News

Cardigan Castle’s chatelaine endured years of squalor to retain her beloved home

Published

1 year ago

February 3, 2025

For over half a century, Barbara Wood lived a life of abject squalor as the unrelenting chatelaine of Cardigan Castle.

With no electricity, gas nor running water, her living conditions were extreme. But as the property continued its relentless decay, the spinster clung onto her realm with an unquenchable commitment. Despite the concerns of the people around her, nobody was going to take Cardigan Castle away from Barbara Wood.

“She’s a very difficult woman to sum up as she combined so many contrasting characteristics,” said local historian Glen Johnson.

“In many ways she was a Jeckyll and Hyde. She was intelligent, witty and charming, but she could also be stern, bad tempered, selfish, manipulative and cantankerous. In many ways she was like Marmite. You either loved her or you hated her.”

Barbara Wood, pictured outside Cardigan Castle

Glen first met Miss Wood when he was a 14-year-old schoolboy with a keen interest in local history – particularly Cardigan Castle. The following year -1985 -he helped establish Cardigan Castle Volunteers.

“I was a little nervous when I first met her because this, after all, was the woman who owned Cardigan Castle.

“And what struck me about her more than anything was that she was a living version of Miss Havisham. She still saw herself as the lady of the manor despite the fact that everyone else could see the awful conditions she was living in, and the way in which the castle was being neglected.”

Barbra Wood bought the castle in 1940, after receiving an inheritance on her 21st birthday. The asking price was £2,500, however her gift enabled her to have just enough money to cover the cost of the deposit, which totalled £600.

She moved in with her mother but within 12 months, they’d accrued a substantial bill as a result of the electricity they’d used. Their electricity supply was subsequently cut off in 1941, shortly followed by the gas supply and the water supply.

Following her mother’s death , Miss Woods remained confined to one room.

“She slept in an old chair filled with blankets so she could keep herself warm, but there was a small hole in the ceiling and a much larger hole in the roof of the floor above,” says Glen.

“So she could see the stars quite clearly from where she was living. The kitchen had this overwhelming smell of paraffin and cat pee, as well as the demon fridge. Obviously the fridge wasn’t working, as there was no electricity, and when you opened the door, the stench from inside was horrendous.

“She’d then take out some fluffy object and eat it.”

Despite the house being surrounded by two-and-a-half acres of trees, Miss Wood chose to tear up the parquet flooring in the dining room together with the joists and skirting boards and use them to light fires to keep herself warm.

Shde would never rise before noon, and would never be seen outside the castle gates until 5pm.

“This stemmed back to the days when the bailiffs would be waiting outside the castle gates,” explained Glen. “She knew they bailiffs would knock off at 5pm, so she’d never venture out until then.”

With a curvature of the spine as a result of all the years she’d spent sleeping in a chair, Miss Woods would hobble through the streets of Cardigan on two sticks, always wearing a bright yellow PVC mac, a red pixie hood and bright red socks. Her face was caked in thick white powder and her lips were painted scarlet.

“Yes, there were a lot of shopkeepers in town who didn’t think highly of her as a result of the money that she owed them, but then, conversely, many people admired her stoicism and the fact that despite all the adversity she endured, she remained a proud and independent woman.

“I remember one afternoon we were doing some work in the castle grounds and we went up to ‘Kwik Chip’, next door to the castle, to get some fish and chips for lunch. It was during the summer holidays and there was a long queue inside the shop, but suddenly we heard these clicks making their way down to the counter. I knew immediately it was Miss Wood on her sticks, and she made her way to the front of the queue, poked the person who was in front in the ribs to push them back, and she said to the person who was serving, ‘I want sausage and chips’. Needless to say, she got her own way.”

It was this over-riding doggedness that resulted in Barbara Woods’ repeated rejections of attempts to salvage her castle.

“Miss Woods could most certainly have got assistance, but the biggest stumbling block was the fact that if public money was spent, then there would have to be public control. But she wasn’t willing to relinquish this. Every time it looked as if the castle might be moving in a positive direction, either by CADW or by Ceredigion County Council, she would once again get obstructive.”

Deteriorating ill health eventually resulted in Miss Wood being admitted to the Brondesbury Lodge Nursing Home, Cardigan, in 1996, where she remained until her death in 2009. She was buried in a pauper’s grave in Cardigan Cemetery.

Six years before her death, Miss Wood finally sold the castle to Ceredigion County Council for £500,000 and its restoration has been a driving force in the town’s subsequent revival.

“Miss Woods once told a journalist that it broke her heart to see the castle in the condition it was in during her time there,” concludes Glen Johnson.
“Obviously the castle has evolved considerably in the past 20 years, but there are times when I’m inside it, when I remember exactly how it once was. I’ve no doubt that Miss Woods would be a bit sniffy about all these people walking around her home, but I’m certain that she’d appreciate all the attention that her home is now getting.

“There must have been times when she felt like all the rest of us, yearning to see the property that she cared for being saved for future generations.”

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the launch of Cardigan Castle Volunteers, Glen Johnson will be hosting an afternoon of anecdotes and memories of Barbara Wood which takes place at Theatr Mwldan on April 12.

News

Parties make final push as Wales prepares to vote in historic Senedd election

Published

4 hours ago

May 6, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Campaign leaders criss-cross country in last-minute battle for crucial votes

WALES heads to the polls tomorrow (Thursday, May 7) after a frenetic final day of campaigning that saw party leaders, candidates and activists make one last push to win over undecided voters in what is being described as the most unpredictable Senedd election in modern Welsh history.

