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Ruperra Castle

north-east of Cardiff, Caerphilly, south Wales
ST 219 863

Map link for Ruperra Castle

Photographs copyright © by Laurie Oliver

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.

 

The Ruperra Castle Conservation Trust was formed in 1996 and is now called the Ruperra Conservation Trust.

Originally formed by a local group concerned about the future of this ruined castle and its historic gardens and parklands. Ruperra castle is a Grade II * Listed Building and Scheduled Ancient Monument standing in 160 acres of beautiful historic parkland between Newport and Cardiff in South Wales U.K. Grid reference ST 219 863.

Please contact the Ruperra Conservation Trust if you are interested in the project, would like more information, or would like to offer your help.  

Visit the Ruperra Conservation Trust web site

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Copyright © 2009 by Jeffrey L. Thomas