Dr Who, Cardiff Castle and the Drinking of Brains

Dr Who, Cardiff Castle and the Drinking of Brains

After a lovely time with family in Cheltenham, an early train took us to Cardiff, where we checked into our hotel, the aptly named Big Sleep.

Cardiff Castle

Cardiff Castle is in the dead centre of Cardiff, its walls dominating the landscape. This may have been the case since the first reign of Emperor Nero in AD 54-68.

From the Romans to the Normans

The first fort served as a defensive mechanism during the attempted conquest of the Silures, a powerful tribe of ancient Britain occupying some of South Wales and possibly Gloucestershire and Herefordshire in England.

By AD 75, the Romans controlled Wales. They rebuilt a smaller fort, enabling craftsmen to erect their workshops on the ground outside the perimeter walls.

They built their final fort on the site around AD 250. The location gave the fort a new strategic importance as a naval base to protect the Empire from seaborne attacks from the west and north. The fort remained until the Roman Army withdrew from the area in the 5th century.

We know little about the castle in the centuries following the Roman departure. In around 1091, Robert Fitzhamon (the Norman Lord of Gloucester) defeated the Welsh Prince Lestyn ap Grwrgan and took over the site. He built a Norman castle with a wooden keep.

A link to Tewkesbury and Gloucester

Yesterday, Michael and I established a link between Tewkesbury and Gloucester, the last abbot of Tewkesbury becoming the first bishop of Gloucester. Today, we established a link between Gloucester and Cardiff-Robert Fitzhamon. Robert’s daughter married another Robert, the son of England’s King Henry I. The link is that King Henry’s brother, another Robert, Robert Curthrose, is buried in Gloucester Cathedral.

From the Normans to the Welsh

Robert (the son of Henry I) built the first stone keep at Cardiff Castle. It was an important stronghold of the Clare and Despenser dynasties. Ownership of the castle passed from the Despensers to the Beauchamps, the Nevilles and the Tudors, the King of England, and finally to the Butes.

The Butes can be accredited for transforming the castle into its current Gothic architecture and interior style.

Cardiff Bay

We spent the rest of the day at Cardiff Bay, enjoying the fresh air and experiencing all that modern Cardiff offers.

The Millennium Centre

Built to house the Welsh performing arts scene, the Millennium Centre dominates the Cardiff Bay landscape. The architecture and the inscription, “In These Stones, Horizons Sing”, are supposed to reflect the spirit of a nation.

Dr Who Exhibition

The sole reason we were in Cardiff beckoned: Michael needed to indulge his Dr Who and Torchwood fantasies. We wandered the streets, looking at a big obelisk water tower next to an entry to Torchword and other things I know very little about.

And then it was time—time for the Dr Who Exhibition. Michael talked about it all week. He planned the trip to Cardiff and the boat to Ireland to see the exhibition. And he was like an excited child, pointing at objects and discussing costumes with anyone who would listen. I recognised the angels (scary), the Daleks (obviously), and the Tardis (even I acknowledged that was cool). It would have been more enjoyable if I had known more of the references.