With polling stations due to open at 7:00am, parties spent Wednesday targeting key battleground constituencies across the country, including the new Ceredigion Penfro seat, amid growing expectations of a fragmented Senedd and a dramatic shake-up in Welsh politics.

The election is the first to be held under Wales’ new expanded Senedd system, with 96 Members of the Senedd being elected across 16 large constituencies using a proportional closed-list voting system.

Reform UK appeared to finish the campaign with significant momentum following a major rally on Tuesday attended by party leader Nigel Farage. The event drew large crowds and considerable online attention as Reform attempted to convert strong polling figures into seats in Cardiff Bay for the first time.

Farage used the rally to attack both Labour and Plaid Cymru, while positioning Reform as the party of “change” for disillusioned voters. Reform campaigners have focused heavily on immigration, cost of living pressures and opposition to what they describe as “wasteful government spending.”

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth spent the final day presenting his party as the main alternative to both Labour and Reform UK, insisting Plaid could “build a fairer Wales” while warning against what he described as “divisive politics.”

Labour figures, including First Minister Eluned Morgan and deputy leader Huw Irranca-Davies, urged voters not to “take risks” with public services, arguing only Welsh Labour could protect the NHS and local councils during a period of economic uncertainty.

Labour activists were heavily focused on turnout operations in traditional strongholds, amid polling suggesting the party could lose ground after decades as the dominant force in Welsh politics.

The Conservatives attempted to rally core voters with warnings about both Labour and Reform, while also focusing on farming, the rural economy and healthcare waiting lists.

In west Wales, Conservative candidates Paul Davies and Sam Kurtz spent the day meeting voters and carrying out final campaign visits across Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion, arguing their experience and local knowledge would be important under the new electoral system.

The Liberal Democrats and Green Party also maintained visible campaigns in several areas, hoping tactical voting and the proportional voting system could help them secure representation.

Across Wales, campaign teams handed out leaflets outside transport hubs, supermarkets and town centres, while social media campaigning intensified throughout the day.

Political analysts believe turnout could prove decisive, particularly because the new voting system means relatively small shifts in support could determine the allocation of the fifth and sixth seats in many constituencies.

The campaign has been dominated by debates over the NHS, farming, the economy, transport, tourism and the rising cost of living, alongside concerns about the future direction of Welsh devolution.

Polling stations open across Wales from 7:00am until 10:00pm on Thursday, with counting due to begin on Friday morning.

The Herald will provide live election coverage online throughout polling day and count day, including updates from count centres, candidate interviews and reaction as results emerge from across west Wales and the rest of the country.

News

Plaid Cymru projected to lead Senedd as Labour faces historic collapse

Published

4 hours ago

May 6, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Final poll suggests Welsh politics could be on the brink of a major realignment

PLAID CYMRU is on course to become the largest party in the Senedd, according to the final YouGov MRP projection for ITV Cymru Wales before polling day.

The model suggests Labour’s century-long dominance of Welsh elections could be coming to an end, with Plaid projected to win 43 seats in the newly expanded 96-member Senedd.

Reform UK is forecast to finish second on 34 seats, while Labour is projected to fall to just 12.

The poll, based on responses from more than 4,600 adults between April 25 and May 4, puts Plaid Cymru on 33% of the vote, ahead of Reform UK on 29%. Labour is on 12%, the Conservatives on 9%, the Greens on 8% and the Liberal Democrats on 6%.

Labour facing major losses

The projection points to a dramatic collapse in Labour support across Wales.

YouGov’s central estimate would represent a notional loss of 32 seats for Labour compared with the 2021 result under the new electoral system.

It would also be Labour’s worst result at any major Welsh election since 1906.

The model suggests Labour may fail to top the poll in any of the 16 new Senedd constituencies, and could return no members at all in four of them.

In west Wales, Labour’s support is projected to have fallen into single figures in some areas.

First Minister Eluned Morgan, who leads Labour’s list in Ceredigion Penfro, could also be at risk if the projection proves accurate.

Reform surge

Reform UK is projected to make major gains, rising from just 1% of the vote in 2021 to 29% in the final pre-election model.

The party’s support appears to be spread widely across Wales, though it is weaker in Cardiff and strongest in parts of the south Wales valleys.

One of the most striking projections is in Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr, which includes the Merthyr Tydfil area where Keir Hardie was elected as Wales’s first Labour MP in 1900.

There, YouGov’s central estimate puts Reform UK narrowly ahead on 34%, Plaid Cymru on 33%, and Labour on 14%.

Smaller parties

The Conservatives are projected to win just four seats, which would be their weakest devolved election result.

That would leave them one short of the five members needed to form an official political group in the Senedd.

The Greens are forecast to enter the Senedd for the first time, winning two seats in Cardiff.

The Liberal Democrats are projected to win one seat in Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd, keeping Jane Dodds in the Senedd.

No majority expected

No party is projected to win the 49 seats needed for an outright majority.

YouGov’s modelling suggests Plaid Cymru would be best placed to lead the next Welsh Government, but would probably need support from another party.

Plaid and Labour together reach a majority in most of the model’s simulations, while a Plaid-Green arrangement does so far less often.

A Reform-Conservative majority appears unlikely in the projection.

Under the new D’Hondt voting system, small movements in vote share could still make a significant difference, particularly for the final seats in each constituency.

Polling stations open tomorrow, Thursday, May 7.