article: Cardiff Roman Fort

There may have been at least two previous Roman forts on the site. Welsh ( cy Cymraeg or cy y Gymraeg, kəmˈrɑːɨɡ and {{IPA|[ə ɡəmˈrɑːɨɡ]}}, is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic A castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. A mansion is a large dwelling House. The word itself derives (through Old French) from the Latin word mansus (the perfect passive participle For other buildings in Normandy see Architecture of Normandy. Cardiff ( 'kɑːdɪf) is the Capital and the largest city and county in Wales. Cardiff Roman Fort was a coastal fort in the Roman province of Britannia Superior, of which Roman Wales was a part Roman Britain refers to those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and 410 The first was probably built about AD 55 during the conquest of the Silures tribe. Year 55 was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. The Silures were a powerful and warlike Tribe of ancient Britain, occupying approximately the counties of Monmouthshire, Breconshire and From the late 2nd to the mid-3rd century, civilian timber buildings associated with iron working occupied the site. The 2nd century is the period from 101 to 200 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. The 3rd century is the period from 201 to 300 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era.

The Norman castle

Cardiff Castle in 1775, given a picturesque setting by Charles Knight

The Norman keep was built on a high motte on the site of a Roman castra, first uncovered during the third Marquess of Bute's building campaign. A keep is a strong central Tower which is used as a dungeon or a fortress The Latin word castra, with its singular castrum, was used by the ancient Romans to mean buildings or plots of land reserved to or constructed for use as a military The Norman keep, of which the shell remains, was constructed about 1091, by Robert Fitzhamon, lord of Gloucester and conqueror of Glamorgan. A keep is a strong central Tower which is used as a dungeon or a fortress Robert Fitzhamon (died March 1107 or Robert FitzHamon Sieur de Creully in the Calvados region and Torigny in the Manche region of Normandy Glamorgan or Glamorganshire (Morgannwg is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. After the failed attempt of Robert Curthose, duke of Normandy, the Conqueror's eldest son, to take England from Henry I, Robert of Normandy was imprisoned here until his death in 1134. Henry I (c 1068/1069 – 1 December 1135) was the fourth son of William I the Conqueror, the first King of England after the Norman ^[1] The castle, rebuilt in stone, was an important stronghold of Marcher Lords, in the Clare and Despenser families and the Beauchamps earls of Warwick. A Marcher Lord is the English equivalent of a Margrave (in the Holy Roman empire In the eighteenth century the castle became the property of John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, who became through his Herbert wife a major landowner in the area, and whose heirs developed the docks that transformed Cardiff from a fishing village to a major port during the nineteenth century. John Stuart 3rd Earl of Bute, KG, PC (25 May 1713 &ndash 10 March 1792 styled Lord Mount Stuart before 1723 was a Scottish nobleman

The Victorian mansion

The Clock Tower

In the early 19th century the castle was enlarged and refashioned in an early Gothic Revival style for John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute by Henry Holland. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar John Crichton-Stuart 2nd Marquess of Bute KT FRS ( 10 August 1793 &ndash 18 March 1848) was the son of John Lord There are several notable British people named Henry Holland; Henry Holland 3rd Duke of Exeter ( 1430 - 1475) Lancastrian leader during the But its transformation began in 1868 when 3rd Marquess of Bute commissioned William Burges to undertake a massive rebuilding which turned the castle into a 19th century fantasy of a medieval palace, with a series of rooms that, perhaps, constitute the highest achievement of later Victorian Gothic Revival design. John Patrick Crichton-Stuart 3rd Marquess of Bute KT ( 12 September, 1847 &ndash 9 October, 1900, landed Aristocrat, industrial William Burges ( 2 December, 1827 &ndash 20 April, 1881) was an English Architect and Designer. The coming together of the Marquess, enormously rich, early Catholic convert and steeped in a romantic vision of the mediaeval world and Burges, pre-eminent art-architect, committed Goth and hugely-talented designer forged one of the great patron/architect relationships and led to a succession of dazzling architectural triumphs of which Cardiff Castle is the greatest of all.

