Castles of Commerce: An Introduction

How about a change? Change is good, right?

I want to introduce an idea that’s been brewing in my mind for a number of years, and I’m keen to start seriously working on it. I’m calling it Castles of Commerce, which alongside my work on Castles of Contention, I think its clear I have a bit of a thing for alliteration.

An Englishman’s home is his castle - I want to start to explore this proverb literally.

In 1869, the Archaeologia Cambrensis journal contained a letter written by ‘an antiquary’ complaining that gentlemen who have the capital to prevent the decay of ruins consider it to be ‘much more gratifying to spend the money in building new sham castles, and to live in them, than to repair old ones.’ This quote, featured in my previous castle case study on Conwy Castle struck a cord with me, as it reminded me of one of my old essays.

During my undergraduate, I undertook a module - the name escapes me, but it was something like ‘Studying British Landscapes’ – e.g. the seaside, cities, and the countryside. One seminar was all about country houses, the prep for which involved every student choosing from the reading list a house to present on. Being a medievalist, through and through (I genuinely only did one or two modern history modules in the whole of my history degree!), I jumped on the only castle on the list – Cardiff Castle.

Cardiff Castle

At this point I had never stepped foot in the Welsh capital. I was unaware that a late Victorian, William Burges’ designed, medieval fantasy had been built inside its castle walls for the industrial magnate John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, alongside its Roman wall and Norman era stone tower. As part of this module we were given free reign on what we wanted to write our assignment about, so long as it corresponded to one of the lectures. There was no doubt in my mind – I was writing about Victorian businessmen who built castles – Castles of Commerce.

After writing this, I was a medievalist no more, castles and the Victorians became my thing.

A whole lot of castles...

Once I started looking into this idea of industrialists building castles it became apparent that the 3rd Marquess of Bute was not an isolated case. At the moment I’ve scarcely considered beyond Wales, and even then, the list of 19th century castles is becoming extensive:

*Dates are when construction began*

Castell Coch

Cardiff Castle in Cardiff (1865)

Cyfarthfa Castle in Merthyr Tydfil (1824)

Glandyfil Castle in Ceredigion (1812)

Gwrych Castle in Conwy (1810)

Castell Coch in Cardiff (1875)

Penrhyn Castle in Gwynedd (1822)

Ruthin Castle in Denbighshire (1826)

Castle construction on behalf of wealthy industrialists was extensive in the British Isles during the long nineteenth century and off the top of my head I can think of quite a few more:

Penrhyn Castle

Ashford Castle in County Galway (1852)

Belfast Castle in Belfast (1867)

Castle Drogo in Devon (1911)

Crom Castle in County Fermanagh (1840)

Culzean Castle in South Ayrshire (1777)

Taymouth Castle in the Highlands (1806)

Wray Castle in the Lake District (1840)

Castle Drogo is in there somewhere. I did get to go on the roof though, which was cool!

A Sticky Subject?

Studying and grouping these castles is interesting and challenging.

Firstly, we have to consider the owners – who were they? How did they afford it? What were the factors of motivation behind their castle’s construction?

Yes, they were all built by men wealthy with the profits of business. However, where those profits came from could differ drastically from inherited wealth from land ownership to building successful businesses themselves.

Secondly, the trend of castle construction is not only geographically varied (with these 19th century constructions spread across the British Isles) they are also architecturally and chronologically disconnected. Archeologically, many 19th century castles were built on top of, close to, or incorporated the fabric of more ancient fortifications while others were brand new.

Thirdly, there is more to this subject than castle construction. The purchase and ownership of medieval castles by wealthy businessmen must also be considered, such as the Bulkeley’s at Beaumaris, William Armstrong at Bamburgh, and Edward Hudson at Lindisfarne.

Lastly, and probably most crucially, is the question are these buildings actually castles?

Yikes, big question – especially for the Friday afternoon when this was written!

Medieval castles were built primarily for defence and/or as symbols of power. Critically, they were also homes. As time went on the primary function for buildings described as ‘castles’ evolved into accommodation. Does a castle have to have been built in a certain time period to be described as a castle?

Also is a castle only a castle if it has seen military action? There are a few medieval fortresses that didn’t.

While it is tempting to disregard 19th century castle as a folly or a *air quote* ‘castle,’ these buildings did have practical purpose. They were (some still are) homes, alongside being incredible works of architecture, spaces of employment, and physical reflections of a culture that pedestalled the medieval period.

Perhaps, its time to re-evaluated what a castle actually is.

The next few posts will feature the castles which first sparked this idea, those owned by the 3rd Marquess of Bute in South Wales – Cardiff, Castell Coch, and Caerphilly.