It’s 150 years this month since Lord Bute instructed John McConnochie to excavate the site at Castell Coch. The results were investigated by William Burges, who was able to build on G. T. Clark’s 1850 report and present Bute with the option of either restoration or reconstruction. Burges submitted the “Castell Coch Report” to the …
The Book Of South Wales The Wye And The Coast is a collection of journal entries from Victorian writers, Mr and Mrs S C Hall, as they toured South Wales and the River Wye. The book was published in 1861 and I’ve found one source that claims the tour took place in the same year. …
There are 31 vineyards in Wales and 739 in England, according to WineGB’s 2020 report. In the late 19th century, however, wine was imported from Europe and there were no commercial vineyards in Britain. The Experiment Began This changed in 1873, when Lord Bute asked his head gardener, Mr Andrew Pettigrew, to plant a vineyard …
Historic buildings in Wales have been managed by various organisations over the years. This collection of official guidebooks were published by some of these bodies from 1957 to 1975. The original guide, published in 1954, was written by Peter Floud, C.B.E. (1911 – 1960), who was the Keeper of Circulation at the Victoria and Albert …
For this second instalment of “Postcards of Castell Coch”, I’ve chosen a trio of postcards featuring pencil drawings by Joyce Capon. Dating the cards is tricky because they haven’t been posted. They were printed by “William Lewis (Printers) Ltd., 43, Penarth Road, Cardiff.” Some quick research tells me that William Lewis died in 1918 but …
For this first instalment of “Postcards of Castell Coch“, I present a favourite of mine. The photo on the postcard shows a young girl playing the piano in the kitchen. This was one of my first postcard purchases and I was confused why a postcard would feature such a personal scene. I always thought postcards …
During the Festival of Archaeology, all issues of British Archaeology Magazine are free to view. I did some digging and unearthed an interesting find. In the village of Tongwynlais, just 150 metres north west of Castell Coch and 20cm below the forest floor, a cache of copper weapons lay buried for 4,000 years. This article was originally published …
Castell Coch is famous for its ghost stories, but how many do you know? Here are two tales that might make you think about visiting the castle after dark again. Excerpts from “Turn of the Century Ton” by Roger Brown. This article was originally published on Tongwynlais.com. The Story of Dame Griffith Her son, while exploring …
