7-7 Cardiff Castle & Mansion

 Like a lot of other castles and churches in the U.K., Cardiff Castle was built on the remains of an old Roman fort.  After the Romans left, the fort became pretty much in ruins, but was rebuilt by the Norman Lord of Gloucester after the Norman Invasion.  It was passed around among various noblemen, and was acquired in the Victorian times by the 2nd Marquess of Butte who had it decorated,   

First, Some photos of the outside of the castle and grounds.  The town has grown up around the castle, so the entrance is now right in the middle of the busy downtown district. 

 

 

View of the walls from the town. 

 

 

And just inside the entrance is a bench with Paddington bear.   

View of the upper wall inside the castle.

A remaining tower:

When they constructed the visitor center, they found some of the old Roman walls, so they set them up as a display.

 

Now here comes the fun part.  The Victorian owner had a ton of money from coal mines around the UK, so he moved his family into part of the castle and redecorated it in a wild sort-of Victorian manner.  

I won't bother explaining each of these photos of bits and pieces of his home because it is really impossible.  Just know that he was a very religious man and had several children, so you will see images from the Bible, fairy tales, and all sorts of foreign places. 

 

 

Even the ceilings are heavily decorated.  

This tub was about 3' deep, so it would have even fit President Grover Cleveland!

This bathroom not only had running water, but it had a working toilet!

The owner's bedroom.  

This is a rooftop garden and pool that was filled with plants and maybe some fish. 

So, how did this become a public place?  The Butte family went bankrupt after the coal business became less around 1900, so the owner ended up giving it to the city so he would not have to pay the taxes on it.