83-594: Mount Stuart Square is a residential and commercial square in Cardiff , Wales. It is located in the Butetown area of the city. Originally developed in the late 1800s as a residential location for nearby dock workers, it quickly became a centre for upscale residential properties which revolved around the main square. By 1900, commercial activity had taken its place, dominated by the Coal Exchange , which occupied
166-532: A steelworks close to the docks at East Moors, which Lord Bute opened on 4 February 1891. Cardiff became a county borough on 1 April 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888 . The town had grown rapidly and had a population of over 123,000. It retained its county borough status until 1974. King Edward VII granted Cardiff city status on 28 October 1905. It acquired a Roman Catholic cathedral in 1916. Later, more national institutions came to
249-643: A British rather than exclusively Welsh identity . The relative lack of local support for the Assembly and difficulties between the Welsh Office and Cardiff Council in acquiring the originally preferred venue, Cardiff City Hall , encouraged other local authorities to bid to house the Assembly. However, the Assembly was eventually located at Tŷ Hywel in Cardiff Bay in 1999. In 2005, a new debating chamber on an adjacent site, designed by Richard Rogers ,
332-621: A call was made to house a gallery or museum in one of the buildings on the square, with the aim of being a catalyst for regeneration. The location is regularly used by the BBC for filming, including Dr Who , Torchwood , Casualty , Upstairs, Downstairs and Sherlock . The film The Vision was filmed on site at the Coal Exchange building on the square. In 1988 the building was re-acquired and subsequently completely refurbished in 2001 to turn it into an entertainment venue. It hosted acts such as
415-475: A central position in the square, rising to five storeys. The square has a mixed commercial, hospitality and residential occupancy. It is home to a number of media, marketing, financial, legal and not for profit organisations, including the Wales Council for Voluntary Action , The Royal College of General Practitioners Wales , and Literature Wales . Organizations working with the education sector include
498-612: A commercial centre. The construction of the Coal Exchange building between 1884 and 1888 by Edwin Seward solidified the change in focus to commercial, and it became central to the coal trade activity in Cardiff docks for much of the early part of the 20th century. Built to provide a dedicated location for merchants and traders to sell coal, it followed construction of buildings of a similar function in London , Liverpool and Manchester . It
581-487: A history going back to the 11th-century Norman Conquest . The region that may be called "Rural Cardiff" contains the villages of St Fagans , Creigiau, Pentyrch , Tongwynlais and Gwaelod-y-garth . In 2017, plans were approved for a new suburb of 7,000 homes between Radyr and St Fagans , known as Plasdŵr . St Fagans, home to the Museum of Welsh Life , is protected from further development. Since 2000, there has been
664-431: A marked change of scale and building height in Cardiff, with the development of the city centre 's first purpose-built high-rise apartments. Tall buildings have been built in the city centre and Cardiff Bay, and more are planned. Cardiff, in the north temperate zone , has a maritime climate ( Köppen : Cfb) marked by mild weather that is often cloudy, wet and windy. Cardiff is one of the warmest and wettest cities in
747-481: A massive improvement in the quality of the built environment, although it had "failed "to attract the major inward investors originally anticipated". In the 1997 Welsh devolution referendum , Cardiff voters rejected the establishment of the National Assembly for Wales by 55.4% to 44.2% on a 47% turnout, which Denis Balsom partly ascribed to a general preference in Cardiff and some other parts of Wales for
830-722: A new business district. Caerdydd (the Welsh name of the city) derives from the Middle Welsh Caerdyf . The change from -dyf to -dydd shows the colloquial alteration of Welsh f [v] and dd [ð] and was perhaps also driven by folk etymology . This sound change probably first occurred in the Middle Ages ; both forms were current in the Tudor period . Caerdyf has its origins in post-Roman Brythonic words meaning "the fort of
913-411: A new local authority vote, 134 out of 161 voted for Cardiff. Cardiff therefore celebrated two important anniversaries in 2005. The Encyclopedia of Wales notes that the decision to recognise the city as the capital of Wales "had more to do with the fact that it contained marginal Conservative constituencies than any reasoned view of what functions a Welsh capital should have." Although the city hosted
