Celebrating 40 years of Cadw: Caring for our precious Heritage, Discovery and Learning

This year marks a significant milestone for Cadw as it celebrates its 40th anniversary and continues on its mission to care for Wales’ historic places while inspiring current and future generations to connect with the nation’s rich cultural heritage. 

Since it was established in 1984, Cadw has welcomed over 50 million visitors from across the UK and the world to its historic monuments in Wales. There are now over 30,000 listed historic buildings, over 4,200 protected historic monuments, nearly 400 registered historic parks and gardens, and four World Heritage sites. 

Cadw is directly responsible for caring for over 130 historic monuments including medieval castles, abbeys, industrial sites, Roman and prehistoric monuments such as neolithic chambered tombs, ensuring that visitors can continue to enjoy these spectacular locations now and for years to come. Locally, Cadw locations include Chepstow Castle and Tintern Abbey. 

To mark the milestone anniversary, Cadw has a packed schedule of entertainment and activities at its sites across Wales this summer which will showcase all that it has to offer. Activities include historical-themed weekends uncovering medieval treasures, knight and sword schools for children, flying displays of majestic birds and fantasy-themed activities such as ‘dragon’ training! 

Cadw membership allows free entry to all events and unlimited access to over 130 monuments all year round, offering a unique way to explore Wales’ rich heritage. For families looking to explore Cadw locations, children go free with any adult membership.

Conserving & Celebrating the Heritage of Wales

Since Cadw’s formation in 1984, the number of listed buildings has more than tripled to over 30,000 and the number of monuments has increased from 2,700 to over 4,200. 

Cadw played a significant role in achieving the inscription of four World Heritage Sites for Wales – Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd (1986), Blaenavon Industrial Landscape (2000), Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal (2009) and The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales (2021).

Cadw has invested tens of millions into conserving and investing in the monuments in its care, introducing innovative interpretation to bring monuments to life for visitors. Major projects have included new visitor centres at Castell Harlech and Denbigh Castle, extensive conservation programmes at Neath Abbey, Castell Coety, Castell Coch and Castell Conwy, as well as groundbreaking redevelopment and conservation projects at Castell Caernarfon and Tretower Court and Castle. 

Locally, the current five-year conservation project to repair and restore the 750-year-old sandstone masonry of Tintern Abbey includes detailed recording of the standing remains and excavations that have significantly enhanced our knowledge of the history of the site.

Cadw has provided funding through its Ancient Monuments Grant & Historic Building Grants programmes to help owners, custodians and communities engage with, care for and maintain Wales’ historic buildings, monuments and archaeological sites for future generations. 

For more information and for a full list of Cadw events over the summer holidays and admission information, go to cadw.gov.wales.