St Fagans Castle, Manor house in St Fagans, Wales
St Fagans Castle is an Elizabethan manor house in Cardiff with a D-shaped courtyard surrounded by medieval fortifications and walls reaching about two meters thick. The building combines elements from different periods and shows how the property developed over many centuries.
The site began as a Norman fortification in the 11th century, and the current manor house was built on those ruins in 1580. The Lewis family took possession in the early 1600s and lived there for generations, and the property later passed to the Windsor-Clive family.
The rooms display original wooden wall panels and fireplace inserts from the 17th century, marked with initials belonging to Edward and Blanche Lewis who shaped the family home. These details reveal how the residents lived and what mattered to them at that time.
Access is currently limited to the ground floor since the upper level is closed for electrical work and the roof requires major repairs. Plan your visit to focus on the lower areas and be aware that parts of the building may not be accessible in certain conditions.
The property had an innovative power system driven by water from a village mill that generated electricity for lighting throughout the rooms. This early use of water power to make electricity was unusual for a private home at the time.
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