Whale Bone Arch

The Whale Bone Arch at Cardigan Castle is a unique and striking feature that serves as a symbol of both the town’s maritime history and the Castle’s enduring connection to the local community.

Whalebone arches are admired for their striking visual appeal and symbolic representation of the link between humans and the sea. They evoke a sense of nostalgia and reverence for maritime history and the natural world. The bones’ natural curves made them ideal for creating freestanding structures.

They were brought to Cardigan in the mid 1800s by a local sea captain and were given as a gift to the son of Castle Green House. The Natural History Museum in London has examined photos of the arch and identified the bones as being from a Right Whale – now effectively extinct. It is believed that originally the bones would have been up to 5 metres in length, but have shortened in length over the years as a result of the vagaries of the Welsh weather.

Cardigan Castle Whalebone Arch is one of the few remaining arches of its kind in the UK. During Cadwgan Trust’s restoration work at the Castle it was found that one original bone was in remarkably good condition but that the other was broken and rotting and it was decided to create a resin model for that half of the arch – although it does also contain some of the original bone. Existing Whalebone arches are seen today as conduits to inform communities about the history of whaling, marine ecosystems, and conservation efforts.