Cardiff remembered: Shining some light on the dark secrets of Cardiff Castle tunnels

Cardiff Castle in 1904. Image: Media Wales.

Written by Brian Lee

JOHN P Grant’s Cardiff Castle: Its History and Architecture, published in 1923, includes a chapter on subterranean passages.

He writes: “No history of a castle would be complete without mention of subterranean passages, and while Cardiff Castle has legends stating the existence of such a passage, nothing as yet has been exposed to prove the existence of one within its grounds.”

However, he goes on to say that Donovan’s Excursions through South Wales (Volume 1, 1804), supplies the earliest record of the probability of a subterranean passage and writes: “Cromwell and his men obtained access to the Castle by means of one of the secret passages that laid immediately under the river.”

Well, fast forward to the early 1950s, when I was a young lad, and I recall that there was a tunnel entrance on the bank of the feeder at the rear of the New Theatre.

I never ventured more than a few yards into it and it may well have had a door to stop anyone going any further.

But one person who did venture further was Mrs EJ Daley, who told me back in the 1990s: “As a young girl, I walked through the tunnel which ran through the bank of the feeder and emerged at what is now the Mid Glamorgan building.

“At the time this building was under construction and I came out at a point which was, I think, a car park.

“This tunnel was quite well known among our gang. For a number of years afterwards the entrance could be seen and I did show it to my own children.”

It was in 1856 that a local newspaper  reported that: ”Whilst the workmen employed on the drainage works, in this town, were engaged in excavating for the sewer between the Cardiff Arms Hotel and the Five Bells Inn [The Five Bells Inn was situated immediately west of the present castle clock tower] on Tuesday last, they came upon a solid arch of masonry, about 5ft from the surface, which after much trouble in removing, they found to enclose a subterraneous passage of about 5ft in height by 4ft wide.

“A number of gentlemen were quickly on the spot... amongst whom we observed many of the elder inhabitants, who said they remembered, when boys, having heard of the existence of such a passage.

“One said that the passage terminated in Cardiff Castle, and that he had heard of a bandmaster employed therein, who entered the passage, and walked on until he found himself in the Cardiff Arms Hotel wine-cellar.”

We also are informed: “In 1922, a passage was discovered on the south bank of the Dock Feeder, where it passes through the Greyfriars enclosure.

“The opening to the passage is 2ft 3in wide, and on entering it a tunnel runs westward towards the Castle.

“The opening is in a very rough condition, and indicates that it was made by breaking into the Tunnel and is not the original entrance.”

Meanwhile Steffan Rhys and Joshua Knapman writing in the Echo in June 2019 reported that in Cardiff’s city centre there were tunnels under Greyfriars Road, Westgate Street, Angel Hotel, Kingsway and St David’s centre.

If you know of any tunnels under our beloved Cardiff then please get in touch.

• Please send your pictures and stories to Brian Lee, Cardiff Remember, South Wales Echo, Six Park Street, Cardiff, CF10 1XR
• or email brianlee4@virginmedia.com
• If sending a letter, please include your phone number.