Fundraising Appeal Launched
Mayor Cllr Mair Morris wears a wristband supporting Cardigan Castle, launching a fundraising appeal by Cadwgan Trust to raise £150,000 towards the £4.5m Heritage Lottery Fund bid going in this September.
The wristbands – minimun donation £1 – are now on sale at Cadwgan’s offices in Green Street Cottages, the Tivy-Side offices in St Mary Street and Awen Teifi in High Street, Cardigan.
You can help save Cardigan Castle – birthplace of the Eisteddfod
The next five months are going to be the most crucial in Cardigan Castle’s 840 year history.
Cadwgan Trust are now working on the final stages of their £4.5m Heritage Lottery bid which has to be submitted by this September.
The trust, together with their architects team, have been working on the bid for the past 18 months. The project – which will cost £9.2m in total – is the biggest Heritage Lottery bid in Wales and will see the restoration of Castle Green House and Regency gardens plus consolidation of the medieval remains.
“This is a very exciting but very pressurized time for the trust,” said Cadwgan chairman Jann Tucker.
“We have been working towards this for the past seven years and it is vital that we have the support of the community.”
The trust has to raise £155k towards the project and has been helped by various local fundraising efforts including this year’s mayor Cllr Mair Morris pledging part of her mayor’s fund to the appeal.
The trust is now looking to expand its volunteer base.
“We are looking for anyone with time, skills, energy and enthusiasm to get in touch,” said Mrs Tucker.
While the castle has had to close its gates temporarily to the public for insurance purposes, there is still limited work being carried out by volunteers in the garden.
“There will be real opportunities in the future for all sorts of volunteering jobs – the more volunteers we get the better,” added Mrs Tucker
There are also some areas of work where volunteer skill is required right now.
Anyone interested can contact Cadwgan Admin Officer, Jill Horwood, at cadwganbpt@btconnect.com, telephone/pop into Cadwgan’s offices at Green Street Cottages or download a form from this website and return to Jill.
Safety issues force summer castle closure
Cardigan Castle will only have limited access to the public this summer due to rigorous insurance rules.
Cadwgan Trust – who are putting together the second stage of a £4.5m Heritage Lottery bid for the castle – have reluctantly closed the castle gates for the time being.
“We have already had to pay a considerable insurance premium of several thousands in a year when we have to raise in excess of £155k,” said Trust chairman Jann Tucker.
The castle grounds as well as the crumbling 18th century house have several serious health and safety issues.
“For the moment until we can address some of these issues I really do not think we can guarantee people’s safety and therefore we cannot allow public openings,” Mrs Tucker added.
However volunteers who tend the castle gardens will be able to continue with their work.
And work towards the lottery bid will also go ahead inside the site including some limited archaeological investigations, surveys, emergency repairs to the walls and some structural engineering investigations.
“We shall certainly carry on raising funds and the profile of the castle and look forward to a regenerated castle site opening to the public within the next few years,” Mrs Tucker said.