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#1732790592246996-537: A population of only 1,870, making it only the 25th largest town in Wales, well behind Merthyr and Swansea . In 1793, John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute was born. He spent his life building the Cardiff docks and was later hailed as "the creator of modern Cardiff". A twice-weekly boat service between Cardiff and Bristol opened in 1815, and in 1821, the Cardiff Gas Works was established. After
1079-521: A rate of nearly 80 per cent per decade between 1840 and 1870. Much of this was due to migration from within and outside Wales: in 1841, a quarter of Cardiff's population were English-born and more than 10 per cent born in Ireland. By the 1881 census, Cardiff had overtaken Merthyr and Swansea to become the largest town in Wales. Cardiff's status as the premier town in South Wales was confirmed when it
1162-430: A residential and commercial space. The only remaining building is St Stephens Church , designed by architect E. M. Bruce Vaughan and constructed between 1900 and 1902. It is located at the junction with West Bute Street. Designed in a Gothic style , the parish was deconsecrated in 1992. Between 2003 and 2009, the building was used as a live music venue called The Point . The Bethel English Baptist Chapel, located near
1245-583: A wider pattern of counter-urbanisation in Britain. However, it recovered to become one of the few cities outside London where population grew in the 1990s. During this period the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation was promoting the redevelopment of south Cardiff; an evaluation of the regeneration of Cardiff Bay published in 2004 concluded that the project had "reinforced the competitive position of Cardiff" and "contributed to
1328-548: A wooden palisade in the early 12th century. It was of sufficient size and importance to receive a series of charters, notably in 1331 from William La Zouche, Lord of Glamorgan through marriage with the de Clare family, Edward III in 1359, then Henry IV in 1400, and later Henry VI . In 1404, Owain Glyndŵr burned Cardiff and took possession of the Castle. As many of the buildings were made of timber and tightly packed within
1411-596: Is a major centre for television and film production (such as the 2005 revival of Doctor Who , Torchwood and Sherlock ) and is the Welsh base for the main national broadcasters. Cardiff Bay contains the Senedd building and the Wales Millennium Centre arts complex. Work continues at Cardiff Bay and in the centre on projects such as Cardiff International Sports Village , BBC drama village , and
1494-572: Is an urban area, bordered by the A4119 James Street , a major road to the south, early twentieth century social housing to the north (on a site which had previously been used as a rail yard), historic commercial properties to the east on West Bute Street, and the historic Glamorganshire Canal to the west. The canal was drained in December 1951 when a steam suction dredger crashed into the inner lock gates, forcing them to collapse, and all
1577-570: Is at the summit of the Garth , within the county's northern boundary. Four Iron Age hill fort and enclosure sites have been identified within Cardiff's county boundaries, including Caerau Hillfort , an enclosed area of 5.1 hectares ( 12 + 1 ⁄ 2 acres). Until the Roman conquest of Britain , Cardiff was part of the territory of the Silures – a Celtic British tribe that flourished in
1660-585: Is known of the fort and civilian settlement in the period between the Roman departure from Britain and the Norman Conquest. The settlement probably shrank in size and may even have been abandoned. In the absence of Roman rule, Wales was divided into small kingdoms; early on, Meurig ap Tewdrig emerged as the local king in Glywysing (which later became Glamorgan ). The area passed through his family until
1743-534: Is relatively flat and bounded by hills to the east, north and west. Its location influenced its development as the world's largest coal port, notably its proximity and easy access to the coalfields of the South Wales Valleys . The highest point in the local authority area is Garth Hill , 307 m (1,007 ft) above sea level . Cardiff is built on reclaimed marshland on a bed of Triassic stones. This reclaimed marshland stretches from Chepstow to
