Cardiff Castle Stables
Cardiff Castle Stables, Cardiff, Wales, were designed in 1868-69 by the Gothic revivalist architect William Burges. They stand to the north of Cardiff Castle and on the western edge of Cathays Park which then formed part of the castle’s private grounds. Work on the stables continued into the 1870s, and they were not completed until 1928-29. One of only two stable blocks designed by Burges, they now accommodate the Anthony Hopkins Centre, part of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. The stables are a Grade II* listed building.
History
In 1865, Burges met John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute. This may have resulted from Alfred Burges's engineering firm, Walker, Burges and Cooper, having undertaken work on the East Bute Docks in Cardiff for the second Marquess. The 3rd Marquess became Burges's greatest architectural patron; both were men of their times; both had fathers whose industrial endeavours provided the means for their sons' architectural achievements, and both sought to "redeem the evils of industrialism by re-living the art of the Middle Ages".The building of the stables formed part of the reconstruction of Cardiff Castle and they were designed by Burges in 1868-69. Construction took place between 1872-75 but they were not completed until 1928-29. They are reputedly one of only two sets of stables Burges ever designed; neither he, nor Bute, were much interested in horses. Nevertheless, the stables formed an essential component of the large-scale Victorian country house into which they jointly transformed the castle.
After the Second World War, the stables housed the parks department of Cardiff City Council. In the 1960s a long lease was given to the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. The college had originally been accommodated within the castle itself. Following the construction of a new campus immediately to the north of the stables in 1974, the stables themselves were converted to the Anthony Hopkins centre which opened in 1999. The Welsh-born Hopkins studied at the Royal Welsh College and is now its vice-president.