Timeline of Cardiff history
Encyclopedia
The timeline of Cardiff history shows the significant events in the history of Cardiff
which transformed it from a small Roman
fort into the modern capital city of Wales
. Many believe that Cardiff actually takes its name, Caer Didi meaning ‘Fort of Didius’ after Aulus Didius Gallus
, who built the small wooden fort where Cardiff Castle
now stands.
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53: Cardiff was founded by Aulus Didius, the native population called him Didi Gawr.
75: A Roman fort at Cardiff
, where Cardiff Castle
now is, was established.
380s: The Romans abandoned Cardiff.
850: The Vikings attack the Welsh coast. The Vikings used Cardiff as a base and then as a port. Street names such as Dumballs Road and Womanby Street come from the Vikings
1100: A small town outside the castle was establishing itself. It was made up primarily of settler
s Norman/Saxon people.
1126: Ralph "Prepositus de Kardi" who took up office as the first Mayor of Cardiff.
1158: Ifor Bach
, Lord of Senghenydd attacked Cardiff Castle
and carried off William of Gloucester, Lord of Glamorgan.
1294: The Glamorgan Welsh attacked Cardiff Castle.
1315: Llywelyn Bren
, a great-grandson of Ifor Bach, attacked Cardiff Castle
1318: Llewelyn Bren executed
at Cardiff as a traitor.
1327: Cardiff declared a Staple Port.
1404: Owain Glyndŵr
captured Cardiff Castle.
1536: Legislative union of England and Wales (Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542). The shire
of Glamorgan was established and Cardiff became the county town
and the Herbert family became the most powerful family in Cardiff
1551: William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, became the first Baron Cardiff (Baron Herbert of Cardiff).
1542: Cardiff became a Free Borough.
1574: Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
, began restoration work to Cardiff Castle.
1595: The first shipment of coal was exported from Cardiff docks.
1608: King James I
granted a Royal Charter
to the town of Cardiff.
1610: Map of Cardiff produced by John Speed
.
1648: Battle of St. Fagans
fought between the Parliamentarian Army
and the Royalists
. It was the last major battle to occur in Wales, some 8,000 Royalists were defeated in a two hour fight by 3,000 Parliamentarian troops of the New Model Army
with about 200 soldiers, mainly Royalists, killed.
1737: Flat Holm
Lighthouse built.
1766: John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute
married into the Herberts, the great local landowning family.
1774: An Act of Parliament
established the Improvement Commissioners
, responsible for paving, cleaning streets and providing oil lamp lighting in Cardiff.
1776: John Stuart was created Baron Cardiff of Cardiff Castle.
1778: The reconstruction of Cardiff Castle
begins.
was born. He is later described as the creator of modern Cardiff, building the Port of Cardiff.
1815: Boat service between Cardiff and Bristol
established, running twice a week.
1819: Cardiff Free School for boys and girls opened.
1821: Cardiff Gas Works established.
1826: The first theatre in Cardiff, the Theatre Royal, is opened.
1832: A new County goil built in the Spital Field (the site of the present Cardiff Prison
.
1835: Thomas Revel Guest became the first elected Mayor of Cardiff and also Judge of the Borough Court of Record.
1839: West Bute Dock opened.
1850: Cardiff Water Company established to provide water for Cardiff.
1853: The new Town Hall opened.
1855: The Taff Vale Railway
begins a train service from the Rhondda Valley
to Cardiff.
1857: The last public execution in Cardiff.
1860: the Principality Building Society
established in Cardiff.
1863: The Royal Arcade opened. The first of many in Cardiff.
1865: James Howell establishes Howells department store.
1867: Cardiff Cricket Club established with Cardiff Arms Park
as its ground.
1872: Cardiff Castle
Clock Tower completed.
1876: Cardiff Arms Park hosted the first rugby
game between Cardiff Rugby Club
and Swansea Rugby Club
.
1879: The Cardiff Town Council took over responsibility of the water supply from the Cardiff Water Company.
1881: The first grandstand was built at Cardiff Arms Park, it held 300 spectators.
1883: The National Eisteddfod
held in Cardiff.
1884: The Cardiff Arms Park hosts its first international match, a rugby union encounter between Wales
and Ireland.
1886: The Coal Exchange was opened to conduct trade for the growing coal industry.
1889: Cardiff became a County Borough
, which was independent of the new Glamorgan County Council.