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#17327905922461826-496: Is represented by four constituencies: Cardiff East , Cardiff North , Cardiff South and Penarth , and Cardiff West . The Welsh Government is headquartered in Cardiff's Cathays Park , where most of its civil servants are based, with smaller numbers in other central locations: Cathays , Canton , and Cardiff Bay . There are other Welsh Government offices in other parts of Wales, such as Llandudno and Aberystwyth, and there are international offices. Between 1889 and 1974 Cardiff
1909-650: Is the capital and largest city of Wales . Cardiff had a population of 372,089 in 2022 and forms a principal area officially known as the City and County of Cardiff (Welsh: Dinas a Sir Caerdydd ). The city is the eleventh largest in the United Kingdom . Located in the southeast of Wales and in the Cardiff Capital Region , Cardiff is the county town of the historic county of Glamorgan and in 1974–1996 of South Glamorgan . It belongs to
1992-517: Is the main commercial centre of Wales as well as the base for the Senedd , the Welsh Parliament. At the 2021 census, the unitary authority area population was put at 362,400. The population of the wider urban area in 2011 was 479,000. In 2011, it ranked sixth in the world in a National Geographic magazine list of alternative tourist destinations. It is the most popular destination in Wales with 21.3 million visitors in 2017. Cardiff
2075-465: Is the only part of the Celtic Sea with exposed Jurassic ( blue lias ) geology. This stretch of coast with its reefs, sandbanks and serrated cliffs was a ship graveyard ; many ships sailing to Cardiff during the industrial era were wrecked on this hostile coastline during west/south-westerly gales. Smuggling, deliberate shipwrecking and attacks on ships were also common. "Inner Cardiff" consists of
2158-703: The Arctic Monkeys , Manic Street Preachers , Ocean Colour Scene , Stereophonics and Biffy Clyro . The Casablanca Club operated from the Bethel English Baptist Chapel from 1965 to 1985, attracting an audience from the diverse Butetown area and beyond, and recognised as one of the biggest centres of R&B outside of the US. It hosted international artists Aretha Franklin , Jimmy Ruffin and Spandau Ballet , as well as Welsh performers Mickey Gee , Endaf Emlyn and Geraint Jarman . In 2014,
2241-585: The Battle of St Fagans , between Royalist rebels and a New Model Army detachment, was a decisive victory for the Parliamentarians that allowed Oliver Cromwell to conquer Wales. It was the last major battle in Wales, with about 200, mostly Royalist soldiers killed. Cardiff was at peace throughout the ensuing century. In 1766, John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute married into the Herbert family and
2324-683: The Commonwealth Games in 1958, Cardiff became a centre of national administration only with the establishment of the Welsh Office in 1964, which later prompted the creation of various other public bodies such as the Arts Council of Wales and the Welsh Development Agency , most of which were based in Cardiff. The East Moors Steelworks closed in 1978 and Cardiff lost population in the 1980s, consistent with
2407-514: The Ely Estuary , which is the natural boundary of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. Triassic landscapes of this part of the world are usually shallow and low-lying, consistent with the flatness of the centre of Cardiff. The classic Triassic marl , sand and conglomerate rocks are used predominantly throughout Cardiff as building materials. Many of these Triassic rocks are purplish, especially
2490-458: The Eurocities network of the largest European cities. A small town until the early 19th century, its prominence as a port for coal when mining began in the region helped its expansion. In 1905, it was ranked as a city and in 1955 proclaimed capital of Wales . Cardiff Built-up Area covers a larger area outside the county boundary, including the towns of Dinas Powys and Penarth . Cardiff
2573-691: The Iron Age – whose territory included the areas that would become known as Breconshire , Monmouthshire and Glamorgan. The 3.2 ha (8-acre) fort established by the Romans near the mouth of the River Taff in AD ;75, in what would become the north western boundary of the centre of Cardiff, was built over an extensive settlement that had been established by the Romans in the 50s AD. The fort
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2656-674: The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education and the National Union of Students Wales . There are a number of establishments serving food and drink. The Royal Thai Consulate and the Mexican Honorary Consulate in Cardiff have offices in the square. The Exchange Hotel operates from the former Coal Exchange building in the centre of the square. Mount Stuart Square has been home to a number of religious buildings, in addition to its function as
