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Plate with illustrations of Castell Coch by Sue Shields

Illustrations of Castell Coch by Sue Shields

Cardiff illustrator Sue Shields produced a series of illustrations that were featured on Cadw gifts in the late 1980s and early 1990s. I purchased a beautiful plate recently and got in touch with Sue to find out how she got involved in this project. Tea Towel Sue sent me this image of a tea towel …

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Black and white photo of Castell Coch

Castell Coch by Terence Soames

I shared some aerial photos of the Taff Valley by Terence Soames earlier in the year. One of the photos was this spectacular shot of the Walnut Tree Viaduct and Castell Coch, which was taken in 1957. Terence Soames was an aerial photographer and worked for H. Tempest (Cardiff) Ltd in the 1950s. The main …

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Postcard of Castell Coch from 1910

Postcards of Castell Coch – Part 5

I have several postcards that use the same image so I thought I would research an interesting series of cards posted between 1905 and 1910. All three postcards were produced by Blum & Degen, who produced millions of cards between 1895 and 1908. The first two postcards are later versions of the first “divided backs”, …

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Collage of three patterns found in Castell Coch

Patterns of Castell Coch – Part 2

Castell Coch is famous for its spectacular interiors. I’ve decided to illustrate the stencils, murals and patterns that decorate Cardiff’s iconic Gothic Revival landmark. This tile can be found in the fireplace of the drawing room. This pattern is from the Castell Coch exhibit, which was designed by Glyn Parry-Jones. The exhibit was created in …

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Back of postcard with 1962 postmark

Postcards of Castell Coch – Part 4

There are lots of postcards with aerial photos of the castle in my collection and this is one of my favourites. The company who produced the image have a huge collection of photos available to view on Amgueddfa Cymru’s website. Scaffolding has been erected on the curtain wall and it looks like roof tiles were …

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Old photo of Castell Coch

Castell Coch Then and Now – Part 1

This image of Castell Coch is from Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales. The photograph is mounted on card along with shots of a T.V.R. Converted Bristol Class locomotive and Barmouth Bridge under Cader Idris. The photographs aren’t dated unfortunately. After some quick research of Barmouth Bridge though, it turns out the drawbridge in the …

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