1893: Ivor Novello
was born in Cowbridge Road East
, Cardiff.
1894: Cardiff Masonic Hall Company Ltd established after purchasing the thirty year old Methodist chapel at Guildford Street
1895: The first Welsh Grand National
hunt race
was run at Ely Racecourse
.
1897: The Pierhead Building
was completed.
1899: Riverside Football Club, later to be renamed Cardiff City
, was formed.
1903: The first building in Cathays Park
, the University of Wales, Registry
is opened.
1904: Cardiff Town Hall
opened, later renamed City Hall.
1905: Cardiff was granted city status
by Edward VII
and the Mayor
became the Lord Mayor
, with the right to use "The Right Honourable
".
1907: Queen Alexandra Dock was opened, it was the largest in Cardiff.
1909: The University building
in Cathays Park was opened. The first Clark's Pies
were produced.
1910: Cardiff City played their first match at Ninian Park
.
1913: The record amount of around 107 million tons of coal were exported through Cardiff docks. This was the high point of the docks.
was born in Llandaff
, Cardiff.
1923: The BBC
began broadcasting from studios in Castle Street.
1927: Cardiff City
beat Arsenal
1-0 to win the FA Cup
.
1930: Cardiff Round Table, local branch of Round Table Britain & Ireland
, is founded, being the 26th Table in the organisation
1931: Cardiff Municipal Airport was opened on Pengam Moors
1932: The first miners' hunger march to start in Cardiff, left for London
to protest about unemployment.
1935: The first RAC Welsh Rally
started from Cardiff.
1937: Shirley Bassey
was born in Tiger Bay
, Cardiff.
1939: Billy the Seal died.
1941: The heaviest German Luftwaffe
raid of World War II
, the Cardiff Blitz
, occurred when 156 people were killed.
1946: Welsh National Opera
put on its first staged productions at the Prince of Wales Theatre.
1947: The Bute family gave Cardiff Castle to the city.
1948: Welsh Folk Museum
was opened at St. Fagans
.
1952: The last execution took place in Cardiff Prison. Mahmood Hussein Mattan
was hanged for murder, but his conviction was quashed in 1998.
1954: Cardiff Airport
moved from Pengam Moors to its current home in Rhoose
1955: Cardiff was officially recognised as the capital city of Wales.
1956: Cardiff ceased being a fishing port after 70 years.
1958: The British Empire and Commonwealth Games
opened at Cardiff Arms Park
in Cardiff
.
1959: The movie Tiger Bay
was released. It was partly shot in Cardiff.
1961: Public houses in Cardiff were allowed to open for the first time on Sundays since the 1880s.
1963: The Rover
car factory
was opened.
1964: West Bute Dock closed with the last shipment of coal, just 229,000 tons, left the docks.
1966: The Heath Hospital
was officially opened.
1967: Glamorgan County Cricket Club
play their first game at Sophia Gardens
, having moved from Cardiff Arms Park.
1970: Bute East Dock was closed.
1971: The National Sports Centre for Wales opened in Sophia Gardens.
1973: John Desmond Brayley
MC DL was nominated for a peerage as Baron Brayley of the City of Cardiff and County Glamorgan
1974: South Glamorgan
was established as part of the local government reorganisation
. Cardiff lost the independent County Borough status it had since 1889.
1976: James Callaghan
MP
for Cardiff
became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
.
1980: The M4 motorway
to the north of the city was opened.
1982: S4C
, the Welsh-language television channel was established.
1983: BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition
was launched.
1984: The National Stadium at Cardiff Arms Park
was opened.
1986: Wales National Ice Rink
was opened and the Cardiff Devils
ice hockey team established.
1987: The Cardiff Bay Development Corporation
was established to transform derelict land that was Cardiff docks into Cardiff Bay
.
1988: The new County Hall
was completed in Cardiff Bay.
1989: Cardiff Athletics Stadium
was opened in Leckwith
.
1996: Cardiff
became a unitary authority
in a local government reorganisation of 1996
. Cardiff reverted to its previous status of administratively-independent city.
1997: Wales voted in favour of a Welsh Assembly
in a national referendum, but Cardiff again voted against it.
1999: The Millennium Stadium
was opened to host the final of the 1999 Rugby World Cup
. The Cardiff Bay Barrage
was opened.
2001: The Census
showed that the population of 305,353 had reached its highest actual recorded figure.
2004: The Wales Millennium Centre
was opened.
