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| Castell Coch, Wales |
For many centuries after the Norman invasion Wales was a very violent place. There was constant fighting between local barons, and general mistrust of the Normans all of whom were trying to carve out empires for themselves. It’s therefore no surprise that there are many ruined castles around the country. One such stronghold is Castell Coch, just north of Cardiff.
This has a long and unfortunate early history which resulted in it being abandoned in the 14th century. There was then about five hundred years of semi-neglect with wind, rain, fire and storm taking a terrible toll of its structure. Clearly, you would be forgiven for thinking that all the spirits of its ancient occupants, many of whom died violently, should have perished with the ruins. But not so.
Some of the more intriguing stories involve, amongst others, a Civil War Cavalier. He buried much looted treasure which he was subsequently unable to recover due to his untimely death. But such is his jealousy that he constantly revisits to protect it from inquisitive tourists. And there is the mysterious woman who walks the grounds in search of her young son who was drowned in a nearby lake. She has even been seen within the Castle passages.
But if the Castle was ruined beyond recognition, how do we know this?
Well, in 1870 the Marquess of Bute decided to construct a totally new “medieval” Castle on the site of the previous one. He cleared the site and started from scratch. Today we have a wonderful fairytale Castle which is open to the public throughout the year. And for film buffs, Alan Ladd starred in “The Black Knight” which was filmed at Castell Coch about 60 years ago. Since then there have been several Dr Who episodes, with Baroness Orczy’s Scarlet Pimpernel also filmed there in 1982 ... starring Ian McKellen and Jane Seymour.
But if this has inspired you to visit, beware. The ghosts from the old ruins have clearly transferred to the new structure and have caused so much consternation that the Bute family no longer live there. There is also talk of caretaker staff leaving without any adequate explanation.
So be careful where you build. History has a habit of repeating itself.
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