until the 18th century it was only used as a prison. Sometime between 1805 and 1808 the castle owner, John Bowen, arranged the construction of Castle Green House within the castle walls. The front range was added in 1827. In 1940 the castle and house was bought by a shipping magnate His daughter, Barbara Wood, and her mother moved into Castle Green House but this slowly fell into disrepair and was allowed to decay further by the owner to the extent that the outer castle walls needed supporting. Miss Wood continued to occupy the castle for almost 60 years, despite attempts by the local authority to take over the castle in 1971 and Castle Green House being declared unfit for human habitation in 1984. 21st century Miss Wood, the castle's last occupant, finally left the castle in 1996 to be cared for in a nursing home. Faced with six years of nursing costs, she put the castle up for private sale in 2001. The castle was purchased by Ceredigion County Council in April 2003 and repairs began as part of the regeneration of Cardigan. In 2004 Castle Green House appeared on the BBC's second series of Restoration, presented by Griff Rhys Jones. Renovation work continued for some years after its purchase by the Council, and the castle was opened to the public on 15 April 2015 with a concert held in July 2015. The new facilities include bed-and-breakfast and self-catering accommodation, a heritage centre with education facilities, a restaurant (named "1176" in reference to Lord Rhys's eisteddfod in that year), an events and open-air concert area, and rooms for hire for classes. The castle's grounds, set within the ward and including pleasure gardens and a kitchen garden, are designated Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales. Further reading See also 1176 Cardigan eisteddfod Castles in Great Britain and Ireland List of castles in Wales List of Scheduled Roman to modern Monuments in Ceredigion References External links Cardigan Castle website Buildings and structures completed in the 12th century Castles in Ceredigion Grade I listed castles in Wales Grade I listed buildings in Ceredigion Registered historic parks and gardens in Ceredigion