Cardiganshire, a maritime county of S. Wales, bounded on the W. by Cardigan Bay, and landward from N. to S. by the cos. of Merioneth, Montgomery, Radnor, Brecknock, Carmarthen, and Pembroke. Its seaboard is in the form of a crescent; coast line, 48 miles; extreme breadth, 22 miles; area, 443,387 acres; population 70,270. Rugged mountains and deep valleys occur in the N. and E. of the county. The summit of Plinlimmon, on the border of Montgomeryshire, has an altitude of 2469 ft. In the SW. the surface is less elevated. The largest streams are the Teifi, Aeron, and Ystwith. The prevailing rocks of the mountains are clay-slate and shale. The soil is either peaty or a sandy loam. The principal crops are oats and barley. Cattle and sheep are reared in great numbers. Lead ore is worked. The co. comprises 5 hundreds, 97 parishes, the municipal borough of Aberystwith, and the greater part of the municipal borough of Cardigan. It is entirely in the diocese of St David’s.
– John Bartholomew, Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887)
Aberystwyth Castle
Aberystwyth SY23 2AG
www.discoverceredigion.co.uk/Pages/Splash.aspx
In the marvellous sweep of Cardigan Bay stand the ruins of one of Edward I’s late 13th century castles. Of the seven major English strongholds he established in Wales, Aberystwyth has fared least favourably in the survival stakes.
Aberystwyth University School of Art Gallery & Museum
Aberystwyth University, School of Art, Buarth Mawr
Aberystwyth SY23 1NG
01970 622 460
www.aber.ac.uk/museum
The School of Art promotes its art collection as a public resource. It offers primary research material for public reference and in its galleries a regular programme of public exhibitions.
Collections: Our superb collection of 20th century British ceramics from pioneer studio pottery to contemporary, together with Welsh slipware and porcelain, is housed and displayed in the Ceramics Gallery at Aberystwyth Arts Centre on the University campus. The School of Art houses other ceramic collections that are available for study by appointment, most notably 18th-century British Delft, Art Pottery, and Japanese ceramics that include Satsuma and Bizenware.
Cardiganshire Family History Society
c/o Menna Evans, Adran Casgliadau, National Library of Wales
Aberystwyth SY25 3BU
Cardiganshire Family History Society was formed in 1995 to encourage the study of genealogy and family history in Cardiganshire by those having family connections with the county wherever they may live.
Ceramic Collection & Archive, Aberystwyth University
School of Art, Buarth Mawr, Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth SY23 1NG
01970 622 192
The ceramic collection was started in the early 20th century and revived in the 1970s. The gallery houses a seminal collection of studio pottery.
Ceredigion Archives
County Offices, Marine Terrace
Aberystwyth SY23 2DE
01970 633697
www.archifdy-ceredigion.org.uk
Ceredigion Archives is the record office for the county formerly known as Cardiganshire or (in Welsh) Sir Aberteifi. We collect and preserve documents about the history of Cardiganshire and make them available for research.
Ceredigion Museum
Terrace Road
Aberystwyth SY23 2AQ
01970 633088
www.ceredigion.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=197
Ceredigion Museum is housed in a restored Edwardian Theatre. It has been described as ‘one of the most beautiful museum interiors in Britain’.
Collections: The museum displays objects of all ages from the county of Ceredigion (Cardiganshire). Most of the displays are of the Victorian period and later.
Cilgerran Castle
Cilgerran
Cardigan SA43 3SF
01239 621339
www.cadw.wales.gov.uk/daysout/cilgerran-castle
Perched on the edge of a steep gorge above the river Teifi, the Normans first built and earth-and-timber castle here around 900 years ago. Lost and won several times over, it was the Marshal family, earls of Pembroke, who raised the imposing stone castle seen today.
Internal Fire, Museum of Power
Castell Pridd
Tanygroes SA43 2JS
01239 811212
The museum is dedicated to the history of the internal combustion engine in industry over the last 100 years and aims to display all exhibits in working order. The displays change on a yearly basis and the museum now runs over twenty engines on a daily basis throughout the summer.
Collections: The collection covers early oil engines through to gas turbines but with the emphasis on diesel power from the 1920s to the 1960s.
Llanerchaeron – National Trust
Ciliau Aeron
near Aberaeron SA48 8DG
01545 570200
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/llanerchaeron
This rare example of a self-sufficient 18th-century Welsh minor gentry estate has survived virtually unaltered. The villa, designed in the 1790s, is the most complete example of the early work of John Nash. It has its own service courtyard with dairy, laundry, brewery and salting house, and walled kitchen gardens (with all its produce for sale when in season).
Llywernog Silver-lead Mine Museum, The
Ponterwyd
Aberystwyth SY23 3AB
01970 890 620
www.silvermountainexperience.co.uk
A restored water-powered silver-lead mine dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. A seven-acre site with working machinery and underground mine tours.
Strata Florida
Pontrhydfendigaid SY25 6ES
01974 831261
This most remote and tranquil abbey was home to Welsh literature and learning for almost 400 years.
University of Wales Trinity Saint David: Roderic Bowen Library & Archive
Roderic Bowen Library and Archives, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, College Street
Lampeter SA48 7ED
01570 424716
www.uwtsd.ac.uk/rbla
The Roderic Bowen Library & Archives, RBLA, houses the Special Collections of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, the University’s oldest printed books, manuscripts and archives and is one of the principal resources for academic research in Wales. Acquired over the last 200 years, largely by bequest and donation, the Special Collections include over 35,000 printed works, 8 medieval manuscripts, around 100 post medieval manuscripts, and 69 incunabula. Material from the Archives includes the early student registers and photographs from the mid 19th century onwards.
Welsh Quilt Centre, The
High Street
Lampeter SA48 7BB
01570 422088
This is the venue to see, enjoy and participate in Wales’ rich quilt making heritage. The centre includes an annual quilt exhibition, gallery shop and workshops.