Burges's summer smoking room

Rebuilding began with the Clock Tower, planned 1866-1868 and begun in 1869. The towers continue westward, the Tank Tower, the Guest Tower, the Herbert Tower and the Beauchamp Tower, part Burges, part Holland, part 15th and 16th century, creating a skyline, best observed from Bute Park, that echoes Burges' unbuilt design for the Law Courts and presents a visually-stunning image of a mediaeval city.

Within the Castle, the succession of sumptuous apartments; the Winter and Summer Smoking Rooms, the Chaucer Room, the Arab Room, Lord Bute's Bedroom, the Roof Garden, repeatedly illustrates Burges' supreme skill as an art-architect. Taking complete control of the designing, the building, the decoration and the furnishing of the apartments, and using his favoured team of Nicholls, Crace, Lonsdale, Burges created a suite of rooms in a unique Gothic Revival style that is unrivalled.

Cardiff Castle

Access and events

Cardiff Castle's North Gate

The castle was later sold to the city of Cardiff by the Bute family in 1947 for £1. Cardiff ( 'kɑːdɪf) is the Capital and the largest city and county in Wales. Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. It is now a popular tourist attraction, and houses a regimental museum in addition to the ruins of the old castle and the Victorian reconstruction. Tourism is Travel for Recreational or Leisure purposes The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel A regimental museum is a military museum dedicated to the history of a specific army Regiment. This article is about ruins in Architecture; for other meanings see Ruins (disambiguation. Culture The Victorian fascination with novelty resulted in a deep interest in the relationship between modernity and cultural continuities It sits in the expansive grounds of Bute Park. Bute Park in Cardiff, Wales, is an extensive area of mature parkland easily accessible from the city centre

The castle has hosted a number of rock concerts and performances and has the capacity to accommodate over 10,000 people. Notable concerts include the Stereophonics Live at Cardiff Castle in June 1998 and Green Day in 2000. Stereophonics are a British Rock band, consisting of Kelly Jones, Richard Jones, Javier Weyler and Adam Zindani. Live at Cardiff Castle is a DVD released by Welsh Rock trio Stereophonics. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) Green Day is an American rock trio 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. In 1948 a crowd of 16,000, a record for British Baseball game, watched Wales defeat England in Cardiff Castle grounds. The origins of the sport known as British baseball, or sometimes as Welsh baseball date to 1892 when the governing bodies of England and Wales agreed to change the England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Cardiff Castle plays host to Cardiff University's Summer Ball each year. Cardiff University (Prifysgol Caerdydd is a leading University located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom It is also the site of Wales' largest Mardi Gras held every August. " Mardi Gras " ( French for Fat Tuesday) is the day before Ash Wednesday.

Architectural historian Dan Cruickshank selected the Castle as one of his eight choices for the 2002 BBC book The Story of Britain's Best Buildings. The term architecture (from Greek αρχιτεκτονικήarchitektoniki) can be used to mean a process a profession or documentation History is the study of the past particularly the written record Those who study history as a Profession are called Historians Etymology Dan Cruickshank (born 26 August, 1949) is an architectural historian and Television presenter currently working for the BBC The year 2002 in literature involved some significant events and new books Britain's Best Buildings is a BBC documentary series in which Dan Cruickshank chooses the finest examples of British architecture ^[2]

Notes

References

• Crook, J. Mordaunt, The Strange Genius of William Burges (1981) National Museum of Wales
• Crook, J. Mordaunt, William Burges and the High Victorian Dream (1981) John Murray
• Girouard, Mark, The Victorian Country House (1979) Yale University Press
• Newman, John, The Buildings of Wales: Glamorgan (1995) Penguin

External links

• Cardiff Castle Official Website
• (Castles of Wales) Lise Hull, "Cardiff Castle"
• greatcastlesofwales.co.uk: Cardiff