Old sailing boat moored on the Teifi at Cardigan this afternoon. The building on the left is a grade 2 listed warehouse built in 1745. There was once a sail making loft on an upper level.
Cardigan was formerly one of the busiest trading ports in Wales, by Elizabethan times it was second only to Milford Haven. Later it became an important departure point for those emigrating to America. The navigation has silted up and is now used only by smaller vessels.
Looking across the Teifi from outside the old warehouse. Sheets of ice can be seen floating in the river. On the right of the photo are the heavily shored up curtain wall of Cardigan Castle, dating from the 12th century.
Within the castle grounds is the fascinating Castle Green House, a derelict regency mansion which incorporates some of the earlier masonry and the original North Tower of the castle. Until seven years ago it was occupied by an elderly recluse, Miss Barbara Wood, and her cats - she had lived there for many years having bought the castle, house and grounds in 1940. By 2002 she had become too frail to remain there and moved to a residential home.
A glimpse of the house and castle can be found here, though the page is dated 1997 and the information is therefore not current.
In 2003 the castle and house were bought by Ceredigion County Council. Plans are in place for the restoration the Castle to provide a Heritage Centre, Welsh language learning facilities, a restaurant, holiday accommodation and fully restored grounds which are to be open to the public.
2 comments:
oh what a great post, i love anything to do with history, it must be a great place to explore.
and that boat is amazing~i think i have the sea and sailing in my blood coming from a long line of mariners, bargemen and RN men. i love the idea of sailing off and exploring
I hope the restoration goes forward. Such places should live again, and is the perfect setting for such plans.
We had an elderly recluse in the "village" I grew up in. It was by then a suburb of London. She was classed as elderly when my father was a boy and helped with her shopping. Forty years later she had reached the age one hundred and six, and still lived at home tended by an Oxford Aunt.
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