St Fagans National History Museum, Cardiff, Wales.

St Fagans Castle.

St Fagans Castle is a Grade 1 listed building and one of the finest Elizabethan manor houses in Wales, though much of the interior was remodelled during the 19th century. In 1946 the Castle, together with eighteen acres of land, was donated by the Earl of Plymouth to the National Museum of Wales as a site for a national open-air museum.

 

The present house was begun by a local lawyer, Dr John Gibbon, in 1580, though he may never have actually lived here. The house and estate were purchased in 1616 by Edward Lewis of Y Fan, Caerphilly, and it was Edward and his wife Blanche who completed many of the internal fittings of the building in 1620. Their initials EBL and the date 1620 can be seen on panelling and on firebacks within the building. The Lewis heiress Elizabeth married Other, 3rd Earl of Plymouth in 1730, and the estate was inherited by their infant son in 1736.

 

The house was rented out to various tenants during the 18th century, and was later used for temporary accommodation by local people, including the local schoolmaster, who kept school in the withdrawing room.

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Uploaded on December 3, 2015
Taken on October 16, 2015