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This room was used as a dining room for members of the Bute family when there were few or no guests. Originally, this was a west facing Drawing Room and was used by the 2nd Marchioness of Bute. Her monogram and heraldry appear in the decoration.
Admission to the Small Dining Room is included with your Castle Ticket, or you can find out more by joining a guided tour.
Take a virtual look around the Small Dining Room at Cardiff Castle.
The room was transformed from a plain interior by William Burges and the 3rd Marquess of Bute around 1875. It was Burges who designed the magnificent painted and gilded ceiling.
The theme of the room is biblical, from the Book of Genesis. The chimneypiece shows three angels flanked by Abraham and Sarah and the Greek inscription beneath translates as ‘Entertaining angels unawares’
The stained glass windows tell stories from the life of Abraham, including that of the sacrifice of his son, Issac. The walls were originally intended to be painted, but were unfinished when William Burges died in 1881. The decorated hessian wall covering was installed in 1890, and acted as a background for family portraits.
The table is original to the room and is one of only two in existence designed to accommodate a fully fruiting grape vine. The Butes grew Muscat grapes in the hothouses as well as having commercial vineyards in South Wales.