2739-498: The Saxon Shore forts of the 3rd and 4th centuries, a stone fortress was established at Cardiff. Similar to the shore forts, the fortress was built to protect Britannia from raiders. Coins from the reign of Gratian indicate that Cardiff was inhabited until at least the 4th century; the fort was abandoned towards the end of the 4th century, as the last Roman legions left the province of Britannia with Magnus Maximus . Little
2822-739: The St Lythans burial chamber near Wenvoe , (approximately four miles or six km west of Cardiff city centre); the Tinkinswood burial chamber , near St. Nicholas (about six miles or ten km west of Cardiff city centre), the Cae'rarfau Chambered Tomb , Creigiau (about six miles or ten km northwest of Cardiff city centre) and the Gwern y Cleppa long barrow , near Coedkernew , Newport (about eight miles or thirteen km northeast of Cardiff city centre). A group of five Bronze Age tumuli
2905-479: The Taff ". The fort probably refers to that established by the Romans . Caer is Welsh for fort and -dyf is in effect a form of Taf (Taff), the river which flows by Cardiff Castle, with the ⟨t⟩ showing consonant mutation to ⟨d⟩ and the vowel showing affection as a result of a (lost) genitive case ending. The anglicised Cardiff is derived from Caerdyf , with
2988-528: The Wales Millennium Centre hosted a production entitled 'Night at the Casablanca', which was a celebration of the musical tradition of the venue. The Point was a live music venue which operated from St Stephen's Church from 2003 to 2009. It hosted acts including Super Furry Animals , Franz Ferdinand , DJ Danger Mouse and The Bluetones . In 2016, filmmaker Nick Broomfield visited the square as part of his documentary Going Going Gone , which investigated
3071-471: The 2004 and 2012 local elections, no individual political party held a majority on Cardiff County Council. The Liberal Democrats held the largest number of seats and Cllr Rodney Berman was Leader of the council. The Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru formed a partnership administration. In the 2012 elections the Labour Party achieved an outright majority, after gaining an additional 33 seats across
3154-516: The Cardiff Glassworks had partially occupied the area. As a result, the underlying soil was a mixture of alluvial mud and slag from the glassworks, which required 30 feet concrete shafts to be constructed that rested on a bed of hard gravel in order to construct the foundations of the square. In the period immediately before construction of the square commenced, the land was used as stables for canal horses Named after Lord Mountstuart ,
3237-495: The Casablanca Building, which once again enclosed the square. The majority of buildings throughout the square range from 3 – 5 storeys, however; some of the surviving domestic buildings are 2-storey. The later commercial buildings are significantly larger than the former houses, both in height and overall mass. The streets are relatively narrow in relation to the large commercial buildings. A key characteristic are
3320-481: The Casablanca Buildings, a boutique high-rise apartment block. The Siloam Welsh Baptist Chapel in the northeast corner next to Lloyds Bank, was opened in 1859, but in 1902 converted into a commercial building known as Phoenix House, which retained the majority of the original building except the font wall. The Mount Stuart Welsh Independent Chapel, now demolished, was built in 1858 and rebuilt in 1864 to
3403-652: The Napoleonic Wars Cardiff suffered some social and industrial unrest, starting with the trial and hanging of Dic Penderyn in 1831. The town grew rapidly from the 1830s onwards, when the Marquess of Bute built a dock , which eventually linked to the Taff Vale Railway . Cardiff became the main port for coal exports from the Cynon , Rhondda , and Rhymney valleys, and grew in population at
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3486-1043: The Senedd; the constituencies for the Senedd are the same as for the UK Parliament. All of the city's electors have an extra vote for the South Wales Central regional members; this system increases proportionality to the Senedd. The most recent Senedd general election was held on 6 May 2021 . In the Senedd, Cardiff is represented by Jenny Rathbone (Labour) in Cardiff Central , Julie Morgan (Labour) in Cardiff North , former First Minister Mark Drakeford (Labour) in Cardiff West and former First Minister Vaughan Gething (Labour) in Cardiff South and Penarth . At Westminster, Cardiff
