Castell Coch is a 19th-century Gothic Revival castle built above the village of Tongwynlais in South Wales. The first castle on the site was built by the Normans after 1081 to protect the newly conquered town of Cardiff. The castle's earth motte was reused by Gilbert de Clare as the basis for a new stone fortification, built between 1267 and 1277. John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, inherited the castle ruins in 1848. One of Britain's wealthiest men, he employed the architect William Burges to reconstruct the castle as a summer residence. Burges rebuilt the outside before his death in 1881, and the interior work was finished by his team in 1891; it featured elaborate decorations including extensive use of symbolism drawing on themes from classical mythology and legend. Crichton-Stuart planted a vineyard just below the castle, where wine production continued until the First World War. Castell Coch is considered to be one of the best surviving examples of Victorian architecture.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castell_Coch

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1571:

Queen Elizabeth I opened the Royal Exchange in London, giving it its royal title. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Exchange,_London

1846 – Ahmad Bey declared the legal abolition of slavery in Tunisia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Tunisia

1870:

American Indian Wars: The United States Army killed about 200 Piegan Blackfeet, mostly women, children, and the elderly, in the Marias Massacre. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marias_Massacre

1915:

Rebels led by John Chilembwe attacked local plantation owners, beginning an uprising regarded as a key moment in the history of Malawi. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilembwe_uprising

2003:

The final signal was detected from the NASA space probe Pioneer 10, then about 12 billion kilometres (7.5 billion miles) from Earth. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_10

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

well-appointed: Chiefly of accommodation: properly supplied with a complete set of whatever furniture, equipment, etc., is needed; fully equipped or fitted-out; also, beautifully decorated. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/well-appointed

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Objective evidence is the ultimate authority. Recorders may lie, but Nature is incapable of it.   --Walter M. Miller, Jr. https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walter_M._Miller,_Jr.