The Angel Hotel is a hotel on a prominent corner of Castle Street and Westgate Street in the centre of

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

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

. Tracing its history back to at least the 18th century, for much of its existence it has been one of the major hotels in Cardiff, visited by celebrities and

prime ministers A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but rat ...

History

It is claimed the Angel Hotel existed in Cardiff since 1666 but certainly from the 18th century when it was located opposite the gates of Cardiff Castle, a short distance from its current location, on what was then called Angel Street. From around 1782 it was run by John Bradley, from a family who made their money from horse racing. Bradley was also postmaster and mail contractor for Cardiff. The Angel Hotel was the destination for the daily mail coach from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. A century later the road in front of Cardiff Castle needed widening. A new hotel was built at the end of the street to replace the Angel Hotel and the old Cardiff Arms Hotel (which had been demolished). The plot was purchased by the Cardiff Corporation from the

Marquess of Bute Marquess of the County of Bute, shortened in general usage to Marquess of Bute, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1796 for John Stuart, 4th Earl of Bute. Family history John Stuart was the member of a family that ...

for a nominal sum and the new hotel, "designed by Mr C. J. Jackson" in an '

English Renaissance The English Renaissance was a Cultural movement, cultural and Art movement, artistic movement in England during the late 15th, 16th and early 17th centuries. It is associated with the pan-European Renaissance that is usually regarded as beginni ...

' style, was built by Jackson's company entirely from red bricks made by the Bute Estate Brickworks at a total cost of over £20,000. It was fully decorated, furnished and ready for guests by July 1883. The new hotel logo, used for the hotel signs and crockery, was designed by the Marquess of Bute, referring to the two previous hotels by combining an angel holding the Cardiff

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. The new building located its large portico entrance at the prominent corner of the site. The hotel had 76 bedrooms, bars, a billiard room and a full height hexagonal hall filling the interior with daylight via a glass lantern rooflight. Its principal space, the grand coffee room on the first floor commanded splendid views of the surrounding countryside "that very few even of the residents of Cardiff can have any idea that a building in the coal Metropolis of Wales commands a prospect of such varied beauty". It led onto a balcony above the portico intended to be used by the local Member of Parliament to "address his constituents when he has to return thanks for being elected". The old Angel Hotel was converted into offices for the Bute Estate. In the 1930s the 18th century facade of this building collapsed while repairs were being carried out. It was reconstructed and, despite being a replica, became Grade II listed in 1975. In 1917, during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the hotel was requisitioned on behalf the

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and was officially renamed USS ''Chattanooga''. At the turn of the 20th century the Angel Hotel was owned by Lady Honywood's Honywood Hotels and leased by hotel entrepreneur Elizabeth Miles, who built a new facade for the building. The new Angel Hotel remained an important place to stay for politicians and celebrities, including

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and actor Anthony Perkins (who was arrested at the hotel in 1989 after a package of

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

he'd posted to himself was inadvertently given to another guest).

Sporting connections

Glamorgan County Cricket Club Glamorgan County Cricket Club () is one of eighteen first-class cricket, first-class county cricket, county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Gla ...

was founded at a meeting in the hotel in 1888. Until 1967 the club played home matches at

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park (), also known as The Arms Park, is primarily a rugby union stadium, and also has a bowling green. It is situated in Cardiff, Wales, next to the Millennium Stadium. The Arms Park was host to the 1958 British Empire and Common ...

, near the hotel. The hotel is close to the

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grounds at Cardiff Arms Park and the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...

, and was popular with visiting teams. In 1972 there was an incident following a match between the touring New Zealand All Blacks and

in which New Zealander Keith Murdoch punched a hotel security guard in a fracas. Murdoch was sent home from the tour, reportedly after pressure from the British press and rugby authorities.

21st century

The Angel Hotel was eventually superseded in importance in the 1990s and 2000s as modern hotels were built in the city centre and

Cardiff Bay Cardiff Bay (; colloquially "The Bay") is an area and freshwater lake in Cardiff, Wales. The site of a former tidal bay and estuary, it is the river mouth of the River Taff and River Ely, Ely. The body of water was converted into a lake as part ...

. It underwent refurbishment in 2000. In 2012 Jo McElveen became General Manager of the Angel Hotel, after starting work as a waitress at the hotel 14 years beforehand. The hotel is currently part of The Cairn Collection (previously Puma Hotels Collection/Barcelo Hotels/ The Hotel Collection). It has 102 bedrooms.

References

{{Authority control Hotel buildings completed in 1883 Hotels in Cardiff Landmarks in Cardiff 1666 establishments in Wales