Major month of progress for Cyfarthfa Castle

On Friday 14th November, His Majesty The King visited Cyfarthfa Castle as part of his 70th birthday celebrations. The visit shone a spotlight on the importance of the site to Merthyr Tydfil and provided an opportunity for the Cyfarthfa Foundation to share updates on the project’s ambitions for the castle, park and wider estate.

The momentum continued on Thursday 20th November at the Senedd, where the Foundation and project partners hosted an event to share the developing vision for Cyfarthfa and its role in supporting wellbeing, learning and economic regeneration in the region. 

Alongside these milestone moments, Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council has taken an important step forward in addressing the castle’s urgent conservation needs. The Council has now begun a programme of enabling works including below ground surface water drainage, critical roof repair and access works, with repairs to 98 windows. These works are supported by funding from Cadw and the Council. These works form part of a wider package of enabling measures designed to stabilise the Grade I-listed building, much of which has suffered from decades of underinvestment and water ingress. 

Purcell has been working with the Cyfarthfa Foundation and Merthyr Tydfil CBC over the past year to develop a comprehensive masterplan for the castle – part of a wider vision initiated by Ritchie Studio’s Cyfarthfa Plan. The Phase One proposals form the basis of an upcoming National Lottery Heritage Fund development grant application, following the project’s successful Expression of Interest earlier this year.