Cathays Park Cardiff - Alexander Gardens

Added On:25-06-2009

Cathays Park consists of the three garden areas: Alexandra Gardens, Gorsedd Gardens and Friary Gardens. These are high quality formal parks forming green spaces between a number of important buildings including the City Hall, the National Museum of Wales and University. All of the spaces are within Conservation Areas and many of the surrounding buildings are listed.

 

Cardiff City Hall

Added On:24-06-2009

City Hall stands in the heart of Cardiff. It is the centrepiece of one of the world’s finest civic centres, an area of impressive buildings, landscaped gardens and broad tree-lined avenues.

 

Castell Coch - Drawing Room

Added On:16-06-2009

The Victorian fantasy castle we see today hides the complex history of Castell Coch fortresses at the head of the Taff gorge, the earliest of which was probably Norman - and wooden. This was followed by the stone edifice of the Clare family which is believed to have fallen into disuse after the damage it suffered during the early 14th century Welsh rebellion.

Not until 1875 were the old ruins transformed by the architect William Burges and John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, the third marquess of Bute (a man made fantastically wealthy by the industrial growth in South Wales in the period). The pair had already collaborated on Cardiff Castle and these two buildings represent some of the finest examples of Victorian medievalism in the UK. Lord Bute, an obsessive antiquarian, was reputed to be the richest man in the world, whilst Burges used his knowledge of the great castles of Europe as well as of medieval manuscripts to influence their designs. Sadly, Burges died in 1881, ten years before Castell Coch's completion and with Lord Bute's death in 1900, the castle spent most of the subsequent years as an occasional summer residence until being handed over to the Ministry of Works in 1950 for its conservation. It is now cared for by CADW which has managed to return many of its original pieces of furniture and replicate period fabric to maintain Castell Coch's 1891 appearance.

 

Castell Coch - Banqueting Hall

Added On:16-06-2009

The banqueting hall is the only principal room in the castle that was essentially complete in Burges's lifetime and the decoration and furniture reflect the Gothic Revival style with which he was most familiar.

 

Castell Coch - Lady Bute's Bedroom

Added On:16-06-2009

Although not completed until ten years after Burges's death, this magnificent room and furnishings follow his original concept. The spectacular two-stage gold and mirrored dome has a far more Moorish look than the rest of the castle and even contrasts with the Arts and Crafts feel of the walls below it. The oriental influence on Burges's work can also be witnessed in the Arab Room of Cardiff Castle so it seems unlikely that he chose the design for the lower walls of Lady Bute's bedchamber.

This room too has a spectacular bed, copied from a medieval design but with the addition of crystal balls. In tandem with the armoire, chairs and allegorical wall paintings of birds, monkeys and pomegranates, it adds to the sense of the dominant influence being the Arabian Nights.