Castell Coch - CADW - Tongwynlais, Wales.
N 51° 32.172 W 003° 15.245
30U E 482377 N 5709485
Castell Coch - A fairy-tale looking castle, built on the remains of a 13th Century castle, restored from ruin in 1871, high on a hillside North of Cardiff, at Tongwynllais, South Wales.
Waymark Code: WMPARQ
Location: South Wales, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 07/31/2015
Views: 6
Castell Coch (Red Castle) a 19th-century Gothic Revival style castle built on the remains of a genuine 13th-century fortification. It is situated on a steep hillside high above the village of Tongwynlais, to the north of Cardiff in Wales, and is a Grade I listed building as of 28 January 1963.
Designed by William Burges, with an impressively medieval appearance, working portcullis and drawbridge, and sumptuous interiors which rival those of Cardiff Castle.
"The castle was probably founded by a Welsh lord in c1240-65 and had a round tower keep at the SW corner of a tiny D-shaped courtyard with a hall on the south side, all built of rough rubble sandstone from which the building took the name Castell Coch, or "Red Castle." It stands upon a platform commanding the gorge of the Taff and was protected towards the higher ground by a deep dry moat from the bottom of which the walls rise with a very broadly battered base. The keep contained vaulted rooms, and probably had a fourth storey and a conical roof like it has now. The walls are over 3.3m thick above the square battered base from which it rises with pyramidal spurs." Text Source: (
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From Wikipedia:
"In 1871, John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, ordered the site to be cleared of vegetation and debris while his architect, William Burges, drew up plans for a full reconstruction. Burges and the Marquess had been working for over three years on the rebuilding of Cardiff Castle; the aim at Castell Coch was to achieve another dazzling architectural tour de force of the High Victorian era, dream-like castle which combine sumptuous Gothic fantasy, with timeless fairy tale." Text Source: (
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Buildings > English Heritage - Cadw - Historic Scotland