2006: The Senedd
, the new debating chamber for the Welsh Assembly was opened. The official Office for National Statistics
estimate of Cardiff’s population was 317,500.
2008: Cardiff International Pool
opened to the public at the International Sports Village
in Cardiff Bay
on 12 January, replacing the Empire Pool that was demolished in 1997 to make way for the Millennium Stadium
. The National Eisteddfod was held in Cardiff.
2009: Cardiff City Stadium and Cardiff International Sports Stadium both opened, while Ninian Park
was demolished, which was part of the Leckwith development
.
2010: Cardiff International White Water
, a whitewater
rafting centre opened on 26 March at the International Sports Village.
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...
which transformed it from a small Roman
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
fort into the modern capital city of 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...
. Many believe that Cardiff actually takes its name, Caer Didi meaning ‘Fort of Didius’ after Aulus Didius Gallus
Aulus Didius Gallus
Aulus Didius Gallus was a Roman general and politician of the 1st century AD. He was governor of Britain between 52 and 57 AD.-Career:The career of Aulus Didius Gallus up to 51 can be partly reconstructed from an inscription from Olympia. He was quaestor under Tiberius, probably in 19...
, who built the small wooden fort where Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle is a medieval castle and Victorian architecture Gothic revival mansion, transformed from a Norman keep erected over a Roman fort in the Castle Quarter of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The Castle is a Grade I Listed Building.-The Roman fort:...
now stands.
The Roman settlement of Cardiff
75: A Roman fort at Cardiff
Cardiff Roman Fort
Cardiff Roman Fort was a coastal fort in the Roman province of Britannia Superior, of which Roman Wales was a part. Its original Latin name is uncertain. Its remains are incorporated into Cardiff Castle in the modern capital city of Wales.-Name:...
, where Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle is a medieval castle and Victorian architecture Gothic revival mansion, transformed from a Norman keep erected over a Roman fort in the Castle Quarter of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The Castle is a Grade I Listed Building.-The Roman fort:...
now is, was established.
380s: The Romans abandoned Cardiff.
The Dark Ages and the Viking settlement
445: The first written mention of Cardiff is made in the Annates Cambriae (The Welsh Annals).850: The Vikings attack the Welsh coast. The Vikings used Cardiff as a base and then as a port. Street names such as Dumballs Road and Womanby Street come from the Vikings
The Norman town of Cardiff
1081: illiam I }], known as William the Conqueror, led an army through southern Wales and may have erected defences at Cardiff on the site of the old Roman fort.1100: A small town outside the castle was establishing itself. It was made up primarily of settler
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
s Norman/Saxon people.
1126: Ralph "Prepositus de Kardi" who took up office as the first Mayor of Cardiff.
1158: Ifor Bach
Ifor Bach
Ifor Bach also known as Ifor ap Meurig and in anglicised form Ivor Bach, lord of Senghenydd, was a twelfth century resident in and a leader of the Welsh in south Wales.- Welsh Lord of Senghenydd :...
, Lord of Senghenydd attacked Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle is a medieval castle and Victorian architecture Gothic revival mansion, transformed from a Norman keep erected over a Roman fort in the Castle Quarter of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The Castle is a Grade I Listed Building.-The Roman fort:...
and carried off William of Gloucester, Lord of Glamorgan.
1294: The Glamorgan Welsh attacked Cardiff Castle.
1315: Llywelyn Bren
Llywelyn Bren
Llywelyn Bren , or Llywelyn ap Gruffudd ap Rhys or Llywelyn of the Woods , was a nobleman who led a revolt in Wales during the reign of King Edward II of England in 1316. The revolt would be the last serious challenge to English rule in Wales until the attempts of Owain Lawgoch to invade Wales with...
, a great-grandson of Ifor Bach, attacked Cardiff Castle
1318: Llewelyn Bren executed
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
at Cardiff as a traitor.
1327: Cardiff declared a Staple Port.
1404: Owain Glyndŵr
Owain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower , was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales...
captured Cardiff Castle.
The county town of Glamorganshire
Shire
A shire is a traditional term for a division of land, found in the United Kingdom and in Australia. In parts of Australia, a shire is an administrative unit, but it is not synonymous with "county" there, which is a land registration unit. Individually, or as a suffix in Scotland and in the far...
of Glamorgan was established and Cardiff became the county town
County town
A county town is a county's administrative centre in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
and the Herbert family became the most powerful family in Cardiff
1551: William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, became the first Baron Cardiff (Baron Herbert of Cardiff).