3569-536: The UK, with an average annual temperature and rainfall of approximately 11°C and 1200mm respectively. Summers tend to be warm and sunny, with average maxima between 19 and 22 °C (66 and 72 °F). Winters are fairly wet, but excessive rainfall as well as frost are rare. Spring and autumn feel similar, with mild temperatures averaging around 15°C as daytime maxima. Rain is unpredictable at any time of year, although showers tend to be shorter in summer. The northern part of
3652-472: The United Kingdom. With the exception of some outlying privately built estates at Michaelston-super-Ely , this is an economically disadvantaged area with high numbers of unemployed households. Culverhouse Cross is a more affluent western area of the city. Fairwater , Heath , Birchgrove , Gabalfa , Mynachdy , Llandaff North , Llandaff , Llanishen , Radyr , Whitchurch & Tongwynlais , Rhiwbina , Thornhill , Lisvane and Cyncoed lie in an arc from
3735-462: The Welsh f [v] borrowed as ff / f / , as also happens in Taff (from Welsh Taf ) and Llandaff (from Welsh Llandaf ). The antiquarian William Camden (1551–1623) suggested that the name Cardiff may derive from * Caer-Didi ("the Fort of Didius"), a name supposedly given in honour of Aulus Didius Gallus , governor of a nearby province at the time when the Roman fort
3818-556: The advent of the Normans in the 11th century. In 1081 William I, King of England , began work on the castle keep within the walls of the old Roman fort. Cardiff Castle has been at the heart of the city ever since. The castle was substantially altered and extended during the Victorian period by John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute , and the architect William Burges . Original Roman work can, however, still be distinguished in
3901-523: The area was the vision of the second Marquess of John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute , who wanted to create a grand Georgian space to rival Berkeley Square in London. The development of the square was part of his vision to transform Cardiff into a major port, improve the value of his lands in Cardiff itself and increase the value of the royalties he could charge on his coal fields. As the docks rose in prominence, wealthy residents moved out and it became
3984-407: The building area was limited by the physical restrictions of the canal to the west. The nearest railway station is Cardiff Bay . The development of Mount Stuart Square is closely linked to that of the coal industry in South Wales. The mining of coal in the South Wales valleys in the 1790s onwards meant that Cardiff developed into a port through which the coal was shipped and exported worldwide. It
4067-860: The city of Newport; to the north by the South Wales Valleys , and to the south by the Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel . The River Taff winds through the city centre and together with the River Ely flows into the freshwater Cardiff Bay. A third river, the Rhymney , flows through the east of the city directly into the Severn Estuary. Cardiff lies near the Glamorgan Heritage Coast , stretching westward from Penarth and Barry – commuter towns of Cardiff – with striped yellow-blue Jurassic limestone cliffs. The Glamorgan coast
4150-453: The city, are built of Portland stone from Dorset. A widely used building stone in Cardiff is the yellow-grey Liassic limestone rock of the Vale of Glamorgan, including the rare "Sutton Stone", a conglomerate of lias limestone and carboniferous limestone. Cardiff is bordered to the west by the rural district of the Vale of Glamorgan, also known as the Garden of Cardiff, to the east by
4233-679: The city, including the National Museum of Wales , the Welsh National War Memorial , and the University of Wales Registry Building, but it was denied the National Library of Wales , partly because the library's founder, Sir John Williams, considered Cardiff to have "a non-Welsh population". After a brief post-war boom, Cardiff docks entered a prolonged decline in the interwar period . By 1936, trade
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#17327905922464316-411: The city. Cardiff is divided into communities, several with their own community council and the rest governed directly by Cardiff City Council. Elections are held every five years. The last contested elections would have been held at the same time as the 2017 Cardiff Council election had there been more candidates standing than available seats. Those with community councils are: The centre of Cardiff
