Cardigan Castle

The first motte-and-bailey castle (ca.1093) was built a mile away from the present site, probably about the time of the founding of the town by Roger de Montgomery, a Norman baron. In 1110, King Henry I of England took Cardigan from Prince Owain ap Cadwgan as a punishment, and gave the Lordship of Cardigan and the castle to Gilbert Fitz Richard. The forerunner of the present castle was built by Gilbert Lord of Clare after the former was destroyed. The castle was handed down to Gilbert's son, Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke in 1136.

Sometime between 1805 and 1808 the castle owner, John Bowen, arranged the construction of Castle Green House within the castle walls. The front range was added in 1827. In 1940 the castle and house was bought by a shipping magnate His daughter, Barbara Wood, and her mother moved into Castle Green House but this slowly fell into disrepair and was allowed to decay further by the owner to the extent that the outer castle walls needed supporting.

Miss Wood, the castle's last occupant, finally left the castle in 1996 to be cared for in a nursing home. Faced with six years of nursing costs, she put the castle up for private sale in 2001. The castle was purchased by Ceredigion County Council in April 2003 and repairs began as part of the regeneration of Cardigan. In 2004 Castle Green House appeared on the BBC's second series of Restoration, presented by Griff Rhys Jones. Renovation work continued for some years after its purchase by the Council, and the castle was opened to the public on 15 April 2015 with a concert held in July 2015.