1542: Cardiff became a Free Borough.
1574: Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke KG was an English peer of the Elizabethan era.-Life:He was the son of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Anne Parr. His aunt was queen consort Catherine Parr, last wife of King Henry VIII. Herbert was responsible for the costly restoration of Cardiff Castle...
, began restoration work to Cardiff Castle.
1595: The first shipment of coal was exported from Cardiff docks.
1608: King James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
granted a Royal Charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
to the town of Cardiff.
1610: Map of Cardiff produced by John Speed
John Speed
John Speed was an English historian and cartographer.-Life:He was born at Farndon, Cheshire, and went into his father's tailoring business where he worked until he was about 50...
.
1648: Battle of St. Fagans
Battle of St. Fagans
The Battle of St. Fagans was a pitched battle in the Second English Civil War in 1648. A detachment from the New Model Army defeated an army of former Parliamentarian soldiers who had rebelled and were now fighting against Parliament.-Background:...
fought between the Parliamentarian Army
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
and the Royalists
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
. It was the last major battle to occur in Wales, some 8,000 Royalists were defeated in a two hour fight by 3,000 Parliamentarian troops of the New Model Army
New Model Army
The New Model Army of England was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, and was disbanded in 1660 after the Restoration...
with about 200 soldiers, mainly Royalists, killed.
1737: Flat Holm
Flat Holm
Flat Holm is a limestone island lying in the Bristol Channel approximately from Lavernock Point in the Vale of Glamorgan, but in the City and County of Cardiff. It includes the most southerly point of Wales....
Lighthouse built.
1766: John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute
John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute
John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute, PC, FRS was a British nobleman.He was the son of the 3rd Earl of Bute and the former Mary Wortley Montagu, a granddaughter of the 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull and great-granddaughter of the 1st Earl of Sandwich...
married into the Herberts, the great local landowning family.
1774: An Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
established the Improvement Commissioners
Improvement commissioners
Boards of improvement commissioners were ad-hoc boards created during the 18th and 19th centuries in the United Kingdom. They were an early form of local government.The first Improvement Commission was the Manchester Police Commission, established in 1765...
, responsible for paving, cleaning streets and providing oil lamp lighting in Cardiff.
1776: John Stuart was created Baron Cardiff of Cardiff Castle.
1778: The reconstruction of Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle is a medieval castle and Victorian architecture Gothic revival mansion, transformed from a Norman keep erected over a Roman fort in the Castle Quarter of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The Castle is a Grade I Listed Building.-The Roman fort:...
begins.
The building of Cardiff docks
1793: John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of ButeJohn Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute
John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute, KT, FRS was the son of John, Lord Mount Stuart and the former Lady Elizabeth McDouall-Crichton...
was born. He is later described as the creator of modern Cardiff, building the Port of Cardiff.
1815: Boat service between Cardiff and Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
established, running twice a week.
1819: Cardiff Free School for boys and girls opened.
1821: Cardiff Gas Works established.
1826: The first theatre in Cardiff, the Theatre Royal, is opened.
1832: A new County goil built in the Spital Field (the site of the present Cardiff Prison
Her Majesty's Prison Service
Her Majesty's Prison Service is a part of the National Offender Management Service of the Government of the United Kingdom tasked with managing most of the prisons within England and Wales...
.
1835: Thomas Revel Guest became the first elected Mayor of Cardiff and also Judge of the Borough Court of Record.
1839: West Bute Dock opened.
1853: The new Town Hall opened.
1855: The Taff Vale Railway
Taff Vale Railway
The Taff Vale Railway is a railway in Glamorgan, South Wales, and is one of the oldest in Wales. It operated as an independent company from 1836 until 1922, when it became a constituent company of the Great Western Railway...
begins a train service from the Rhondda Valley
Rhondda
Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley , is a former coal mining valley in Wales, formerly a local government district, consisting of 16 communities built around the River Rhondda. The valley is made up of two valleys, the larger Rhondda Fawr valley and the smaller Rhondda Fach valley...
to Cardiff.
1857: The last public execution in Cardiff.
1860: the Principality Building Society
Principality Building Society
Principality is a Welsh building society based in Cardiff, the capital of Wales. With assets of just under £6bn it is the largest building society in Wales and the seventh largest in the United Kingdom. Principality Building Society is mutual, which means it is owned by its members rather than...
established in Cardiff.