4399-400: The coastal marl found near Penarth. One of the Triassic rocks used in Cardiff is "Radyr Stone", a freestone which as its name suggests is quarried in the Radyr district. Cardiff has also imported some materials for buildings: Devonian sandstones (the Old Red Sandstone ) from the Brecon Beacons has been used. Most famously, the buildings of Cathays Park , the civic centre in the centre of
4482-417: The county, being higher and inland, tends to be cooler and wetter than the city centre. Cardiff's maximum and minimum monthly temperatures average 21.5 °C (70.7 °F) (July) and 2.1 °C (35.8 °F) (February). For Wales, the temperatures average 19.1 °C (66.4 °F) (July) and 1.1 °C (34.0 °F) (February). Edwin Seward Too Many Requests If you report this error to
4565-454: The demand for commercial premises on the square and allowed boarding houses to be established. By the early 21st century, all banks had vacated their properties on the square. The western side of the square saw a gradual demolition of original properties, and by the 1990s was no longer enclosed on its border with the canal. Much of the land was being used as open air carparks, until the construction of St James and St Stephens Mansions, and later
4648-494: The design of architect Thomas Thomas of Landore. In 2016 it was announced that the Coal Exchange was to be fully refurbished as a hotel, with a museum detailing the history of the building and of the Cardiff Docks. In 2009, Cardiff Council identified a number of challenges facing the square, including a loss of architectural detailing, a need to improve physical access to some buildings, a number of underused or vacant listed buildings which show signs of serious deterioration. In 2017,
4731-586: The deterioration and heritage of the Coal Exchange building. In June 2017, the BBC broadcast a documentary entitled Saving The Coal Exchange , which looked at the development of the building into a luxury hotel. In September 2017, BBC Wales broadcast a documentary called Cardiff Bay Lives , which featured residents and businesses from the square. 51°27′54″N 3°10′05″W / 51.465°N 3.168°W / 51.465; -3.168 Cardiff Cardiff ( / ˈ k ɑːr d ɪ f / ; Welsh : Caerdydd [kairˈdiːð, kaːɨrˈdɨːð] )
4814-453: The north-west to the north-east of the centre. Lisvane, Cyncoed, Radyr and Rhiwbina contain some of the most expensive housing in Wales. Further east lie the wards of Pontprennau and Old St Mellons, Rumney, Pentwyn , Llanrumney , Llanedeyrn and Trowbridge . The last four are largely public housing stock, although much new private housing is being built in Trowbridge. Pontprennau is the newest "suburb" of Cardiff, while Old St Mellons has
4897-426: The once open central space. The square contains a high concentration of listed buildings, which represent a range of architectural styles and some of Cardiff's finest examples of late 19th and early 20th century commercial architecture. Mount Stuart Square area was designated a Conservation Area in July 1980. The area which Mount Stuart Square currently occupies was originally coastal mudflat. In its present form, it
4980-404: The other hand, Gabalfa, Plasnewydd and Cathays north of the 'arc' have large student populations, and Pontcanna (north of Riverside and alongside Canton) is a favourite for students and young professionals. Penylan , to the north east of Roath Park, is an affluent area popular with older parents and the retired. To the west lie Ely and Caerau , which have some of the largest housing estates in
5063-471: The period are represented including Alexander Roos , architect to the Bute Estate, Edwin Seward , E W M Corbett , W D Blessley, Teather and Wilson, Ivor Jones and Percy Thomas , and Henry Budgen. The impact of WW1 was significant on the square, having a damaging effect on the coal industry. By 1921, only six of the 52 companies operating in 1888 were still in business, with the industry never recovering. The Coal Exchange closed in 1958, which in turn reduced
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#17327905922465146-428: The southern entrance to the square, was built in 1858 and renovated in 1898 and again in 1910. It was brick built in the Classical and Lombardic/Italianate style over two storeys, and was the location of Ivor Novello 's baptism. This chapel closed in 1965 and the Casablanca Club operated from the site from 1965 to 1985. It was demolished in the 1990s, the land used as a carpark until in 2021 when construction completed on
5229-415: The square, and pedestrian access exists to the parkland to the west. The square has a one way traffic system, where vehicles enter at the junction with James Street to the south west, and exit via either James Street or West Bute Street. Mount Stuart Square has a distinctive form with buildings on four sides facing the Cardiff Coal Exchange building in the centre. It is not a square in the true sense because
