A Special Lecture on St Fagans Castle

Join ISWE graduate Dr. Bethan Scorey for a special lecture at St Fagans Castle to celebrate the release of her new book, St Fagans Castle: the Architectural and Social History of a Welsh Country House, which is adapted from her PhD thesis.

There will be two sessions: one at 11:00–12:30 and another at 13:30–15:00. The lecture, titled 'A Faire Howse Within the Old Walls of a Castle', will last for approximately 50 minutes, followed by an opportunity for questions and discussion. There will also be an opportunity to purchase a signed copy of the book.

Booking is essential: please use the link provided.

Book cover with blue background and white, multi-gabled mansion at the bottom. Text in red and white.

Published by University of Wales Press, this monograph provides the first comprehensive history of the Grade I-listed, Elizabethan manor house at the heart of St Fagans National Museum of History.

In this lecture, Bethan will provide a fascinating overview of the Castle’s history from the twelfth to the twentieth century, delving into architectural, garden, and social history. You’ll learn about Dr. John Gibbon, the local gentleman-lawyer who built the house, and how it made a splash as one of the first symmetrical houses in Wales. You’ll hear about the three successive generations of Windsor-Clive women who shaped the house and gardens in the Victorian period. You’ll find out once and for all why this house is called a ‘Castle’.

This is an exciting time for St Fagans Castle, as a major re-roofing project is underway which will give it a new lease of life. This building is so familiar to so many of us, but you’re guaranteed to leave this lecture with a whole new appreciation.

Dr. Bethan Scorey is an architectural historian from Cardiff. She recently completed her PhD here at ISWE, where she continues to work as Research & Engagement Associate. Now you can find her co-presenting the S4C series ‘Cartrefi Cymru’, which brings Welsh architectural history and design to wider audiences. Bethan’s identity as an architectural historian is firmly grounded in her decade of experience as a Museum Assistant at St Fagans, interpreting the historic buildings for visitors, from Bryn Eryr Iron Age Roundhouses to the 1940s Prefab. She is delighted to be returning to present her latest research on St Fagans Castle.

This event is held in partnership with ISWE and University of Wales Press.