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Castell Coch

Welcome to CastellCoch.com

I’ve been writing about Castell Coch for about 8 years so I thought it was about time I created a dedicated website for the memorabilia, stories and images that I’ve collected. I’m going to focus on four main areas of interest to me: Art The castle has probably inspired thousands of artists over the years. …

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Illustration of Castell Coch by John Hassell from 1806

Castell Coch by John Hassell

John Hassell was an English watercolour landscape painter, engraver, illustrator, writer and publisher. “The Beauties of Antiquity Or Remnants of Feudal Splendour and Monastic Times” was published in 1806 and contains a fantastic illustration of Castell Coch. There’s a short description of the castle and some of its history. The magnificence of its front is …

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Castell Coch by Gary Yeung

I’m really pleased to share the art of Gary Yeung after he recently posted a fantastic illustration of Castell Coch for the popular #inktober2023 drawing challenge. I’ve been following him online for a while and got in touch when I realised he’s produced quite a few pieces featuring the castle. I asked Gary to tell …

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Image of Lady Bute's Bedroom in the Keep Tower of Castell Coch from a 1967 postcard.

Postcards of Castell Coch – Part 7

I’ve been planning a series of blog posts that look at each room in Castell Coch. While I work on this I thought I’d share another postcard from my collection. This view of Lady Bute’s bedroom is from a 1967 postcard published by the Ministry of Public Building and Works. William Burges’ stencilled cabinet isn’t …

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Photo of Castell Coch, Walnut Tree Viaduct and Tongwynlais from the James Valentine Photographic Collection

Castell Coch in the Valentine Collection

The James Valentine Collection is the photographic production of a business which began operation in 1851 in Dundee, Scotland. Although many people think of Valentine’s as postcard publishers, they produced several types of photographic products. There’s a very comprehensive history in the collection that charts the rise and fall of the business. I have quite …

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Illustration of Castell Coch from, "Letters Describing a Tour Through Part of South Wales", 1797

Letters Describing a Tour Through Part of South Wales

“Letters Describing a Tour Through Part of South Wales” was written by Armand-Louis-Bon Maudet, Comte de Penhouët (1764 – 1839) and published in 1797. The book is a collection of letters written to an anonymous lady and “sketches of every object that had attracted my attention.” The Breton aristocrat was in exile in Britain because …

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Castell Coch by Paul Sharp

Paul Sharp created a beautiful sketch of Castell Coch for a 1960s motoring guide to castles in the UK. I picked up a copy and discovered a fantastic collection of artwork by the Yorkshire designer. National Benzole was a petrol brand in the UK from 1919 until the 1990s. Perhaps these books were produced to …

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Festival of Castles 1983

The Wales 1983 Festival of Castles (Gwyl Cestyll Cymru 1983) was a controversial marketing campaign created by the Wales Tourist Board. It was branded “Cestyll 83” and took place during the “Year of Castles”. The festival was launched on 28 February 1983 by the Prince and Princess of Wales at Caerphilly Castle. Euryn Rhys Roberts, …

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