Cathays Park facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cathays Park
Aerial view of Cathays Park
Type	Civic centre
Location	Cardiff, Wales
Created	Early 20th century buildings

Cathays Park (Welsh: Parc Cathays) is a special area in the city centre of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. It is known as a civic centre because it has many important public buildings. Most of these buildings were built in the early 1900s.

At its heart is a beautiful park called Alexandra Gardens. You can find grand Edwardian buildings here. These include the Temple of Peace, City Hall, and the National Museum and Gallery of Wales. Several buildings of Cardiff University are also in Cathays Park. Other important places are Cardiff Crown Court and the main offices for the Welsh Government. The modern Cardiff Central police station is also here. Many people think Cathays Park is "the finest civic centre in the British Isles."

History of Cathays Park

Cathays Park was once part of the land around Cardiff Castle. Its current look is largely thanks to the Marquess of Bute family. Especially important was the 3rd Marquess of Bute. He was a very successful and rich businessman. His family gained much of the land in Cathays through smart investments. They also inherited land when he married Charlotte Windsor in 1766.

People first thought about buying Cathays House park for public use in 1858. The idea came up again in 1875. In 1887, some suggested the park could celebrate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. Talks to buy the land did not start until 1892. Lord Bute agreed to sell 38 acres. This land cost £120,000 at the time.

Moving the Town Hall to the park was a big debate. But it was also suggested to build a new University College there.

Cathays Park and the site of the proposed National Museum & Lbrary in 1905

On December 14, 1898, the local council bought the whole 59 acres. They paid £161,000 to the Marquess of Bute. As part of the deal, the 3rd Marquess set strict rules. The land had to be used for public, cultural, and educational purposes. The wide avenues also had to be kept.

In 1896, a large exhibition was held here. It was called the Cardiff Fine Arts, Industrial and Maritime Exhibition. It even had a special boating lake and an electric railway.

In 1897, a competition was held to design new Law Courts and a Town Hall. Alfred Waterhouse, who designed the Natural History Museum in London, was the judge. The winners were Lanchester, Stewart and Rickards. They later designed the Methodist Central Hall in London. These were the first two main buildings in Cathays Park. They look very similar from the outside.

The third main spot in this area was empty until 1910. That year, a competition for the National Museum of Wales was won by Smith and Brewer. This building looks a bit different from the others. It is more like American Beaux-Arts architecture. Work on the museum was very slow because of the First World War. By 1927, only part of the building was finished. More parts were added in the 1960s and 1990s. These new parts matched the outside design.

By the 1990s, "Cathays Park" also started to mean the offices of the Welsh Government. This is because the Welsh Office building was located there. After Wales gained more self-governance in 1999, it referred to the Welsh Government's offices and staff.

Buildings in Cathays Park

Many buildings in Cathays Park are very important. They are given special "listed" status to protect them.

Buildings and structures	Listed building status	Architect	Year opened	Image
Aberdare Hall	II	Caröe, W. D.W. D. Caröe	1895	Aberdare Hall, Cardiff University
Biosciences and Tower Building	No listing	Owen, DaleDale Owen / Percy Thomas Partnership	1968	Tower Building, Cathays Park
Bute Building	II	Thomas, PercyPercy Thomas and Ivor Jones	1916	Bute Building Cardiff
Cardiff Central Police Station	No listing	Dryburgh, JohnJohn Dryburgh	1968	Central Police Station, Cardiff
Cardiff Crown Court	I	Lanchester, Stewart and Rickards	1906	Cardiff Crown Court
Cardiff Law School	No listing		1963	Cardiff Law School
Cardiff University main building	II*	Caröe, W. D.W. D. Caröe	1905	Cardiff University main building
City Hall	I	Lanchester, Stewart and Rickards	1906	City Hall, Cardiff
Cathays Park 1 (part of the Crown Buildings complex)	II	Hanton, P. K.P. K. Hanton	1938	Crown Buildings, Cathays Park 1
Cathays Park 2 (part of the Crown Buildings complex)	No listing	Gordon, AlexAlex Gordon	1979	Crown Buildings, Cathays Park 2
Glamorgan Building (former Glamorgan County Council building)	I	Harris, VincentVincent Harris and Thomas Anderson Moodie	1912	Glamorgan Building, Cardiff University
Hut in Gorsedd Gardens	II		Not known	Hut in Gorsedd Gardens
National Museum and Gallery of Wales	I	Smith, Arnold DunbarArnold Dunbar Smith and Cecil Brewer	1927	National Museum and Gallery of Wales
Public conveniences on Museum Avenue	II		Not known	Public conveniences on Museum Avenue
Redwood Building (Welsh School of Pharmacy)	No listing	Sir Percy Thomas & Son	1961	Redwood Building
Temple of Peace	II	Thomas, PercyPercy Thomas	1938	Temple of Peace, Cardiff
University of Wales, Registry	II	Wills, H. W.H. W. Wills	1904	University of Wales, Registry
Welsh National War Memorial	II*	Comper, NinianNinian Comper	1928	Welsh National War Memorial

Gardens of Cathays Park

Formal gardens in Cathays Park

Alexandra Gardens with the Welsh National War Memorial and City Hall in the background

Gorsedd Gardens and the Gorsedd Stones

Friary Gardens with a statue of the 3rd Marquess of Bute in the background

Besides the big lawn in front of City Hall, Cathays Park has three special gardens. It also has a park with many trees. All these green spaces are protected. Many buildings around them are also listed as important. These open areas are very important to how the city looks. Each garden has its own unique feel and has kept its original design.

