Welsh castle to feature in new Sky TV series

Stephen Price

A Welsh castle is set to feature in the first episode of Great British Castle Rescue which will hit TV screens this March.

Hay Castle, which was originally constructed during the Norman invasion of Wales, will feature in the forthcoming Sky documentary which will be fronted by Rick Edwards.

Great British Castle Rescue follows Edwards as he ventures inside some of the UK’s most spectacular and endangered castles.

From crumbling medieval towers to collapsing royal chambers, engineers and historians battle to stabilise these epic structures with help from National Lottery funding.

Each rescue is said to unlock “extraordinary stories of warrior kings, civil wars, brutal betrayals and forgotten lives”. Across each episode, Rick will meet with heritage experts, engineers and stonemasons racing to save these buildings.

The series blends cutting-edge engineering, adventure and vivid historical reconstruction to reveal how these fortresses shaped Britain, and whether they can survive for future generations. Other castles featured include Fyvie, Gwyrch and Lowther.

Castell y Gelli

Hay Castle, or Castell y Gelli in Welsh, is a medieval fortification and 17th-century mansion house.

Local legend says that Hay Castle was built in a day – an amazing feat even for the best Norman castle builders.

The castle was designed as a ringwork overlooking the town in either the late 11th or the early 12th centuries. It was rebuilt in stone around 1200 by the de Braose family and has had a turbulent history, being attacked and burnt several times during the First and Second Barons’ Wars, the wars with the Welsh princes, the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr and the Wars of the Roses.

In the 17th century a Jacobean mansion house was built alongside the medieval keep and the property became a private home. Serious fires in 1939 and 1977 gutted the castle and, despite repairs in the 1980s, by the early 21st century much of the building was derelict and unstable.

Since 2011 it has been owned by Hay Castle Trust which has restored the property to form a centre for arts, literature and learning.

Following the restoration, partly funded by grants from the National Lottery Heritage Fund of over £5m, the castle opened to the public on 26 May 2022.

Sharing the news about the new Sky TV series on Facebook, Hay Castle wrote: “From at risk to open and alive. Hay Castle’s story features in Episode 1 of Great British Castle Rescue, 9 March on Sky History.

“The programme explores how historic castles are being saved and shared. At Hay Castle, support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund helped us to save the building and open the site to the public for the very first time in its long history.

“Every National Lottery ticket helps protect extraordinary places like this — and as part of National Lottery Open Week, we’re offering free entry from 7–15 March so you can experience the transformation yourself.”

Great British Castle Rescue starts Monday 9 March 9pm on Sky HISTORY and HISTORY Play