 Imagine a Ruperra Castle that was protected for community benefit and future generations to enjoy. Find out the vision of the Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust, view artist Haf Weighton’s reborn Castle and gardens, book onto a free workshop to help finish the artwork or, join a walk to view the Castle.
The event starts at 10:30 at Rudry Parish Hall, Rudry, CF83 3DF. Booking is essential. 10:30 Vision presentation The Trust’s vision is to protect Ruperra Castle and the environment and landscape around the historic site from inappropriate development. Come and meet the Trustees and hear a presentation about the importance of the Castle and its future, where you will have an opportunity to ask questions over refreshments. Find out more about the vision of the Trust 11:30 and 12:15 Art workshop Artist Haf Weighton will be displaying her embroidered artwork which visualises a reborn Castle and gardens. Haf is a Cardiff-based artist who works with paint, print and stitch, her portraits of architecture convey a sensitivity and connection to place. Haf will be running 45-minute workshops at the event to involve the local community in “stitching” people to be included in the final artwork. The workshop is suitable for adults, and children over the age of 9. Find out more about artist Haf Weighton OR 11:45 Walk to the Castle The walk will set off from the Llwyn Hir woodland carpark and take in beautiful woodland and points of interest, taking around 1.5 hours. Walkers will need to be fit enough to walk 5km with an ascent of about 130m to the Motte. Strong footwear and waterproofs are recommended. Due to timings, guests are unable to take part in both the art workshop and a walk to the Castle. Please book the correct tickets depending on your interest – all tickets include the vision presentation at 10:30:
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 Ruperra: A document of 1559 refers to 'Rhiw'r perrai' the 'hill or slope of pear trees' but their exact location was not known.
In 1654 Constantin Huygens the Dutch Ambassador had come for a meeting with Lord Protector Cromwell in London. The Dutch born widow of Sir Lewis Morgan of Ruperra arranged a visit to the new Castle for the son of the Ambassador, Lodewijck Huygens, who refers to fruit trees in the garden: “…Around noon we reached the very beautiful Rhiwperra House. The mansion is square with a round tower on each corner which adds a closet to almost every room. There is a large and lovely hall to the right of the entrance and a number of other fine rooms. There is a very fine garden on the right with very attractive parterres and walks …and another garden with a large number of fruit trees …laid out on the slope of a hill, which one climbs gradually by six or eight steps at a time, upon reaching the highest step, one would never guessed how charming the view is towards the Severn across this very beautiful and fertile valley.” An old pub sign from the Ruperra Arms in Bassaleg depicted children scrumping for pears (pictured). Some people tell us that it is very difficult to grow pears in the area. We are going to try by planting some pears on a South facing slope on the hill in the Coed Craig Ruperra woodland next door to the Castle. Do you know anything about Ruperra pears? Do you successfully grow pears in the area? We’d love to hear from you, email: ruperracastlepreservationtrust@gmail.com  One of our volunteers has put in an application with Caerphilly Borough County Council to amend the definitive map to recognise the footpath along the west side of the Castle wall as a public right of way - highlighted pink in the image.
Many people think this is already a public right of way, but the actual public right of way goes through the Castle grounds - highlighted green in the image. If we are successful, amending the definitive map to recognise the footpath along the west side of the Castle wall will ensure that future generations can continue to walk this path regardless of land ownership. We need your help This application needs to be supported by evidence including witness statements, photos, and maps, that prove the footpath on the outside of the west side of the Castle has been in use for more than 20 years since the application was put in on the 7 March 2022:
Thank you to our members that have already sent in evidence.  This aerial photo of Ruperra Castle listed outbuildings and gardens makes us so sad. Taken by the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales in 2018 it doesn’t give confidence about site management and the impact on archaeology and the environment.
It's now been two and a half years since the owners put in planning applications to convert outbuildings to a private residential development and still no proposals for the preservation of Ruperra Castle. If you care about our local heritage and beautiful places, make sure you object before it is too late! We object to the current applications as:
Find out more about our objections to development that ignores the plight of Ruperra Castle  Cwmni Cwm Ni performing War and Flames Thank you to everyone that joined us on the evening of Thursday 3 March for our drama, War and Flames, to commemorate 80 years since Ruperra Castle was burned out. Cwmni Cwm Ni is the Welsh language drama group of the Rhymney Valley. It was formed to help the National Eisteddfod in Cwm Rhymney in the 1990’s. The three younger members of the group are all pupils at Ysgol Uwchradd Cwm Rhymney. The drama was followed by 1940s music, dancing, and wartime refreshments. We would like to thank:
80 years on and Ruperra Castle is still a derelict ruin:
The walk from the Church to the Castle takes about 45 minutes, along public footpaths and over the Iron Bridge. The reason the Sunday morning service still starts at 11.15 and not 11.00, was originally to enable the servants of Ruperra Castle to clear away breakfast and walk to church in time to meet the family who would arrive by coach.
The church is happy for walkers and cyclists to use the toilet anytime, which is situated in the building at the back of the graveyard behind a red door. Please respectfully leave it clean and tidy! To arrange a visit to view the chapel and hatchments please email: lowermachenchurch@gmail.com If you are unable to visit you can take a virtual tour and view the hatchments and chapel: Heritage – St. Michael & All Angels Church, Lower Machen The Church have also produced some remarkable books on the Chapel and Hatchments which are available for delivery for a donation. Find out more about the remarkable books View maps and find out how to visit the area In early drawings Ruperra Castle looks like an illustration in a fairy tale. Judging by the many delicate arched windows it was certainly not meant to be a fortress. How did such a romantic castle happen to be built in the early 17th century? This short film was made in 2009 and features the early history of the castle, its cultural and political background and the ancestry of Sir Thomas Morgan, the man who built it in 1626.  We have lots of interesting online talks coming up for our members over the next few months:
In a few lines each day, William Beechey's diary records twenty years of information about the events and lives of the people of the Ruperra Estate. Read his entries in the weeks running up to Christmas in 1899.
 Route William Beechey would have taken from Ruperra Home Farm to deliver supplies to Ruperra Castle  Older William Beechey and family Read stories from the memories of people who worked on the Ruperra Estate in our book: Serving Under Ruperra by Pat Jones-Jenkins - An illustrated account taken from recorded testimonies of people who worked on the Ruperra Estate in the 19th and 20th centuries up to 1939. £6.00. Find out more about our films and books
 This year the Trust has commissioned Haf Weighton to visualise a reborn Castle and gardens in its landscape setting. Haf is a Cardiff-based artist who works with paint, print and stitch, her portraits of architecture convey a sensitivity and connection to place. Find out more about artist Haf Weighton
In preparation for the piece Haf has created sketches of Ruperra Castle buildings and gardens to inform the final embroidered piece in 2022. She has turned the sketches into a beautiful desk calendar which is available to purchase for £7.50. The calendar measures 21 x 15cm. If you would like to purchase a calendar please email ruperracastlepreservationtrust@gmail.com We have a limited number available on a first come first served basis. We will deliver locally for free. Any profits go to the Ruperra Castle Preservation Trust. |
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