THEOSOPHY

WALES

 

 

 

 

Cardiff Castle

 

 

Return to Homepage

 

Roman forts

 

There were three successive Roman forts on the site of Cardiff Castle, most notably a late 3rd century structure, some walls of which can still be seen today. One of the gates was reconstructed in Victorian times.

 

Medieval castle

 

Cardiff Castle was built for Robert Fitzhamon in 1091, on the site of and incorporating some walls of the previous Roman fort, although it was mostly of timber in the usual motte and bailey style. His son-in-law, Robert of Gloucester, rebuilt in stone, including the twelve-sided keep which can still be seen today. Robert, Duke of Normandy who was imprisoned there by his younger brother, King Henry I from 1106 until 1134. In 1158 it was the scene for a daring kidnapping carried out by one Ifor Bach (Ivor the Little). In the Welsh Revolt of 1183, the castle was attacked and much damaged, but an expected siege nearly a hundred years later, during the reign of Llywelyn the Last, never emerged. Gilbert de Clare had refortified many of the defences in readiness.

 

The Despenser family held the castle throughout the 14th century. In 1317, Llywelyn Bren was imprisoned there for revolting against the English and executed in a most humiliating manner. Four years later, the castle was taken by a combined force of marcher lords attempting to overthrow King Edward II. okDuring Owain Glynd?r's rebellion in the early 1400's his supporters took the castle in 1404 and set the town alight (a Cardiff pub is named in memory of Glyndwr). Later it came into the possession of the Beauchamp Earls of Warwick, who built the living quarters along the western wall including the Octagon Tower. King Henry VII gave it to his uncle, Jasper Tudor in 1488. By 1550, the castle was held by the Herberts who added further embellishments. They held the castle for the King during the Civil War, but it was eventually taken by Parliamentary forces. In 1776, it passed to the Earl of Bute. The family made various alterations, including landscaping by Capability Brown.

 

Victorian mansion

 

In the early 19th century the castle was enlarged and refashioned in an early Gothic Revival style for John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute by Henry Holland. But its transformation began in 1868 when the 3rd Marquess commissioned William Burges to undertake a massive rebuilding which turned the castle into a 19th century fantasy of a medieval palace, with a series of rooms that, perhaps, constitute the highest achievement of later Victorian Gothic Revival design. The coming together of the Marquess, enormously rich, early Catholic convert and steeped in a romantic vision of the mediaeval world and Burges, pre-eminent art-architect, committed Goth and hugely-talented designer forged one of the great patron/architect relationships and led to a succession of dazzling architectural triumphs of which Cardiff Castle is the greatest of all.

 

Rebuilding began with the Clock Tower, planned 1866-1868 and begun in 1869. The towers continue westward, the Tank Tower, the Guest Tower, the Herbert Tower and the Beauchamp Tower, part Burges, part Holland, part 15th and 16th century, creating a skyline, best observed from Bute Park, that echoes Burges' unbuilt design for the Law Courts and presents a visually-stunning image of a mediaeval city.

 

Within the Castle, the succession of sumptuous apartments; the Winter and Summer Smoking Rooms, the Chaucer Room, the Arab Room, Lord Bute's Bedroom, the Roof Garden, repeatedly illustrates Burges' supreme skill as an art-architect. Taking complete control of the designing, the building, the decoration and the furnishing of the apartments, and using his favoured team of Nicholls, Crace, Lonsdale, Burges created a suite of rooms in a unique Gothic Revival style that is unrivalled.

 

Access and events

 

The castle was later sold to the city of Cardiff by the Bute family in 1947 for £1. It is now a popular tourist attraction, and houses a regimental museum in addition to the ruins of the old castle and the Victorian reconstruction. It sits in the expansive grounds of Bute Park.

 

The castle has hosted a number of rock concerts and performances and has the capacity to accommodate over 10,000 people. Notable concerts include the Stereophonics Live at Cardiff Castle in June 1998 and Green Day in 2000. In 1948 a crowd of 16,000, a record for British Baseball game, watched Wales defeat England in Cardiff Castle grounds. Cardiff Castle plays host to Cardiff University's Summer Ball each year. It is also the site of Wales' largest Mardi Gras held every August.

 

 

 

 

Return to Homepage

 

 

 

 

THEOSOPHY

WALES

                        

 

For more info on Theosophy

Try these

 

Dave’s Streetwise Theosophy Boards

The Theosophy Website that

Welcomes Absolute Beginners

 

Theosophy in Cardiff

 

Theosophy in Wales

 

Wales! Wales! Theosophy Wales

The All Wales Guide to

 Getting Started in Theosophy

This is for everybody not just people in Wales

 

Cardiff Lodge’s Instant Guide to Theosophy

 

Cardiff Theosophy Start-Up

A Free Intro to Theosophy

 

Cardiff Theosophical Archive

 

Cardiff Blavatsky Archive

 

Blavatsky Blogger

Independent Theosophical Blog

 

Quick Blasts of Theosophy

One Liners & Quick Explanations

 

