Case Study: Welsh Castles

Cardigan and Conwy

Over many years CADW the Welsh conservation body have entrusted many castles under their care to structural repair by Cintec International including Montgomery, Harlech, Caernarfon, Chepstow, Cardiff, Cardigan and Conwy.

Two castles of particular interest are described here, Cardigan and Conwy.

The outer walls of Cardigan Castle had been suffering from deterioration and movement for many years resulting in the installation of unsightly structural steelwork during the 1970s.

The castle was being refurbished, and the initial phase of the works involved stabilisation and consolidation of the walls to allow long standing temporary structural supporting steelwork to be removed without compromising the structural integrity of the walls. This was achieved by consolidating and strengthening the wall using Cintec anchors, tying the wall back to the stone substrate using rock anchors, and repointing the stonework with local rebuilding where necessary.

Consulting engineers Fenton and Holloway designed a system which involved the installation of Cintec consolidation anchors surrounding rock anchors with longitudinal and diagonal Cintec anchors stabilising the walls between the rock anchor locations. Cintec anchors were also installed to tie across cracks and fractures in the stonework. Anchors were between 10 metres and 25 metres long.