1863: The Royal Arcade opened. The first of many in Cardiff.
1865: James Howell establishes Howells department store.
1867: Cardiff Cricket Club established with Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park , also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World...
as its ground.
1872: Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle is a medieval castle and Victorian architecture Gothic revival mansion, transformed from a Norman keep erected over a Roman fort in the Castle Quarter of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The Castle is a Grade I Listed Building.-The Roman fort:...
Clock Tower completed.
1876: Cardiff Arms Park hosted the first rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
game between Cardiff Rugby Club
Cardiff RFC
Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, but soon relocated to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since...
and Swansea Rugby Club
Swansea RFC
Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. Its home ground is St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea. The team is sometimes known as The Whites because of the primary colour of the team strip...
.
1879: The Cardiff Town Council took over responsibility of the water supply from the Cardiff Water Company.
1881: The first grandstand was built at Cardiff Arms Park, it held 300 spectators.
1883: The National Eisteddfod
National Eisteddfod of Wales
The National Eisteddfod of Wales is the most important of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales.- Organisation :...
held in Cardiff.
1884: The Cardiff Arms Park hosts its first international match, a rugby union encounter between Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
and Ireland.
1886: The Coal Exchange was opened to conduct trade for the growing coal industry.
County borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...
, which was independent of the new Glamorgan County Council.
1893: Ivor Novello
Ivor Novello
David Ivor Davies , better known as Ivor Novello, was a Welsh composer, singer and actor who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. Born into a musical family, his first successes were as a songwriter...
was born in Cowbridge Road East
Cowbridge Road East
thumb|Cowbridge Road East shopsCowbridge Road East is a major road in western-central Cardiff the capital of Wales. It is the principal road which passes through the busy district of Canton and connects Cowbridge Road West in the western districts to central Cardiff. The road is partly on the...
, Cardiff.
1894: Cardiff Masonic Hall Company Ltd established after purchasing the thirty year old Methodist chapel at Guildford Street
1895: The first Welsh Grand National
Welsh National
The Welsh National is a Grade 3 National Hunt chase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Chepstow, Wales, over a distance of about 3 miles and 5½ furlongs , and during its running there are twenty-two fences to be jumped...
hunt race
National Hunt racing
National Hunt racing is the official name given to the sport of horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Ireland in which the horses are required to jump over obstacles called hurdles or fences...
was run at Ely Racecourse
Ely Racecourse
Ely Racecourse was a horse racing venue in Cardiff, Wales. Opened in 1855, it held up to 40,000 spectators. In 1895, it hosted the Welsh National. The venue closed on April 27, 1939 ....
.
1897: The Pierhead Building
Pierhead Building
The Pierhead Building is a Grade 1 listed building of the National Assembly for Wales in Cardiff Bay, Wales. It stands as one of the city of Cardiff's most familiar landmarks and was built in 1897 as the headquarters for the Bute Dock Company....
was completed.
1899: Riverside Football Club, later to be renamed Cardiff City
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...
, was formed.
1903: The first building in Cathays Park
Cathays Park
In addition to the large lawn in front of the City Hall, Cathays Park includes three formal gardens. All of the spaces are within conservation areas and many of the surrounding buildings are listed. The open spaces are very important to the image of the city. Several important buildings overlook...
, the University of Wales, Registry
University of Wales, Registry
The University of Wales, Registry is the head office of the University of Wales, which enjoys a distinctive identity as a federal University. It is the degree-awarding authority for its member institutions and exists to support their academic activities....
is opened.
1904: Cardiff Town Hall
City Hall, Cardiff
City Hall is a civic building in Cathays Park, Cardiff, Wales. Built of Portland stone, it became the fifth building to serve as Cardiff's centre of local government when it opened in October 1906. The competition to design a town hall and adjacent law courts for Cardiff was won in 1897 by the firm...
opened, later renamed City Hall.
The city of Cardiff - the largest coal port in the world
City status in the United Kingdom
City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the British monarch to a select group of communities. The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a "city". Nonetheless, this appellation carries its own prestige and, consequently, competitions...
by Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
and the Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
became the Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
The Lord Mayor is the title of the Mayor of a major city, with special recognition.-Commonwealth of Nations:* In Australia it is a political position. Australian cities with Lord Mayors: Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Newcastle, Parramatta, Perth, Sydney, and Wollongong...
