The Cyfartha Castle, a prominent fixture of Merthyr Tydfil, is a reminder of the great wealth and incredible suffering that was prevalent during the iron age period of history.
It was built by the well known ironmaster, Richard Crawshay II, as his family home in 1824 and has been called the most impressive monument of the industrial iron age in South Wales.
The Crawshays gained the great wealth needed to build such an edifice on the backs of the iron and coal workers in the valleys. The discrepancy between the wealth of the "iron families" and the pitifully poor living conditions of the workers in their industries contributed to the Merthyr risings of 1831.
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