|
Adamsdown |
Butetown |
Caerau |
Canton |
Cardiff Bay |
Cathays |
City Centre |
Coryton |
Creigiau |
Cyncoed |
Ely |
Fairwater |
Gabalfa |
Grangetown |
Heath |
Lisvane |
Llandaff |
Llandaff North |
Llanedeyrn |
Llanishen |
Llanrumney |
Maindy |
Morganstown |
Pentwyn |
Pentyrch |
Penylan |
Plasnewydd |
Pontprennau |
Radyr |
Rhiwbina |
Riverside |
Roath |
Rumney |
Splott |
St. Fagans |
St. Mellons |
Thornhill |
Tongwynlais |
Tremorfa |
Trowbridge |
Ty Glas |
Whitchurch |
| It was likely that
Canton started life as a hamlet (a group of houses smaller than a
village) before the Norman invasion in the late 11th Century. The
area was sparsely populated but the Bishop of Llandaff, who owned
the land, also owned a mill and a manor house.
An indication of Canton's growing commercial importance came with
the opening of the Cattle Market and Slaughterhouse in 1859. Fairs
were held monthly and by the 1880s there were stables and a large
meat market. |
A major employer in the area was
William Vaughan, a local councillor and preacher, who set up his
laundry and dry cleaning business in 1860. People from all parts of
Cardiff brought their laundry and their clothing to be cleaned and
pressed at the premises in Llandaff Road, until the business finally
closed in the late 1960's.
The church of St John was built in 1871. Even today the spire is
still the only structure in Canton which stands out for miles
around. One of its chapels is dedicated to St. Canna. St. Canna was
a Breton princess, and part of the Breton Royal Family.
The Bretons' fled to Britain from Brittany (a Dutch named town in
France) to escape the Roman invasions in the 4th Century. Canna used
to sing to Pagan travellers passing by the bridge at Pontcanna,
enticing them to the church to try and convert them to Christianity. |
 |
| Canton merged with the borough of Cardiff in 1875 and in 1882, the
first board school to be opened in the district was in Severn Road.
In 1885 the Cartwright family sold Ely & Canton Commons to the
council, with Canton Common providing a home for Riverside Football
Club fifteen years later.
The club became Cardiff City Football Club (CCFC / Bluebirds) three
years after Cardiff itself became a City in 1905. Two years later
the club moved to their new stadium at Ninian Park in Sloper Road,
on the site of a former landfill site purchased from the Bute
Family. |
 |
Victoria Park, known for its beautiful fountain
and attractive flowerbeds, was opened in 1897 on the former Ely
Common. It had the first public bowling green in Cardiff, and was
home to Billy the seal - an unusual neighbour but a famous
Cardiffian nevertheless!
It is thought that she had been accidentally caught by a foreign
trawler in 1912. When the ship arrived at one of the Bute Docks she
was permanently moved to the lake at Victoria Park. During her life
in Canton, the public loved playing with her and feeding her -
everyone actually though Billy was a male seal until her death in
1939.
During the first World War, he local authority considered Billy to
be just as important as any other person, and was given half rations.
There is a well-known story about Billy being swept down Cowbridge
Road during the Taff River flood of 1927. According to Frank
Hennessy's song, during the flood Billy boarded a tram along
Cowbridge Road and called in a pub for 'a half of dark'. |
The original Canton High School was
opened in 1907 on Market Road, but was nearly completely destroyed
by the Luftwaffe during the German bombing raids in the second World
War. The school was repaired, but it soon moved to new premises at
Fairwater in 1963. The building in Market Road is now the home of
the 'Chapter Arts Centre'.
In 1891, land-owner Charles Thompson constructed a large garden for
his home near Penhill. He donated the garden to the City in 1911 and
thus it became Thompson's Park. The upper level of the park is a
large playing field which leads down through flower gardens and past
a pool adorned with Swans, Ducks and Frogs. There is also a
small fountain with a statue of a young boy in the middle. An Aviary
was also in the park up until its removal in the 1960's. |
Cowbridge Road has been the main shopping centre of Canton for over a century,
and for hundreds of years was the main route from Cardiff to Swansea, via Ely
and Cowbridge. Many family businesses started in Cowbridge Road, with some
trading for nearly one hundred years.
Franklyn's Bakery at the corner of Gray
Street and Pope's photographic goods, on the corner of Albert Street were some
of the oldest shops that have unfortunately closed down in recent years.
The Coliseum and the Canton were popular cinemas in Canton before their closure in the early 1960s.
Although Canton has not seen that much development since the 1960's and 1970's,
the area is still renowned for it's busy yet friendly atmosphere. Canton has beautiful Victorian
housing, wide roads with plenty of parking,
and a wide range of shops that offer everything you could ever need. |
 |
|
Admittedly, night time in Canton can be a bit noisy due to the concentration of
pubs on Cowbridge Road. One particular pub I remember visiting on more
than one occasion was the Robin Hood (on Severn Road) which was built in 1901.
It is thought that this is where Charlotte Church got her big break. I
also have many happy memories of visiting Victoria Park when I was much younger,
and am glad that it is still just as well looked after as ever. |
|
