If these mighty walls could talk, they’d tell you some stories. About bloody battles. Colourful characters. And a cultural celebration that would go down in history. Discover the history of Cardigan Castle and the people who lived here.
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2015
Cardigan Castle reopens as a heritage attraction, restaurant, accommodation and events venue, after a £12m restoration project.
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2011
Restoration work begins on site.
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2011
Cadwgan Building Preservation Trust receives much-needed grants from funders, including Heritage Lottery Fund and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through Welsh Government, to restore Cardigan Castle.
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2001
Local paper, The Tivy-Side Advertiser, starts a 'Save the Castle' campaign.
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2003
The Castle is bought by Ceredigion County Council
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1984
Castle Green House declared unfit for human habitation. Miss Wood moves into a caravan in the grounds.
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1999
Miss Barbara Wood leaves the Castle and moves into a local nursing home.
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1961
Cardigan Castle becomes a Scheduled Ancient Monument and Castle Green House a listed building .
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1976
Cardigan hosts the National Eisteddfod. Barbara Wood began the occasional practice of admitting visitors at 50p a head, until 1990.
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1941
Final commercial cargo leaves Cardigan harbour.
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1942
Cardigan hosts National Eisteddfod.
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1808
Castle Green House is built, extended in 1827.
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1940
Castle Pillbox is erected.
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1644
Castle is besieged and captured by Parliamentarians under General Laugharne.
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1645
Royalists besiege Cardigan Castle, leaving Cardigan Bridge partially demolished. The Royalists are defeated and the Castle is left slighted and burned.
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1501
Katherine of Aragon receives Cardigan as part of her dowry.
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1543
Henry VIII grants Cardigan its last Charter.
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1469
Morgan and Henry ap Thomas ap Gruffydd ap Nicholas seize Cardigan Castle.
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1485
Richard Griffith and John Savage meet Henry Tudor at Cardigan Castle, en route to Bosworth.
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1414
Cardigan Castle garrisoned against John Oldcastle and the Lollards.
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1428-29
Major renovations to Cardigan Castle take place.
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1405
Cardigan Castle is garrisoned by sixty men-at-arms and 300 archers. It was besieged by Glyndŵr supporters, without success.
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1406
Prince Henry receives Cardigan Castle.
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1376
Following the death of Edward, the Black Prince, his widow, Princess Joan, runs an administration at Cardigan that is independent of the Crown. The Castle has its own exchequer.
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1385
Princess Joan dies on the 7 August.
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1343
Cardigan Castle is passed to the officers of Edward, the Black Prince.
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1349
The Black Death reaches Cardigan and the town is left with only seven occupied homes.
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1301
Prince Edward receives Cardigan.
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1321
Cardigan Castle turret completed.
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1284
Edward I resides at Cardigan Castle on 23 November.
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1295
King Edward I resides at Cardigan Castle with a massive army, between 1 and 3 June.
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1279
King Edward makes Cardigan the County Town of Cardiganshire.
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1282
600 foot soldiers garrison Cardigan Castle.
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1245
Followers of Dafydd ap Llywelyn attack Cardigan, but fail to capture it.
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1254
Prince Edward receives Cardigan Castle on 14 February.
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1240
Cardigan is captured and re-fortified by Walter Marshall.
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1244
Robert Waleran begins to rebuild Cardigan Castle and the town walls.
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1223
Cardigan is captured by William Marshall II.
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1231
Cardigan is captured by Maelgwn ap Maelgwn ap Rhys.
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1197
Lord Rhys dies on 28 April.
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1215
Followers of Llywelyn ap Iorwerth capture Cardigan Castle.
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1171
Rhys ap Gruffydd (Lord Rhys) moves his chief court here and begins to rebuild the Castle in stone for the first time. This is believed to be the first stone castle ever built by a Welshman.
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1176
To celebrate the completion of his new castle, Lord Rhys hosts, what is now accepted as, the first Eisteddfod.
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1136
Welsh forces attack the Castle during the Battle of Crug Mawr on 10th October, but fail to capture it.
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1165
In early November, Rhys ap Gruffydd captures the Castle using scaling ladders and demolishes it.
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1093
References to a castle established by Earl Roger de Montgomery at the Teifi estuary probably refer to the site at Old Castle, a mile downstream.
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1110
The present castle was probably first occupied by Gilbert fitz Richard de Clare.
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988 (Early Medieval)
Vikings raid nearby St. Dogmaels.
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1091 (Norman)
Battle of Llandudoch takes place.
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Neolithic (c4500 BC – c2200 BC)
Flint scrapers from this period have been found at Cardigan Castle. A flint axe was also discovered at St Dogmaels.