, with the right to use "The Right Honourable
The Right Honourable
The Right Honourable is an honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Anglophone Caribbean and other Commonwealth Realms, and occasionally elsewhere...
".
1907: Queen Alexandra Dock was opened, it was the largest in Cardiff.
1909: The University building
Cardiff University
Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
in Cathays Park was opened. The first Clark's Pies
Clark's Pies
Clark's Pies, also colloquially nicknamed "Clarkies" or "Clarksies" are well known meat pies that originated in Cardiff, and can now be found in South Wales and the West of England.- History :...
were produced.
1910: Cardiff City played their first match at Ninian Park
Ninian Park
Ninian Park was a football stadium in Leckwith, Cardiff, Wales. Until 2009, it was the home ground of Cardiff City F.C., who compete in the English Football League Championship...
.
1913: The record amount of around 107 million tons of coal were exported through Cardiff docks. This was the high point of the docks.
The decline of the docks
1916: Roald DahlRoald Dahl
Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...
was born in Llandaff
Llandaff
Llandaff is a district in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales, having been incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Church in Wales Bishop of Llandaff, whose diocese covers the most populous area of South Wales. Much of the district is covered by parkland known as Llandaff...
, Cardiff.
1923: The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
began broadcasting from studios in Castle Street.
1927: Cardiff City
Cardiff city
Cardiff City may refer to:* Cardiff city centre* Cardiff City Council* Cardiff City F.C.* Cardiff City L.F.C.* Cardiff City Stadium...
beat Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
1-0 to win the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
.
1930: Cardiff Round Table, local branch of Round Table Britain & Ireland
Round Table (club)
Round Table is a social networking and charitable organisation for men in their 20s, 30s and early 40s, founded in Norwich, England, in 1927. It is open to all men aged between 18 and 45...
, is founded, being the 26th Table in the organisation
1931: Cardiff Municipal Airport was opened on Pengam Moors
1932: The first miners' hunger march to start in Cardiff, left for London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to protest about unemployment.
1935: The first RAC Welsh Rally
Rally GB
Wales Rally GB is the largest and most high profile motor rally in the United Kingdom. It is a round of the FIA World Rally Championship and was formerly a round of the MSA British Rally Championship and is based in and around the city of Cardiff in Wales...
started from Cardiff.
1937: Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
was born in Tiger Bay
Tiger Bay
Tiger Bay was the local name for an area of Cardiff which covered Butetown and Cardiff Docks. It was re-branded as Cardiff Bay following the building of the Cardiff Barrage which dams the tidal rivers Ely and Taff to create a body of water.-History:...
, Cardiff.
1939: Billy the Seal died.
1941: The heaviest German Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
raid of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Cardiff Blitz
Cardiff Blitz
The Cardiff Blitz refers to the bombing of Cardiff, Wales during World War II.At the time, Cardiff Docks was the biggest coal port in the world and, for a few years before World War I, it handled a greater tonnage of cargo than either London or Liverpool....
, occurred when 156 people were killed.
1946: Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera is an opera company founded in Cardiff, Wales in 1943. The WNO tours Wales, the United Kingdom and the rest of the world extensively. Annually, it gives more than 120 performances of eight main stage operas to a combined audience of around 150,000 people...
put on its first staged productions at the Prince of Wales Theatre.
1947: The Bute family gave Cardiff Castle to the city.
1948: Welsh Folk Museum
St Fagans National History Museum
St Fagans National History Museum , commonly referred to as St Fagans after the village where it is located, is an open-air museum in Cardiff chronicling the historical lifestyle, culture and architecture of the Welsh people...
was opened at St. Fagans
St. Fagans
St Fagans is an area in the west of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales.To the south lies the village of Michaelston-super-Ely, and to the east the suburb of Fairwater. St Fagans lies on the River Ely, and previously had a railway station on the South Wales Main Line, and currently there is a...
.
1952: The last execution took place in Cardiff Prison. Mahmood Hussein Mattan
Mahmood Hussein Mattan
Mahmood Hussein Mattan was a Somali former merchant seaman who was wrongfully convicted of the murder of Lily Volpert on 6 March 1952. The murder took place in the Docklands area of Cardiff, Wales and Mattan was mainly convicted on the evidence of a single prosecution witness...
was hanged for murder, but his conviction was quashed in 1998.
