From Opera Star’s Palace to TB Sanatorium: The Remarkable History of Craig-y-Nos Castle

Craig-y-Nos Castle stands in the Upper Swansea Valley, surrounded by the Brecon Beacons. The name translates from Welsh as “Rock of the Night” - an apt description for a building with such a dramatic and often sorrowful past. What began as a modest Victorian country house became the personal palace of one of history’s greatest singers, then transformed into a place of isolation, suffering and death for hundreds of children.

Origins

The original Craig-y-Nos was constructed in the 1840s as a hunting lodge and country retreat. The building occupied a remote position in what was then one of the most isolated valleys in South Wales. Access proved difficult, and the property changed hands several times before capturing the attention of a buyer with both the vision and the fortune to transform it utterly.

That buyer was Adelina Patti, the most famous soprano of the Victorian age. Born in Madrid to Italian parents, Patti had performed for royalty across Europe and commanded fees that made her one of the wealthiest entertainers in the world. In 1878, she purchased Craig-y-Nos and set about creating a private kingdom.

Through the Centuries

Patti’s transformation of Craig-y-Nos was extraordinary. She commissioned elaborate extensions including a clock tower, winter gardens with tropical plants, and most remarkably, a fully equipped theatre. The Patti Theatre, completed in 1891, featured sections of an auditorium salvaged from London’s Drury Lane Theatre. It seated over 150 guests and included elaborate stage machinery, painted backdrops and gas lighting.

The interior reflected Patti’s wealth and theatrical sensibility. Lavish decoration filled every room. She installed one of the first private telephone systems in Britain. The grounds expanded to include formal gardens and a private railway platform where trains would stop to collect or deliver the diva and her guests.

Patti married three times, and her second husband, the tenor Ernesto Nicolini, lived with her at Craig-y-Nos until his death in 1898. The couple performed together in the private theatre, entertaining royalty and aristocracy who made the journey to this remote Welsh valley.

Notable Guests and Events

Craig-y-Nos became a destination for the elite of Victorian and Edwardian society. Royalty visited regularly. The Prince of Wales - later King Edward VII - attended performances in Patti’s theatre. Distinguished musicians, composers and artists made the pilgrimage to hear the soprano perform in her own home.

Patti’s final decades at Craig-y-Nos established the castle as a cultural landmark. She continued performing for private audiences well into her seventies, her voice reportedly retaining much of its legendary quality. The castle represented both her retirement from public life and a continuation of her artistic legacy.

The Dark History

Adelina Patti died at Craig-y-Nos on 27 September 1919. Her body was embalmed in the castle’s cellars - in what became known as the salt-cellar or slab room - before being transported to Paris for burial in Père Lachaise Cemetery. The embalming took place on a stone slab that remained in the castle for decades.

Three years after Patti’s death, Craig-y-Nos entered its most tragic chapter. In 1922, the Welsh National Memorial Association acquired the castle and converted it into a tuberculosis sanatorium. The Adelina Patti Hospital would operate for over sixty years.

The Top Children’s Ward - designated Ward 2 - housed young tuberculosis patients who often spent years in isolation from their families. Treatment protocols of the era emphasised fresh air and rest. Children were placed on open balconies in all weather conditions. Many never returned home.

The mortality rate was significant. Young patients died far from family. The strict medical regime meant children lived in an institutional environment with minimal physical contact or comfort. Former patients have recorded memories of fear, loneliness and confusion. Some spent their entire childhoods within the castle walls.

Staff worked long hours in challenging conditions. Nurses walked the same corridors night after night, tending to coughing children. The sounds of illness - the persistent coughing, the laboured breathing - filled the wards continuously.

Architectural Heritage

Despite its transformation into a hospital, Craig-y-Nos retained many of Patti’s additions. The theatre survived largely intact, one of the few private Victorian opera theatres remaining in Britain. Original decorative features persisted throughout the building even as wards were established in former reception rooms.

The castle’s architecture reflects its layered history. Victorian Gothic elements from Patti’s renovations sit alongside utilitarian hospital additions. The winter gardens deteriorated but portions remained. The clock tower continued to mark the hours for patients as it had for opera guests.

Following the hospital’s closure in 1986, restoration efforts focused on preserving both the theatrical glamour of Patti’s era and the historical significance of the sanatorium period. The building now operates as a hotel and events venue, with the Patti Theatre hosting weddings and concerts.

The Haunted Legacy

Craig-y-Nos carries the weight of two distinct histories: the glamorous life of one of history’s great performers, and the suffering of hundreds of sick children in an era before effective tuberculosis treatment. Both have contributed to the castle’s reputation.

Patti spent over forty years at Craig-y-Nos. She died in the building she had created and was prepared for burial in its cellars. The theatre where she performed, the corridors she walked, the rooms she decorated - all remain.

The children who lived and died in Ward 2 and the other hospital spaces left a different kind of mark. Their experiences of isolation, illness and death saturated the building for six decades. The nurses who cared for them walked the same routes thousands of times. The sounds of the sanatorium - coughing, footsteps, children’s voices - became part of the building’s fabric.

Whether one believes in ghosts or not, Craig-y-Nos Castle holds genuine historical weight. The stone slab where Patti was embalmed still exists. The children’s ward where young patients spent years in isolation still stands. The theatre where one of history’s greatest voices once soared still echoes.

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Craig-y-Nos stands as a living monument to Powys’s rich and sometimes dark history.