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Sunday, January 27, 2008

Ruperra Castle


As the weather was good on Saturday four of us went for a cycle ride,........... and I forgot to take my camera. So I have used the images from the website below.
Its an interesting old building and a pity that it's not being made use of, why not a conversion to apartments? One of the main reasons, apart from planning permission, I suspect is access, as its off the main road and you can only get to it by a very rough track.
I imagine that only a few people are aware of its existence.

The following information regarding the history of the castle is taken with permission from the Ruperra Conservation Trust web site.

Ruperra Castle was built in 1626 by Sir Thomas Morgan, who was knighted by King James 1st. It was a typical Jacobean courtier’s house, an example of the ‘Great Rebuilding’ of the 16th and 17th Centuries. King Charles 1st stayed there in 1645 raising support after the Battle of Naseby. A deer park was recorded in 1684 when the Duke of Beaufort feasted there and there were viewing points through the trees and beautiful grassed rides up to the summer house where the family took tea at this time.

After being destroyed by fire in 1785 the castle was rebuilt and the original gables replaced by battlements. In 1875 Captain Godfrey Charles Morgan, of the Charge of the Light Brigade fame became Lord Tredegar and during the 19th Century the eldest son of the Tredegar family lived at Ruperra which saw its heyday as a great Victorian country estate with historic gardens and parklands. In the 1920s many repairs were done but then Tredegar fortunes declined. In 1941 the Castle was once again destroyed by fire when British troops were billeted there. After the War the estate was sold as a farm. The castle has stood, a ‘romantic ruin’ overgrown with vegetation and deteriorating for over 50 years.

6 comments:

  1. One could sit and look and imagine all the different lives lived there and if one were clever, a historical romance might be written. Or one could sit and look and imagine and then spend a fortune to bring the place to life again. Either way, it lives on.

    I'll be interested to learn if you enjoy the novel, The Welsh Girl.

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  2. What a horrible waste! I would love to have an apartment in a castle. Can't be cheap to put such a structure back in order though.

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  3. Yes, I can feel many stories coming from Ruperra Castle.

    The picture and the narative were so very interesting.

    Wouldn't it be fun to decorate a castle.

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  4. What an interesting history that castle has had! You should go back with your camera and take more photos for us! It's too bad you can't see the inside. I hope they can find a way to restore it, though I'm sure that's expensive. It's a beautiful structure.

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  5. What a shame for this castle to sit and go to waste, it be a great looking castle if someone could come up with the money and turn it into something wonderfully beautiful such a musuem perhaps.

    The history is also very interesting on this castle. I imagin it to be a perfect place for Hollywood to come in and create some interesting movies from it.

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  6. Wow. You forgot your camera. I don't quite know what to say, Dave...you were the epitome of photographers' rules for me.

    It's a beautiful, intriguing castle, nonetheless.

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As you have taken the time to read my blog and comment then whenever possible I will always reply. Thank you. Dave