Mansion where Doctor Who fought snowmen opens tower to public

It is one of Wales' most imposing Victorian gothic mansions that has featured in television shows such as Doctor Who, Death Valley and The Trick.

Cardiff's Insole Court has also become a key filming location for financial drama Industry.

But the closest many people have got to some parts of the Grade II-listed building is through watching it on television.

Now, one of its less-explored areas - its tower - is open to the public, for a rare chance to see part of the home of coal baron James Harvey Insole.

"We are excited to open the tower and give supporters a rare chance to experience the views that would have been just as impressive 150 years ago," said Lloyd Glanville, the chief executive of Insole Court Trust.

Built in 1855, it was the home to the Insole family until 1938, who had extensive interests in the coalmining industry across the south Wales valleys.

It passed into local authority ownership, but in 2016, Cardiff council handed the lease to the Insole Court Trust - a charity created to protect it, in what was the largest Community Asset Transfer in Wales at the time.

The mansion reopened to the public in 2017, but conservation work on the upper floors is continuing.

It also featured in Netflix drama A Discovery of Witches and social satire Decline and Fall that starred Jack Whitehall.

But one of its most-watched appearances on television came in the 2012 Christmas Doctor Who special.

Set in Victoria-era London, the Doctor, played by Matt Smith, investigates mysterious snowmen that are building themselves.

It was the fourth most-watched programme on Christmas Day that year, drawing in 9.87 million viewers.

It also appears in 2025 comedy-crime drama Death Valley, which was filmed entirely in Wales.

Insole Court acts as a classic murder mystery setting for the series.

This follows a murder mystery event that turns into a real murder investigation when Welsh actor and TV detective Anthony Hart is found dead at the dinner table.

Main characters John Chapel (Timothy Spall) and DS Janie Mallowan (Gwyneth Keyworth) pair up as an unlikely crime-solving duo to get to the bottom of Hart's murder.

Keyworth, from Aberystwyth, said of the filming locations: "We got to see some really, really picturesque locations that just make you go, Wales is so beautiful."

The Victorian tower is accessible during National Lottery Open Week which runs until Sunday.

It gives people the chance to visit lesser-explored sites around the UK.

The National Lottery Fund's manager for Wales Andrew White said "local people spent decades fighting to save this building", adding this is a rare opportunity to see the tower.