Alexandra Gardens

This garden is named after Alexandra of Denmark, who was the queen of King Edward VII. Alexandra Gardens is right in the middle of the civic centre. It has 2.5 hectares of beautiful flower beds and green grass. The Welsh National War Memorial stands proudly in its centre.

Fountains in front of Cardiff City Hall

The tree-lined Queen Anne Square

Gorsedd Gardens

This garden is in front of the National Museum. Its main feature is a stone circle built in 1899. This was when the National Eisteddfod of Wales was held in Cardiff. The garden's name comes from the Gorsedd of Welsh Bards. This is a special group that runs the Eisteddfod festival. The garden was once called Druidical Gardens. It has statues of important people like David Lloyd George and Lord Ninian Crichton-Stuart.

Friary Gardens

This garden was made to honour the 3rd Marquess of Bute. It has topiary (trees shaped into designs). There is also a statue of him on a stone stand. The stand has his family's coat of arms. Clipped hedges surround the garden.

Queen Anne Square

Queen Anne Square is a grassy park lined with trees. It was built in the 1930s and 1950s. It was designed to line up with King Edward VII Avenue. This spot was originally planned for a Welsh Parliament House. The square is surrounded by a tree-lined road that doesn't go all the way through.

Sculptures in Cathays Park

Statues that are listed structures

Listed Name	Sculptor	Date	Listing grade	Image
Statue of Third Marquess of Bute	Macgillivray, James PittendrighJames Pittendrigh Macgillivray	Early 20th century	II	Statue of Third Marquess of Bute
Statue of John Cory	John, GoscombeGoscombe John	1906	II	Statue of John Cory
Statue of Lord Aberdare	Hampton, HerbertHerbert Hampton	1898	II	Statue of Lord Aberdare
Statue of Lord Ninian Edward Crichton Stuart	John, GoscombeGoscombe John	1917	II	Statue of Lord Ninian Crichton Stuart
Statue of David Lloyd George	Michael Rizzello	1960	II	Statue of David Lloyd George
Statue of Godfrey, First Viscount Tredegar	John, GoscombeGoscombe John	1909	II	Statue of Godfrey, First Viscount Tredegar
Statue of Judge Gwilym Williams of Miskin	John, GoscombeGoscombe John	c. 1906	II	Statue of Judge Gwilym Williams
South African War Memorial (also known as the Boer War Memorial)	Toft, AlbertAlbert Toft	1909	II*	South African War Memorial

Girl by Robert Thomas in Gorsedd Gardens

Three Obliques (Walk In) by Dame Barbara Hepworth, outside Cardiff University School of Music

Relief sculpture on the outside of Redwood Building

Memorial Stones

Memorial stones in Cathays Park

Raoul Wallenberg memorial

Falklands War memorial for the 7 serviceman from Cardiff who died during the conflict

Memorial for all those who died during the Falklands War

Spanish Civil War memorial

The Gift of Life Stone memorial stone dedicated to organ donors

Cathays Park has several memorial stones. They remember important people and events:

• A stone for Raoul Wallenberg. He was a Swedish diplomat who saved many Jewish people during World War II. He helped them escape danger by giving them Swedish passports. This stone was revealed on November 24, 1985.
• A memorial for the soldiers from Cardiff who served in the Falklands War.
• A stone for those who fought in the International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War. It was revealed in October 1992. It says: "Dedicated to the Welsh volunteers for liberty who defended democracy in the Spanish Civil War."
• The Gift of Life Stone from the Kidney Wales Foundation. It honours people who donated their organs to help others. It is 1.5 metres tall and is in Alexandra Gardens. It was revealed on October 26, 2007.
• A war memorial revealed in November 2019. It thanks people from diverse backgrounds and the Commonwealth who served in World War I, World War II, and other conflicts.

Gates and Colonnades

Gate in the front of the main building of Cardiff University

Gate in the rear of the main building of Cardiff University

Colonnade and gateway into Queen Anne Square

Cathays Park also has some impressive gates and colonnades (rows of columns).

Images for kids

• 

  Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat who saved up to 100,000 Jewish people during WWII. Unveiled on November 24, 1985.

• 

  Cardiff City Falklands Conflict Memorial for the 7 servicemen from Cardiff who died during the Falklands War.

• 

  The Welsh National Falklands Conflict Memorial. Unveiled on September 30, 2007.

• 

  Memorial for those who fought in the International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War. Unveiled in October 1992.

• 

  The Gift of Life Stone memorial stone dedicated to organ donors. Erected in 2007 by Kidney Wales.

• 

  Monument for the contribution made by ethnic men & women during WW1, WW2 and later conflicts. Unveiled on November 2, 2019.

• 

  Memorial to mark the lives and achievements of people affected by Thalidomide in the UK. Unveiled on June 30, 2016.