A NEW video has been produced providing information about a historic Caerphilly castle’s gardens.

Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust has launched the video featuring the Ruperra Castle ruins near Caerphilly. The castle and its gardens are inaccessible due to them being privately owned, but passers-by can see glimpses on the surrounding footpaths and cycleways.

The castle was built in 1626 for show – known as a pageant castle – by Sir Thomas Morgan of the Morgan family who later became Lord Tredegar. It was burnt out in 1785 and rebuilt on a similar design as the original.

The deer park has been dated back to medieval times and consists of parkland and a garden with a Grade II listed Edwardian greenhouse. They have been placed on Cadw’s register of historic gardens in Wales. There was at one point, a dozen gardeners employed across the grounds.

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It was home to holders of the Lord Tredegar title until the First World War, when it became a place for weekend stay for shooting parties. A few domestic servants, gardeners and a gamekeeper stayed to look after the castle.

In the 1930s, it was put up for sale but did not sell. It was requisitioned during the Second World War to train troops and was burnt out again in 1941 due to an electrical fault. The castle has remained in ruin since despite numerous owners.

In the video, you can learn about the history of the Ruperra Castle gardens and the potential for them in the future.

Dr Elaine Davey, a trustee of the Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust and vice-chairwoman of the Welsh Historic Gardens Trust, provides an introduction to the development of the gardens. You are then transported to Aberglasney in Carmarthenshire to hear about the transformation of the gardens and house there from head gardener Joseph Atkins – where you can see what could be possible for Ruperra.

European Union funding through the Welsh Government helped to make the video possible as well as Cwm y Mynydd Caerphilly County Borough Council countryside service and the Aberglasney Restoration Trust.

Chairwoman of Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust, Kay Powell, said: “In their heyday, the Ruperra gardens were of national significance. It’s such a shame that successive owners have failed to care for the Castle ruins or its gardens.”

You can watch the video here: https://youtu.be/I6fuFaeuivY