3. Lancelot Capability Brown

^{Illustraton of Cardiff Castle, circa 1770.}

The painting above shows how things looked beforethe 1770s but, around this time, the Castle Green underwent a dramatic change of appearance. This transformation was brought about by the 1st Marquess of Bute, together with the celebrated landscape gardener, Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown.

When Lord Mounstuart – later the 1st Marquess of Bute – inherited Cardiff Castle through marriage, it was in a much neglected state.  He decided to bring the property up to date. His plans included both house and gardens. The mansion – across the Green, where the present house stands – was remodelled in the fashionable ‘gothick’ style. And he called in Capability Brown to make the ancient grounds look more suited to a ‘Gentleman’s residence’.

Brown set about demolishing the massive stone wall in the middle of the Green and sweeping away the remains of medieval buildings in the Outer Ward. He grassed over the Green, creating smooth lawns and neat gravel paths. He also filled in the ancient moat surrounding the Keep, and turned the Keep itself into a picturesque garden feature.

Although Capability Brown had many admirers, others saw him merely as a ‘wrecker’, who destroyed the atmosphere of ancient buildings.

The Reverend Richard Warner visited Cardiff Castle soon after Brown’s works were completed:

‘We were not much pleased with the modern improvements of this place. Nothing assimilates with the august entrance. The neatness of a nicely mown lawn, of sloping velvet banks and winding gravel walks but ill-accords with the roughness of an ancient ruin which has braved the blast of 7 centuries.’

This is an important theme in Cardiff Castle’s history: successive owners either covering up or exposing the different architectural layers. And it has always provoked debate.

A century later, most of Capability Brown’s work was undone anyway – by Bute’s own great grandson – the 3rd Marquess of Bute. The 3rd Marquess wanted to restore a medieval atmosphere to the Castle Green. He dug out the moat again and uncovered the foundations of the old ward wall and ancient buildings.

^{Lancelot Capability Brown.}