1954: Cardiff Airport
Cardiff International Airport
Cardiff Airport is an international airport serving Cardiff, and the rest of South, Mid and West Wales. Around 1.4 million passengers passed through the airport in 2010....
moved from Pengam Moors to its current home in Rhoose
Rhoose
Rhoose is a village and community located near the sea in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, near Barry.The village is the location of Cardiff International Airport, formerly RAF Rhoose, a Holiday Park , some shops, two public houses , Rhoose Social Club, and an active Surf Life Saving Club Rhoose is...
1955: Cardiff was officially recognised as the capital city of Wales.
1958: The British Empire and Commonwealth Games
1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Cardiff, capital of Wales from 18–26 July 1958.Thirty-five nations sent a total of 1,130 athletes and 228 officials to the Cardiff Games and 23 countries and dependencies won medals, including, for the first time, Singapore, Ghana, Kenya...
opened at Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park , also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World...
in 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...
.
1959: The movie Tiger Bay
Tiger Bay (film)
Tiger Bay is a 1959 British crime drama film directed by J. Lee Thompson and produced and co-written by John Hawkesworth. It stars John Mills as a police superintendent who investigates a murder, his daughter Hayley Mills, in her first major film role, as a girl who witnesses the murder, and Horst...
was released. It was partly shot in Cardiff.
1961: Public houses in Cardiff were allowed to open for the first time on Sundays since the 1880s.
1963: The Rover
Rover (car)
The Rover Company is a former British car manufacturing company founded as Starley & Sutton Co. of Coventry in 1878. After developing the template for the modern bicycle with its Rover Safety Bicycle of 1885, the company moved into the automotive industry...
car factory
Automotive industry
The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue....
was opened.
1964: West Bute Dock closed with the last shipment of coal, just 229,000 tons, left the docks.
1966: The Heath Hospital
University Hospital of Wales
University Hospital of Wales , opened in November 1971, is a major 1000-bed hospital situated in the inner city district of Heath in Cardiff, Wales...
was officially opened.
1967: Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
play their first game at Sophia Gardens
Sophia Gardens
Sophia Gardens , currently known as SWALEC Stadium under a naming rights deal, is a cricket stadium on the west bank of the River Taff in Cardiff, 1.6 kilometres north of Cardiff Arms Park. It was named after Lady Sophia Rawdon-Hastings...
, having moved from Cardiff Arms Park.
1970: Bute East Dock was closed.
1971: The National Sports Centre for Wales opened in Sophia Gardens.
1973: John Desmond Brayley
John Desmond Brayley
John Desmond Brayley, Baron Brayley MC was a British Army officer and businessman who had a brief, scandal-hit career as a Government minister.-Army career:...
MC DL was nominated for a peerage as Baron Brayley of the City of Cardiff and County Glamorgan
1974: South Glamorgan
South Glamorgan
South Glamorgan is a preserved county of Wales.It was originally formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, as a county council area...
was established as part of the local government reorganisation
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
. Cardiff lost the independent County Borough status it had since 1889.
1976: James Callaghan
James Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
MP
Cardiff South East (UK Parliament constituency)
Cardiff South East was a parliamentary constituency in Cardiff, Wales. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
for Cardiff
Cardiff South East (UK Parliament constituency)
Cardiff South East was a parliamentary constituency in Cardiff, Wales. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
.
1980: The M4 motorway
M4 motorway
The M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...
to the north of the city was opened.
1982: S4C
S4C
S4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...
, the Welsh-language television channel was established.
1983: BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition
BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition
BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition is a competition for opera and art singers held every two years....
was launched.
1984: The National Stadium at Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park , also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World...
was opened.
1986: Wales National Ice Rink
Wales National Ice Rink
The Wales National Ice Rink was an ice rink in Cardiff, Wales. It was the former home of the Cardiff Devils ice hockey team. The WNIR was opened in 1986 and was demolished in September 2006....
was opened and the Cardiff Devils
Cardiff Devils
The Cardiff Devils are a Welsh ice hockey team who play in the British Elite Ice Hockey League. The team currently plays in the temporary Cardiff Arena...
ice hockey team established.
The regeneration of Cardiff Bay and the city
Cardiff Bay Development Corporation
The Cardiff Bay Development Corporation was set up by the United Kingdom Government on 3 April 1987 to redevelop of one sixth of the area of Cardiff to create Cardiff Bay.-Objectives:...
was established to transform derelict land that was Cardiff docks into 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...
