South Wales’ sleeping giant awakes as enhancement works begin
Caerphilly Castle: Wales’ largest medieval fortress with centuries of heritage and history etched into every stone.
To maintain and enhance the monument, we recently revealed plans for construction, renovation and development works which will consolidate Caerphilly Castle’s status as a world class heritage attraction.
This exciting programme of works can be split into three main categories: Facilities Improvements, Visitor Experience, and Conservation.
Facilities Improvements
To welcome visitors and improve capacity for volunteers, a new visitor centre will be constructed to include a café, education space, and Cadw team offices. The existing castle gift shop will also get a makeover, with a full refit planned for the space.
The new-build Welcome Centre will follow a low-carbon design and welcome winged friends and pollinators to its new ‘green roof’. An air-source heat pump will be included to provide low carbon heating and cooling, native wildflowers will be planted on the green roof to encourage biodiversity, and PV panels will be designed and installed to provide an element of renewable energy.
To tie these new visitor facilities together, the outer castle ward will be re-landscaped — ensuring smooth access for everyone who sets foot inside the monument’s gates.
Building on the access path improvements completed in 2020, additional access paths and ramps will be installed across the castle grounds.
More visitors will be able to enjoy the site as paths are widened, to allow easier attendance for wheelchair users.
Three of Caerphilly Castle’s iconic bridges will also benefit from the facilities improvement works, including the main entrance bridge leading into the castle from the town.
The medieval Great Hall is set for transformative interpretation and conservation works to recreate the medieval splendour that would once have been enjoyed by its historic residents.
The historic spaces will also undergo extensive conservation work to the back-of-house facilities, that will allow us to host a range of exciting events in the future.
Visitor Experience
Our largest ever investment into interpretation is coming to Caerphilly, as £1million has been allocated to develop a new interpretative scheme throughout the castle.
Telling the stories of the men and women who called the castle home throughout centuries past, the new interpretation will excite and intrigue visitors of all ages.
Thanks to BSG Ecology, a new wildflower garden will be planted in the castle grounds. Encouraging biodiversity, the wildflower garden will also provide a beautified green space for the enjoyment of all visitors.
Conservation
The Inner East Gatehouse will get a new roof, window repairs and re-pointing works to make sure the building is watertight. This work is programmed to take place starting this November. Keep an eye out for our conservation team on site.
Working with Caerphilly Council, Mace project management, Purcell Architects, Bright interpretation designers, Mann Williams Engineers, Holloway Partnership M&E, Wessex Archaeology, BSG Ecology, and Austin Smith Lord landscape architects, we have recently appointed John Weaver as the contractor for the project set to begin this year.
More details — including dates for work commencement and any impact the works may have on visitor experience — will be released in the coming months.