5312-476: The streets of Cardiff". From 1901 coal exports from Barry surpassed those from Cardiff, but the administration of the coal trade remained centred on Cardiff, in particular its Coal Exchange , where the price of coal on the British market was determined and the first million-pound deal was struck in 1907. The city also strengthened its industrial base when the owners of the Dowlais Ironworks in Merthyr (who would later form part of Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds ) built
5395-413: The title. Welsh local authorities had been divided: only 76 out of 161 chose Cardiff in a 1924 poll organised by the South Wales Daily News . The subject was not debated again until 1950, and meanwhile Cardiff took steps to promote its "Welshness". The stalemate between Cardiff and cities such as Caernarfon and Aberystwyth was not broken until Cardiganshire County Council decided to support Cardiff; and in
5478-420: The town walls, much of Cardiff was destroyed. The settlement was soon rebuilt on the same street plan and began to flourish again. (Glyndŵr's statue was erected in Cardiff Town Hall in the early 20th century, reflecting the complex, often conflicting cultural identity of Cardiff as capital of Wales.) Besides serving an important political role in the governance of the fertile south Glamorgan coastal plain, Cardiff
5561-417: The variances in the scale between buildings. This is especially dramatic where the remaining 2-storey buildings are side by side with imposing 5-storey commercial buildings. St Stephens and St James Mansions are large high rise residential buildings constructed in 2003, which occupy a large section of the north western part of the square. The Coal Exchange building is of a French Renaissance style, and occupies
5644-574: The volume of coal exports increased from 44,350 to 2.219 million tonnes. The population of the area increased accordingly, and a grid pattern residential suburb for port-related workers was built on land which included the site of the square. In its original form, Mount Stuart Square was a residential square with a central garden. It was constructed in 1855 as a select residential enclave around ornamental gardens for merchants and sea captains, and originally consisted of 45 stuccoed three-storey town houses. The land had originally been mudflats, but later
5727-529: The wall facings. A town grew up under the castle, consisting mainly of settlers from England. Cardiff had a population of between 1,500 and 2,000 in the Middle Ages – a normal size for a Welsh town in the period. It was the centre of the Norman Marcher Lordship of Glamorgan. By the end of the 13th century, Cardiff was the only town in Wales with a population exceeding 2,000, although it remained relatively small compared with notable towns in England and continued to be contained within its walls, which were begun as
5810-453: The walls of his honours castle and from the north part of the town to the south part where there is a fair quay and a safe harbour for shipping." Cardiff became a borough in 1542 and further Royal Charters were granted to it by Elizabeth I in 1600 and James I in 1608. In 1573, it was made a head port for collection of customs duties. Pembrokeshire historian George Owen described Cardiff in 1602 as "the fayrest towne in Wales yett not
5893-412: The wards of Plasnewydd , Gabalfa , Roath , Cathays , Adamsdown and Splott ward on the north and east of the city centre, and Butetown , Grangetown , Riverside and Canton to the south and west. The inner-city areas to the south of the A4161 road , known as the "Southern Arc", are with the exception of Cardiff Bay some of the poorest districts of Wales, with low levels of economic activity. On
5976-433: The water was released into the estuary. The gates were never repaired, and for a number of years the canal remained dry until the land was filled in and converted to parkland, named Canal Park. The square lies approximately half a mile to the south of Loudoun Square , which was also built as a residential square but never developed a commercial hub. Junctions with James Street and West Bute Street provide vehicular access to
6059-668: The welthiest". It gained a second Royal Charter in 1608. A disastrous flood in the Bristol Channel on 30 January 1607 (now believed to have been a tidal wave) changed the course of the River Taff and ruined St Mary's Parish Church , which was replaced by a chapel of ease dedicated to St John the Baptist. During the Second English Civil War St Fagans , just to the west of the town,
