Supernatural Cardiff. Graig Du Theatre Players.

My late father worked for many years on the Rhondda Transport as a conductor in the 1960s and he never tired of telling me the ghost stories that he heard from passengers about Cardiff and the Vale. The stories included the ghostly sounds of horses' hooves heard going over the bridge to Cardiff Castle, a spectral coach vanishes as it approaches the castle gateway, the ghost of the 2nd Marquess is said to haunt the library of the castle as well as the ghost of a young girl, her identity unknown.

Other stories included a Grey Lady walking along Queen Street, a distraught mother is said to haunt the woods at Castell Coch, searching for her lost son. The old AA Offices in Cathedral Road was said to be haunted by a rather frightening old woman who petrified staff. He also heard a rather intriguing version of the story of Ann Maddocks, The Maid of Cefn Ydfa, and her love for Wil Hopcyn, the young poet, who composed "Bugeilio'r Gwenith Gwyn" for her. Both of his brothers, who worked for the Radcliffe Line during the Second World War, told him how haunted the old docks were.

My favourite of the many stories he told was of the haunting of Greenmeadow House in Tongwynlais. Little remains of the original house, but the stories are intriguing to say the least. My father was told by one old gent that certain rooms of the former mansion, which was originally a farmhouse called Pantgwynlais, was haunted by a crooked figure, the ghost of a servant girl, a Green Man, who was probably another servant, and a tall red-haired man who was seen in the Oak Room. 

He also mentioned the strange presence that appeared to haunt the grounds and frightened a band that was playing there one night. An apparition was seen by them, apparently hideous, and the band panicked, running away. This story had a terrible ending. The Wyndham Lewis's, who owned Greenmeadow House, employed an old gardener and he warned the children not to play in a certain location in the garden. If the children came near the area, he would warn them to stay away. One afternoon, the old man was found dead at the spot where he told the girls' to keep away from. Beside his prone body also lay his dead dogs. I later found out, during the 1970s, that a White Lady haunted a council house on the former estate. 

Wyndham Lewis became the Member of Parliament for Cardiff in the 1820s. His widow married Benjamin Disraeli less than two years after his death. Disraeli is supposed to have proposed to her at Greenmeadow.

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Comment by Glyndwr Edwards on October 22, 2015 at 10:22

Many thanks for your comments, Brady. Everything is proceeding nicely with the players and I will be posting updates very soon.

2qjkymiztlzjw Comment by 2qjkymiztlzjw on October 22, 2015 at 9:21

Interesting to read about your father's stories, Glyndwr - very apt with All Hallow's Eve approaching! How is everything going with Graig Du Theatre Players?

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