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. …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
“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 …
I purchased this booklet a few years ago but I’ve only recently looked into the history of the author. It’s an excerpt from Volume L (50) of the “Transactions of The Cardiff Naturalists’ Society”. It contains a report by John Stuart Corbett on the Society’s visit to Castell Coch on June 27th 1917. The booklet …
Castell Coch was featured in Country Life magazine 61 years ago this month. Architectural writer Mark Girouard took readers on a tour of the famous Welsh landmark over two issues beginning on 10th May 1962. The magazine was founded in 1897 and celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2022. Girouard went on to become an authority …
Castell Coch has been used as a filming location since 1954’s “The Black Knight”. In this first instalment of “Castell Coch on Screen” I’m going to feature some recent television shows that you may have seen. Dr Who Nightmare in Silver Season 7 – Episode 12 Episode aired May 11, 2013 Castell Coch was used …
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 …
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, …
