Celebrations mark castle’s special day

A CELEBRATION to mark the 70th anniversary since Cardiff Castle was given to the city’s citizens took place on Sunday.

Crowds turned out to a series of events at the historic landmark to mark seven decades since the castle was handed over by the Fifth Marquess of Bute in 1947.

The popular event was filled with nostalgia from the post-war era.

Bands played music from the time and an anniversary lecture was organised which told the story of the “greatest gift the city ever received”.

Elizabeth Stevens, education and events officer at the castle, said: “We have had a nice flow of people in today.

“Obviously the rain has maybe put a few off but they are very much enjoying what’s going on – it’s a lovely 1940s atmosphere we have going on down here.”

She said the castle being given to the city in 1947 was a “very big thing” for the Welsh capital. “It was very important for Cardiff’s history for the donation of something like that to take place. All of a sudden there was a council and a city with their own castle, and now it is a fully-blown tourist attraction.

“There aren’t many cities that own their own castle – most are owned by the National Trust or English Heritage.”

She said the Marquess gave the castle over for “a number of different reasons”.

“Before 1947, the Bute had so many different residences all of the place. They didn’t live in the Cardiff Castle for any extended period of time. They were here for roughly six weeks in a year – an occasional residence. It was also a very costly place to maintain.”

Until 1947, the lordship of the castle was held by the Bute family, when the Fifth Marquess handed over the keys to the Lord Mayor, Alderman George Ferguson, presenting it with its parkland to the people of Cardiff. After receiving thanks for what the Mayor considered “a gesture of truly royal nature”, Lord Bute replied that “naturally he had certain regrets, but he felt great satisfaction in handing to the city the castle from which it sprang”.

This sentiment was reflected in the South Wales Echo at the time, which observed that it was “no longer Cardiff Castle, but Cardiff’s Castle”.

Nowadays, the castle is a Grade I-listed building and scheduled monument of national importance.

It’s been used for various concerts including Tom Jones, Green Day and the Stereophonics, and was the setting for a sequence of military tattoos during the 1960s and 1970s.

It’s now one of the most popular tourist sites in the city.

According to Ms Stevens, the daylong event received lots of good feedback from visitors and families.

“Many people have turned up in costume and castle staff have made a big effort too. There’s a great buzz around the place.”