The
port of Cardigan
When the town of Cardigan was established in 1110 it became an important trading point. Woollen cloth was exported to Arras in France for use in the weaving of tapestries and commodities such as corn and limestone were imported. As early as the 14th Century, consignments of wine were recorded.
By Elizabethan times, Cardigan had grown into one of the most important ports in Wales, second only to Milford Haven, with authority over an area extending from Fishguard to Aberaeron. During the following century the shipbuilding industry became established and the port of Cardigan grew larger still dealing in commodities ranging from salt to prunes and from corn to tar. A customs house was built in St Mary Street to cope with the increased trade and the building is still standing today.
By the early 1800s, over 300 vessels were registered at the port of Cardigan and more than 1,000 men were employed here. The port bustled with rope makers, gas works, foundries, lime kilns, timber yards, saw mills, brick works, ship builders, smithies, warehouses, tanneries, malthouses and much more. Passengers landed and departed at Teifi Quay, indeed Cardigan became one of the country's largest ports for transatlantic emigration, sending ships like Active and Albion to New Brunswick in Canada and the Triton to New York. Goods from all around the world sailed into Cambrian Quay, Lloyd’s Wharf dealt mostly with coal and local coastal trade, timber from the Baltic and North America was imported at Mercantile Quay, and ships carrying lime for building and agriculture landed at Mercantile Breakwater. Outstripping all British ports, except Bristol, Liverpool and London, Cardigan’s international trade links and ideal location brought unprecedented prosperity to the area. The ship building industry was concentrated at Netpool (now a park) and further downstream at St Dogmaels. Hundreds of ships were built on the Teifi - some of these up to 400 tonnes.
When the Teifi estuary began to silt up making access difficult for larger ships, and the railway came to Cardigan in 1886 the port began to decline and within just 20 years there was little left of the trade that had once been greater than most British ports. By the turn of the 20th century the Netpool, where hundreds of ships had been built, had already become a recreational area.
Today the quays are in the process of renovation and provide a seating and performance area, a pontoon for boat trips, and pleasant walks along the riverside. The river is used regularly for leisure pursuits such as fishing, kayaking and sailing.
Cardigan Castle
The first castle at Cardigan was 1km downstream of the present site in the town. It was a wooden castle built by the Normans on the site of an earlier Iron Age settlement. The present site was considered more suitable and Gilbert de Clare built a second wooden castle here in 1100.
In 1136, Lord Rhys ap Gruffydd, prince of Deheubarth, marched south and defeated the Norman’s at the battle of Crug Mawr (just two miles north of the town). He took Cardigan Castle and began rebuilding it in stone. To celebrate when the Castle was finished, Lord Rhys held what we now recognise as the First Eisteddfod inviting poets and musicians to compete.
Rhys’ death in 1197, resulted in another period of conflict. His sons, Maelgwyn and Gruffydd, fought over their inheritance and this resulted in the sale of the Castle to King John of England.
The mid 13th Century, however, saw the Castle once again in the hands of the Normans. Two towers, a new keep and the town wall were all built to create a stronghold, the ruins of which are still visible today. By the end of the 13th century King Edward I had laid claim to the castle and control reverted to the English.
During the English Civil War Oliver Cromwell’s Roundheads largely
destroyed the Castle and, later,
parts of it were used as an administrative centre, a jail and a public space
with a bowling green. In
the early 1800s a private mansion was built on the property and the Castle
entered a more peaceful
phase.
Cardigan Castle, dating back to the 12th century and site of the first Eisteddfod, is currently the subject of a bid for complete restoration programme, and was a finalist in the BBC programme Restoration presented by Gryff Rhys Jones.
Cilgerran Castle
Cilgerran is first mentioned by name in 1164, when Lord Rhys captured the castle. It was retaken by William Marshal, earl of Pembroke, in 1204, only to be taken again by the Welsh during Llywelyn the Great's campaigns in 1215. However, eight years later, William's son, another William, regained control, and it was probably he who built the imposing masonry castle we see today. The form of the present castle may well reflect that of the earlier earthwork castle.
In the 1370s an invasion from France was feared, and Edward III ordered that the now rather derelict Cilgerran be refortified. In the Tudor period, the Vaughan family were granted the castle by Henry VII, and they continued to occupy it until the early 17th century, when they built a new house nearby. The castle fell into ruin, but its picturesque setting made it an early favourite among tourists who, from the 18th century, could visit by boat from Cardigan.
Cilgerran Castle is open to the public.
Click to read the history of Cardigan Castle
Read more about Cardigan Heritage Initiatives
Read about Cilgerran Castle here www.cilgerran.info/history
©Menter Aberteifi