The Coal Exchange
Encyclopedia
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, originally used a market floor for trading in coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
.
Coal Exchange is situated in Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay is the area created by the Cardiff Barrage in South Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The regeneration of Cardiff Bay is now widely regarded as one of the most successful regeneration projects in the United Kingdom. The Bay is supplied by two rivers to form a freshwater lake round the...
, near The Point, Cardiff
The Point, Cardiff
The Point was a church-turned-popular music venue in Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, Wales.The Point was situated in the old merchant's quarter of Mount Stuart Square. The square was named after Lord Mount Stuart, who represented Wales in Parliament during the Napoleonic period...
, and is used extensively for live music and other events on the Cardiff music scene. It has a capacity of 1,000.
History
Before the Coal Exchange was built in Mount Stuart Square, the area was a residential square with a central garden. It was taken over by commerce as the city grew in prosperity. Coal merchants used to chalk up the changing prices of coal on slates outside their offices or struck deals in the local public houses.As Cardiff became the biggest coal port in the world, the building was constructed between 1883 and 1886 by Edwin Seward
Edwin Seward
Edwin Seward was an architect based in Cardiff, Wales. Born in Somerset, Seward trained in Yeovil before moving to Cardiff to work as an assistant to G. E. Robinson...
as a base from which to conduct trade negotiations regarding the coal mines
South Wales Coalfield
The South Wales Coalfield is a large region of south Wales that is rich with coal deposits, especially the South Wales Valleys.-The coalfield area:...
of the South Wales Valleys
South Wales Valleys
The South Wales Valleys are a number of industrialised valleys in South Wales, stretching from eastern Carmarthenshire in the west to western Monmouthshire in the east and from the Heads of the Valleys in the north to the lower-lying, pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain...
- most of which was shipped to Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
for distribution.
The building played an important role in the industrial Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
of the 19th century. Paired Corinthian columns, an oak balcony, and rich wood paneling adorn the trading hall, which was reconstructed by Edwin Seward in 1911.
Following its opening, coal owners, ship owners and their agents met daily on the floor of the trading hall where agreements were made by word of mouth and telephone . During the peak trading hour of midday to one o'clock, the floor might have as many as 200 men gesticulating and shouting. It was estimated that up to 10,000 people would pass in and out of the building each day. At one time the price of the world's coal was determined here.
The first £1,000,000 cheque was written at the Coal Exchange during a transaction at the turn of the 20th century in 1901 (equivalent to £77,837,086.09 today ). 2500 tonnes of coal were transported to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Post-war period
Cardiff's reliance on coal made the Bute Docks highly vulnerable to any downturn in the demand for it. With the end of the war the docks went into further decline. The Coal exchange closed in 1958 and coal exports came to an end in 1964.The Coal Exchange was earmarked in 1979 as a future home of the proposed Welsh Assembly, but the plan for devolution was rejected by the Welsh people in a referendum.
Re-opening
In 1988 the building was re-acquired and subsequently completely refurbished in 2001 to turn it into a major venue. The venue has hosted acts such as the Arctic MonkeysArctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band. Formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield, the band currently consists of Alex Turner , Jamie Cook , Nick O'Malley and Matt Helders...
, Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers are a Welsh alternative rock band, formed in 1986. They are James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Richey Edwards and Sean Moore. The band are part of the Cardiff music scene, and were at their most prominent during the 1990s...
, Ocean Colour Scene
Ocean Colour Scene
Ocean Colour Scene are an English Britpop band formed in Moseley, Birmingham in 1989. They have had five Top 10 albums and six Top 10 singles to date.-Early days :...
, Stereophonics
Stereophonics
The Stereophonics are a Welsh rock band now living in turners x that formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in Cynon Valley, Wales. The band currently comprises lead vocalist and guitarist Kelly Jones, bassist and backing vocalist Richard Jones, drummer Javier Weyler, guitarist and backing...
and Biffy Clyro
Biffy Clyro
Biffy Clyro are a Scottish rock band from Kilmarnock, comprising Simon Neil , James Johnston and Ben Johnston...
.
Access
Coal Exchange is served by Cardiff Bay railway stationCardiff Bay railway station
Cardiff Bay railway station , formerly Cardiff Bute Road, is a station serving the Cardiff Bay and Butetown areas of Cardiff. It is the southern terminus of the Butetown Branch Line 1 mile south of ....
and Cardiff Bus
Cardiff Bus
Cardiff Bus is the dominant operator of bus services in Cardiff, Wales and the surrounding area, including Barry and Penarth. Its hub is Cardiff central bus station...
service 7, 8, 35, and Baycar
Baycar
Baycar is a bus service in Cardiff, serving the city centre and Cardiff Bay.The service forms part of the wider Cardiff Bus network, but is unique in that the entire Baycar bus system includes its own branded vehicles, bus shelters and boards.-History:The service was introduced in 2006 to connect...
.
See also
- Music of Cardiff
- List of cultural venues in Cardiff
- South Wales CoalfieldSouth Wales CoalfieldThe South Wales Coalfield is a large region of south Wales that is rich with coal deposits, especially the South Wales Valleys.-The coalfield area:...
- Mining in WalesMining in WalesMining in Wales provided a significant source of income to the economy of Wales throughout the nineteenth century and early twentieth century....