The 40th anniversary of Cadw has already been covered in the news earlier this month. The BBC article, “From castles to loos – protecting Wales’ history” is well worth a read. Rather than repeat this information, I thought I’d look through my collection for items related to Cadw, share some stories I’ve published about them …
I recently found this example of a stereoview featuring Castell Coch. This type of photo is also called a stereographic card or stereogram. A stereoview consists of two photos that, when viewed with a device called a stereoscope, creates a three-dimensional effect. Stereoscopes This antique stereoscope was popular in the 19th century. It’s a “Holmes …
In this instalment of Postcards of Castell Coch I investigate a 1908 card from a rare Cardiff publisher. Researching this postcard sent me down a rabbit hole investigating the history of a small Cardiff business that was established in 1880 and expanded into the early 1900s. I spent hours looking through decades of adverts in …
Scaffolding is being erected on the Well Tower at Castell Coch for some upcoming conservation work. I happened to find a related story that happened 145 years ago this month when the castle was being reconstructed. The South Wales Daily News reported on Friday 18th July 1879 that George Maidment had died in a tragic …
Lady Gwendolen Mary Anne Stuart (Fitzalan-Howard) played a significant part in the development of Castell Coch. Gwendolen Fitzalan-Howard (1854 – 1932) was the daughter of The 1st Baron Howard of Glossop and granddaughter of The 13th Duke of Norfolk. She was engaged to John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute in February 1872 and the couple …
When I’m researching old postcards, it’s sometimes a struggle to identify the publisher and often difficult to find out much information about them. I was delighted to discover the amazing TuckDB Postcards, which has documented over 135,000 cards from the famous publisher. CDF 72 – Castle Coch, Near Cardiff (1959) I bought this postcard a …
“Castles and Abbeys of Wales” was written by D J Cathcart King (MC, LLM, FSA) and published by the Department of the Environment in 1975. The 40 page book features 49 monuments and 32 photographs. The two photos of Castell Coch (below) are prominently featured in the centre of the book. The monuments are organised …
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 …
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 …
