The Castle derives its name from the river Taff, which washes its walls; Caertaph signifying the Town or Castle upon Taff. Robert Fitzham having conquered Glamorganshire, divided the country into different portions, among the twelve Norman Knights, as a reward for their service, and took for his own share the Town of Cardiff; and erected, in the year 1110, this Castle, in which he generally resided, and held his court of chancery and exchequer. In the beginning of May 1645, during the troubles under Charles I. it was in the possession of the Royalists, but it was surrendered to Parliament before August 1646.
We entered the Castle by two strong gates, which still remain in great preservation, but we were disgusted with the modern architecture of the new-built mansion, erected by the late Marquis of Bute: the neat shorn grass, the gravel walk, were circumstances that ill accorded with the mutilated walls of an ancient ruin, which has braved the storms of so many centuries. The circumstance that tends to render this Castle a melancholy place in history, is the unjust confinement of Robert Duke of Normandy, brother to William Rufus and Henry I. The accounts, however, of his confinement have been greatly exaggerated by historians; and a dark vaulted room, beneath the level of the ground, measuring nearly a square of fifteen feet and a half, is still pointed out as the place of his confinement; a small crevice in the top, about half a yard in length, and three inches wide, was the only place to admit the air. He was buried in Gloucester Cathedral, where his effigy as big as life, carved in Irish oak, and painted, is yet shewn. The Keep, which is still very perfect, of an octagon shape, stands on an eminence in the centre of a large square. Having walked round the ramparts, which command extensive views of the adjacent country, we visited the Castle itself, which has, within these few years, been repaired, but still remains in an unfinished state. In the Dining-room are some portraits, in length, of the Windsor family: the most striking are,
1st. Sir William, who first raised forces for Queen Mary.
2d. Sir Edward, who first entered the breach at the taking of St. Quintin, in Flanders, where the famous Constable de Montmorency was taken prisoner.
In the Breakfast-parlour is a family piece, consisting of seven figures: it was painted in the year 1568. Holbein, I rather imagine, was the painter: it consists of two Sisters playing at Cards, and two Brothers at Drafts, with Edward Earl of Windsor and his lady looking on. The style is stiff, with ruffs, small black caps and feathers.
This Castle belongs to a grandson of the Marquis of Bute.
In this place, Robert Earl of Gloucester founded a Priory of White-friars, and another of Black, which continued till the reign of Henry VIII. Only the shell of the White-friars is now extant, and the ruins of the Black-friars are inhabited by fishermen.
From hence we walked to inspect the remains of that once celebrated city