6142-729: Was a busy port in the Middle Ages and declared a staple port in 1327. In 1536, the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 led to the creation of Glamorganshire and Cardiff was made the county town , it also became part of Kibbor hundred , around the same time the Herberts became the most powerful family in the area. In 1538, Henry VIII closed Cardiff's Dominican and Franciscan friaries, whose remains were used as building materials. A writer in this period noted: "The River Taff runs under
6225-565: Was a county borough governed by Cardiff County Borough Council (known as Cardiff City Council after 1905). Between 1974 and 1996, Cardiff was governed by Cardiff City Council , a district council of South Glamorgan . Since local government reorganisation in 1996 , Cardiff has been governed by the City and County Council of Cardiff, based at County Hall in Atlantic Wharf, Cardiff Bay. Voters elect 75 councillors every four years. Between
6308-633: Was at less than half its value in 1913, reflecting the slump in demand for Welsh coal . Bomb damage in the Cardiff Blitz of World War II included the devastation of Llandaff Cathedral , and in the immediate postwar years, the city's link with the Bute family came to an end. The city was recognised as the capital city of Wales on 20 December 1955, in a written reply by the Home Secretary , Gwilym Lloyd George . Caernarfon had also vied for
6391-595: Was chosen as the site for the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire in 1883. A permanent military presence was established with the completion of Maindy Barracks in 1877. Cardiff faced a challenge in the 1880s when David Davies of Llandinam and the Barry Railway Company promoted rival docks at Barry . These had the advantage of being accessible in all tides : David Davies claimed his venture would cause "grass to grow in
6474-472: Was constructed in stages, the central trading hall and east block completed first. The London and Provincial Banking Company occupied the majority of the north side. In 1904 the world's first recorded £1m deal was struck there. Those of the original town houses not converted were replaced by purpose-built offices for coal and shipping firms. The buildings surrounding the Coal Exchange housed coal companies, banks and agents. Most of Cardiff's notable architects of
6557-493: Was established. Although some sources repeat this theory, it has been rejected on linguistic grounds by modern scholars such as Professor Gwynedd Pierce. Archaeological evidence from sites in and around Cardiff show that people had settled in the area by at least around 6000 BC, during the early Neolithic; about 1,500 years before either Stonehenge or the Great Pyramid of Giza was completed. These include
6640-546: Was initially transported using the Glamorganshire Canal , and later by rail on the Taff Vale Railway , both of which terminated close to the site of the square. A number of docks were constructed to facilitate the movement of this coal, and the entire Butetown area of Cardiff was transformed to accommodate the new industry. By the 1830s, Cardiff became the pre-eminent iron-exporting port, shipping almost half of British overseas iron exports; between 1840 and 1870,
6723-414: Was later created Baron Cardiff . In 1778, he began renovating Cardiff Castle. A racecourse , printing press , bank and coffee house opened in the 1790s and Cardiff gained a stagecoach service to London. Despite these improvements, Cardiff's position in the Welsh urban hierarchy declined over the 18th century. Iolo Morganwg called it "an obscure and inconsiderable place" and the 1801 census found
6806-450: Was one of a series of military outposts associated with Isca Augusta ( Caerleon ) that acted as border defences. The fort may have been abandoned in the early 2nd century as the area had been subdued. However, by this time a civilian settlement, or vicus , was established. It was likely made up of traders who made a living from the fort, ex-soldiers and their families. A Roman villa has been discovered at Ely . Contemporary with
6889-471: Was opened. The Senedd (Welsh Parliament; Welsh : Senedd Cymru ) has been based in Cardiff Bay since its formation in 1999 as the "National Assembly for Wales". The Senedd building was opened on 1 March 2006 by The Queen . The Members of the Senedd (MSs), the Senedd Commission and ministerial support staff are based in Cardiff Bay. Cardiff elects four constituency Members of the Senedd to
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