Cyfarthfa Castle in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales

Cyfarthfa Castle (Welsh: Castell Cyfarthfa) is the former home of the Crawshay family, historical ironmasters of Cyfarthfa Ironworks in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. Despite appearing superficially to be a fortified building it is a house built in the style of a large mansion with a large kitchen, bake house and dairy; a billiard room, library and a range of stunningly decorated reception rooms. As well as a brew house, icehouse and extensive storage cellars, containing over 15, 000 individual bottles of wines and spirits such as Sherry, Champagne, Whiskey, Brandy, Madeira Wine, and over 7, 500 bottles of port alone, were all stored here. Adjoining the building were also stable blocks and coach houses. The castle stands in 158-acre (64 ha) of parkland, now called Cyfarthfa Park and maintained by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It was designed in 1824 by the architect Robert Lugar for William Crawshay II, and built at a cost of approximately £30, 000 using locally quarried stone. The Crawshays lived in the house until 1889; the noise and pollution made Cyfarthfa house unattractive to William; he preferred a site that overlooked the works rather than one that sat within it.