.
1988: The new County Hall
County Hall, Cardiff
The County Hall is the head office of Cardiff Council , located beside the disused Bute East Dock in the Atlantic Wharf area of Butetown, Cardiff.-Design and construction:...
was completed in Cardiff Bay.
1989: Cardiff Athletics Stadium
Cardiff Athletics Stadium
The Cardiff Athletics Stadium was an athletics and football stadium in Cardiff, Wales. It opened in 1989 and was demolished in 2007, replaced by the Cardiff International Sports Stadium....
was opened in Leckwith
Leckwith
Leckwith is a district of western Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It is home to Cardiff City F.C.'s and Cardiff Blues home ground Cardiff City Stadium, and to Fitzalan High School...
.
1996: Cardiff
Cardiff Council
The County Council of the City and County of Cardiff is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The council consists of 75 councillors, representing 29 electoral wards. The authority is properly styled as The County Council of the City and County of Cardiff or in...
became a unitary authority
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
in a local government reorganisation of 1996
Local Government (Wales) Act 1994
The Local Government Act 1994 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which created the current local government structure in Wales of 22 unitary authority areas, referred to as principal areas in the Act, and abolished the previous two-tier structure of counties and districts...
. Cardiff reverted to its previous status of administratively-independent city.
1997: Wales voted in favour of a Welsh Assembly
National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
in a national referendum, but Cardiff again voted against it.
1999: The Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
was opened to host the final of the 1999 Rugby World Cup
1999 Rugby World Cup
The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, and the first to be held in rugby union's professional era. The principal host nation was Wales, although the majority of matches were played outside the country, shared between England, France, Scotland and Ireland...
. The Cardiff Bay Barrage
Cardiff Bay Barrage
The Cardiff Bay Barrage lies across the mouth of Cardiff Bay, Wales between Queen Alexandra Dock and Penarth Head. It was one of the largest civil engineering projects in Europe during construction in the 1990s.-History:...
was opened.
2001: The Census
Census in the United Kingdom
Coincident full censuses have taken place in the different jurisdictions of the United Kingdom every ten years since 1801, with the exceptions of 1941 and in both Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State in 1921; simultaneous censuses were taken in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, with...
showed that the population of 305,353 had reached its highest actual recorded figure.
2004: The Wales Millennium Centre
Wales Millennium Centre
Wales Millennium Centre is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 and phase 2 opened on 22 January 2009 with an inaugural concert...
was opened.
2006: The Senedd
Senedd
The Senedd , also known as the National Assembly building, houses the debating chamber and three committee rooms for the National Assembly for Wales in Cardiff. The Senedd building was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 1 March 2006 and the total cost was £69.6 million, which included £49.7M in...
, the new debating chamber for the Welsh Assembly was opened. The official Office for National Statistics
Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- Overview :...
estimate of Cardiff’s population was 317,500.
2008: Cardiff International Pool
Cardiff International Pool
The Cardiff International Pool is a sport facility located in the Cardiff International Sports Village in Cardiff, capital of Wales. It opened to the public on 12 January 2008 and was officially opened on 26 February 2008 by Duncan Goodhew....
opened to the public at the International Sports Village
Cardiff International Sports Village
Cardiff International Sports Village is located in Cardiff Bay in the city of Cardiff, Wales. It is one of the largest regeneration projects currently in the UK...
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...
on 12 January, replacing the Empire Pool that was demolished in 1997 to make way for the Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
. The National Eisteddfod was held in Cardiff.
2009: Cardiff City Stadium and Cardiff International Sports Stadium both opened, while Ninian Park
Ninian Park
Ninian Park was a football stadium in Leckwith, Cardiff, Wales. Until 2009, it was the home ground of Cardiff City F.C., who compete in the English Football League Championship...
was demolished, which was part of the Leckwith development
Leckwith Development
The Leckwith development is in the Leckwith area of southern Cardiff, Wales. Work started in Autumn 2007 with the construction of a new stadium for Cardiff City F.C...
.
2010: Cardiff International White Water
Cardiff International White Water
Cardiff International White Water is an Olympic standard white water rafting centre based at the Cardiff International Sports Village in Cardiff Bay....
, a whitewater
Whitewater
Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's gradient increases enough to disturb its laminar flow and create turbulence, i.e. form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white...
rafting centre opened on 26 March at the International Sports Village.