|
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 |
| Cathays Park is the
site of Cardiff's civic centre. In 1766 the 1st Marquis of Bute
inherited lands in Cathays through his marriage to Charlotte
Windsor. He later purchased other properties in the district
including Cathays Park. Cathays House, which he built at a cost of £40,000, was expensively landscaped, furnished and decorated. It was demolished by
the 2nd Marquis in 1815 who preferred to use the castle as his
Cardiff residence. He turned Cathays Park into an enclosed parkland.
The northern limit of mediaeval Cardiff was marked by the cross
where Fairoak Road and Crwys Road now meet. |
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| Apart from the cemetery, which was opened in 1859, Cathays was
almost entirely rural when it became a suburb of Cardiff in 1875. To
the south lay the Bute Estate, while to the north were a number of
scattered farms. There were just a few streets leading off
Woodville Road and Cathays Terrace, but during the next 25 years the
urbanisation of Cathays was virtually completed. Only Allensbank and Wedal
farms survived, and by 1914 they also became no more than local
place names. |
In 1898, the 3rd Marquis of Bute sold a large piece of land
to the Council for the building of a new town hall. He imposed
strict conditions regarding the development of the site, and
insisted that the area was to be used for civic, cultural and
educational purposes only. The result was one of the finest civic
centres in the world.
The 3rd Marquis contributed generously towards the building of
Nazareth House, which was opened in 1875 to provide accommodation
for orphans and elderly people. The home was a popular local
charity and one of its most generous benefactors was Jim Driscoll,
the famous boxer who passed away in 1925 and is buried at Cathays. To this day the nuns of Nazareth House tend his grave. |
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In 1905, the new council headquarters were
almost completed - just in time for Cardiff to be granted City
status. The City Hall was erected at a cost of only £129,000, and
over the years other fine buildings were constructed. The
University College moved from Newport Road to Cathays Park in 1909.
The National Museum of Wales was opened in 1927 and the Welsh
National War Memorial was unveiled in 1928. The largest building in
Cathays Park is the Welsh Office, which took over the Board of
Health building in 1964.
Maindy Barracks was opened in 1871, and the footpath between
Gelligaer Street and New Zealand Road soon became known as the
'BURMA Road' (Be Undressed and Ready My Angel) when American Troops
met prostitutes there during the Second World War. |
Maindy Pool was an old clay pit that had
gradually filled with water. It took the death of over 10 children
and adults when they fell in and drowned in the pit, before the area
was filled in. In 1948 the building of Maindy Stadium began,
and was completed in 1951.
The stadium held cycling races in the 1958 Empire Games. When
the stadium was closed and replaced with a leisure centre, part of
the site became a swimming pool.
Despite the urbanisation of Cathays, many acres of parkland still
exist around the civic centre, including Gorsedd Gardens, Queen
Alexandra Gardens, Bute Park and Blackweir. |
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