Aberdare Hall ( cy, Neuadd Aberdâr) is a Grade II-listed

Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

hall of residence A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. It was built at the end of the nineteenth century.

History

Aberdare Hall was established in 1883 by the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire (later University College, Cardiff, now

) as a residence for female students. Its foundation was due to the efforts of Lady Aberdare (1827–1897)Evans, W. (2004-09-23). Bruce, Alice Moore (1867–1951), educationist. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 2 Feb. 2018, Se
link
/ref> (the wife of

Henry Bruce, 1st Baron Aberdare Henry Austin Bruce, 1st Baron Aberdare, (16 April 1815 – 25 February 1895), was a British Liberal Party politician, who served in government most notably as Home Secretary (1868–1873) and as Lord President of the Council. Background and ...

) and

John Viriamu Jones John Viriamu Jones, FRS (2 January 1856 – 1 June 1901), was a Welsh scientist, who worked on measuring the ohm, and an educationalist who was instrumental in establishing the University of Sheffield and Cardiff University. (Reproduced on the ...

(1856–1909), the principal of the University College. There were few opportunities for women's

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

in Britain at the time. The first building was Keswick House in Richmond Road, which opened in 1885 with nine students. The principals at this time included

Ethel Hurlbatt Ethel Hurlbatt (1 July 1866 Bickley, Kent – 22 March 1934 Tours, France) was Principal of Bedford College, University of London, and later Warden of Royal Victoria College, the women's college of McGill University, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, ...

, who later became principal of Bedford College in the University of London. The current building was built 1893–95 and was designed in the Gothic revival style in brick and

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, a ...

by W. D. Caröe. The original Corbett Road facade was asymmetic and a third gable was added after 1908 to make it symmetrical. More additions were made to the rear of the building in the early twentieth century. The library wing to the north-east designed by

Verner Rees Verner may refer to: * Verner (name), a given name and a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Verner, Ontario, a town in Canada * Verner's law, historical sound change in the Proto-Germanic language * Verner Motor, a Czech aircraf ...

was built in 1939–40, and the garden wing designed by ''Verner Rees, Laurence and Mitchell'' in 1963.

Alice Bruce The Honourable Alice Bruce (29 April 1867 – 4 November 1951) was a British educator and school administrator. She was a long serving staff member of Somerville Hall, Oxford, and was President of Aberdare Hall in Cardiff. Life Bruce was born i ...

who was the daughter of the founder and a leading educationalist was the President of the hall from 1929 to 1936. It is still a female-only hall and provides housing for 125 female students.

Location

Aberdare Hall is in Corbett Road in

Cathays Park Cathays Park ( cy, Parc Cathays) or Cardiff Civic Centre is a civic centre area in the city centre of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, consisting of a number of early 20th century buildings and a central park area, Alexandra Gardens. It in ...

, near to the

Cathays Cathays ( ; Welsh: officially ''Cathays'' but also , 'the constant meadow') is a district and community in the centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is an old suburb of Cardiff established in 1875. It is very densely populated and contains ma ...

district of Cardiff. It is the closest hall of residence to the main university buildings.

Notes

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External links

Cardiff University

Aberdare Hall Common Room Society
Cathays Halls of residence in the United Kingdom Cardiff University Grade II listed buildings in Cardiff