Great Theosophists

 

The Most Basic Theosophy Website in the Universe

If you run a Theosophy Group you can use

this as an introductory handout

 

Theosophy

The New Rock ‘n Roll

 

The Key to Theosophy

 

The Voice of the Silence

 

The South of Heaven Guide to

 Theosophy and Devachan

 

The South of Heaven Guide

To Theosophy and Dreams

 

The South of Heaven Guide

To Theosophy and Angels

 

Theosophy and Help From

The Universe

 

Feelgood Theosophy

Visit the Feelgood Lodge

 

The Tooting Broadway

Underground Theosophy Website

The Spiritual Home of Urban Theosophy

 

The Mornington Crescent

Underground Theosophy Website

The Earth Base for Evolutionary Theosophy

 

__________________________

 

Your Own Theosophy Group Starts Here

A Guide to starting your own Theosophy Group

The Theosophy Wales Guide to

Starting a Theosophy Group

& of course you don’t need to live in Wales

to take advantage of this guide

 

________________________

 

The Theosophy Cardiff

Glastonbury Pages

 

Chalice Well, Glastonbury.

The Theosophy Cardiff Guide to

Chalice Well, Glastonbury,

Somerset, England

 

The Theosophy Cardiff Guide to

Glastonbury Abbey

 

Theosophy Cardiff’s

Glastonbury Abbey Chronology

 

The Theosophy Cardiff Guide to

Glastonbury Tor

 

The Labyrinth

The Terraced Maze of Glastonbury Tor

 

Glastonbury and Joseph of Arimathea

 

The Grave of King Arthur & Guinevere

At Glastonbury Abbey

 

Views of Glastonbury High Street

 

The Theosophy Cardiff Guide to

Glastonbury Bookshops

 

 

_____________________

 

 

Tekels Park

Camberley, Surrey, England GU15 - 2LF

 

 

Concerns about the fate of the wildlife as

Tekels Park is to be Sold to a Developer

 

Concerns are raised about the fate of the wildlife as

The Spiritual Retreat, Tekels Park in Camberley,

Surrey, England is to be sold to a developer.

 

Tekels Park is a 50 acre woodland park, purchased

 for the Adyar Theosophical Society in England in 1929.

In addition to concern about the park, many are

 worried about the future of the Tekels Park Deer

as they are not a protected species.

 

Anyone planning a “Spiritual” stay at the

Tekels Park Guest House should be aware of the sale.

 

There is confusion as the Theoversity moves out of 

Tekels Park to Southampton, Glastonbury & 

Chorley in Lancashire while the leadership claim

that the Theosophical Society will carry on using 

Tekels Park despite its sale to a developer

 

 

Future of Tekels Park Badgers in Doubt

Badgers have been resident

in Tekels Park for Centuries

 

Tekels Park & the Loch Ness Monster

A Satirical view of the sale of Tekels Park

in Camberley, Surrey to a developer

 

The Toff’s Guide to the Sale of Tekels Park

What the men in top hats have to

say about the sale of Tekels Park

to a developer

 

____________________

 

 

Theosophy Wales Centre

The Ocean of Theosophy

By William Quan Judge

 

Theosophy Cardiff Nirvana Pages

 

National Wales Theosophy

Karma Pages

 

Theosophy Wales Vanguard

 

Theosophy Wales Hornet

 

Teozofio Cardiff

Cefpago En Esperanto

 

 

Try these if you are looking for a

local Theosophy Group or Centre

 

 

UK Listing of Theosophical Groups

 

Worldwide Directory of Theosophical Links

 

International Directory of 

Theosophical Societies

 

 

 

Google

 

 Web   Theosophy Wales

Google

 

 

 

Theosophy in the UK

 

Within the British Isles, The Adyar Theosophical Society has Groups in;

 

Bangor*Basingstoke*Billericay*Birmingham*Blackburn*Bolton*Bournemouth

Bradford*Bristol*Camberley*Cardiff*Chester*Conwy*Coventry*Dundee*Edinburgh

Folkstone*Glasgow*Grimsby*Inverness*Isle of Man*Lancaster*Leeds*Leicester

Letchworth*London*Manchester*Merseyside*Middlesborough*Newcastle upon Tyne

North Devon*Northampton*Northern Ireland*Norwich*Nottingham

Perth*Republic of Ireland*Sidmouth*Southport*Sussex*Swansea*Torbay

Tunbridge Wells*Wallasey*Warrington*Wembley*Winchester*Worthing

 

 

 

 

Wales Theosophy Links Summary

 

All Wales Guide to Theosophy

 

Instant Guide to Theosophy

 

Theosophy Wales Hornet

 

Theosophy Wales Now

 

Cardiff Theosophical Archive

 

Elementary Theosophy

 

Basic Theosophy

 

Theosophy in Cardiff

 

Theosophy in Wales

 

Hey Look! Theosophy in Cardiff

 

 

theosophycardiff.org

 

Webpage Posted by Dave Marsland