City Hall ( cy, Neuadd y ddinas) is a civic building in Cathays Park, Cardiff, Wales, UK. It serves as Cardiff's centre of local government. It was built as part of the Cathays Park civic centre development and opened in October 1906. Built of

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building sto ...

, it is an important early example of the Edwardian Baroque style. It is a Grade I listed building.

History

The complex was commissioned to replace Cardiff's fourth town hall on the western side of St Mary's Street which had been completed in 1853. Following a design competition, the firm of Lanchester, Stewart and Rickards was selected to design Cardiff's fifth town hall and adjacent law courts in the Edwardian Baroque style. The contractor, E. Turner and Sons, used the world's first all-electrically operated building site, including eight 5-ton cranes to lift the stone blocks. The total building cost was £129,708 (with the concurrently-built Law Courts next door costing £96,583). As Cardiff received its city charter in 1905 while construction was underway, the current building is known as City Hall. The new building was officially opened by Lord Bute on 29 October 1906.

Exterior architecture

Clock tower

The distinctive clock tower is in height and has a gilded dial on each of its four faces. The clock mechanism includes an hour bell and four quarter bells which are each inscribed with mottoes in English or Welsh.Cardiff Council ''City Hall Cardiff: Visitor Information Guide'' Second edition, 2006

Fountains and pool

In front of the entrance portico is a rectangular pool with fountains. The fountains were created to mark the investiture of

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

as Prince of Wales in July 1969.

Memorials

On the southern side of the building are two memorials: the memorial on the right is dedicated to victims of the Second World War while the one on the left is dedicated to the Polish soldiers, airmen and sailors who gave their lives during that war.

Interior rooms, functions and art collections

Marble Hall

The first floor landing of City Hall is decorated with statues in Pentelicon marble of famous figures from Welsh history. These were funded by a gift from David Alfred Thomas, 1st Viscount Rhondda; the personages to be commemorated were decided by a competition in the '' Western Mail''. The Marble Hall with completed statues was unveiled by David Lloyd George, then Secretary of State for War, on 27 October 1916., pp. 21–6 The figures portrayed are as follows: *

Boudica Boudica or Boudicca (, known in Latin chronicles as Boadicea or Boudicea, and in Welsh as ()), was a queen of the ancient British Iceni tribe, who led a failed uprising against the conquering forces of the Roman Empire in AD 60 or 61. She ...

(1st-century queen of the Iceni) by James Havard Thomas *

Saint David Saint David ( cy, Dewi Sant; la, Davidus; ) was a Welsh bishop of Mynyw (now St Davids) during the 6th century. He is the patron saint of Wales. David was a native of Wales, and tradition has preserved a relatively large amount of detail ab ...

(6th-century patron saint of Wales) by Sir William Goscombe John * Hywel Dda (king and codifier of Welsh law, 10th century) by F. W. Pomeroy * Gerald of Wales (scholar and writer in the 12th and 13th centuries) by

Henry Poole Henry Poole may refer to: *Henry Poole (died 1559), MP for Leicestershire *Henry Poole (died 1580), MP for Wootton Bassett in 1553 *Henry Poole (died 1616) (1541–1616), of Sapperton, English MP for Gloucestershire *Henry Poole (died 1632) (1564� ...

Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (c. 1223 – 11 December 1282), sometimes written as Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, also known as Llywelyn the Last ( cy, Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf, lit=Llywelyn, Our Last Leader), was the List of rulers of Wales, native Prince of W ...

(Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last ruling Prince of Wales) by

Henry Albert Pegram Henry Alfred Pegram (27 July 1862 – 26 March 1937) was a British sculptor and exponent of the New Sculpture movement.Chamot, M.; Farr, D.; Butlin, M.: The Modern British Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture'' London 1964. Life Pegram wa ...

* Dafydd ap Gwilym (Welsh poet of the 14th century) by W. W. Wagstaff *

Owain Glyndŵr Owain ap Gruffydd (), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr or Glyn Dŵr (, anglicised as Owen Glendower), was a Welsh leader, soldier and military commander who led a 15 year long Welsh War of Independence with the aim of ending English rule in Wa ...

(Welsh patriot and warrior of the 14th and 15th centuries) by Alfred Turner * Henry VII (founder of the Tudor dynasty, 15th and 16th centuries) by Ernest Gillick * Bishop William Morgan (translated the Bible into Welsh in the 16th century) by

Thomas John Clapperton Thomas John Clapperton FRBS (14 October 1879 – 15 February 1962) was a Scottish sculptor, famous for the statue of Robert the Bruce at the entrance of Edinburgh Castle erected in 1929. Biography Clapperton was born on 14 October 1879 in Galas ...

William Williams, Pantycelyn William Williams, Pantycelyn (c. 11 February 1717 – 11 January 1791), also known as William Williams, Williams Pantycelyn, and Pantycelyn, is generally seen as Wales's premier hymnist. He is also rated among the great literary figures of Wal ...

(revivalist and hymn writer, 18th century) by Leonard Stanford Merrifield * Sir Thomas Picton (general at Waterloo, 18th and 19th centuries) by

T. Mewburn Crook Thomas Mewburn Crook (4 December 1869 – 18 January 1949) was an English sculptor who primarily produced portraiture and ecclesiastical works, many of which were exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts. Biography Crook was born at Tonge Moor, Bol ...

In July 2020, Cardiff City Council voted to remove the marble statue of Sir Thomas Picton, on account of his links to slavery.

Assembly Room

This room has hosted royalty, international statesmen and diplomats, and can seat 500 diners simultaneously. It is used for miscellaneous ceremonies, conferences and events during the year. It is decorated with mouldings picked out in gold leaf, of mermaids and other sea creatures. Three large bronze chandeliers are contemporary to the original architects' design.

Council Chamber

This is located above the main entrance portico and directly below the main dome of the building. Hanging from the dome is a bronze chandelier designed by Edwin Alfred Rickards. The arrangement is unusual in that the seating is set in a circular pattern whereas normally British council chambers have semicircular seating. The chamber was designed to host Cardiff's Council meetings (which have subsequently been relocated to

Atlantic Wharf Atlantic Wharf ( cy, Glanfa Iwerydd) is a southern area of the city of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily an area of new houses and apartments located on the west side of the disused Bute East Dock and to the east of Lloyd George Avenue. It also i ...

). The dome of City Hall is supported by four massive pillars of Italian marble with bronze Ionic

capitals Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

. The chamber is paneled throughout in oak. The plaster work is by G.P. Bankart and the stained glass window depicts a personification of the City of Cardiff, by

Alfred Garth Jones Alfred Garth Jones (1872–1955) was an English artist and illustrator who worked mainly in woodcut, pen and ink line art drawing and watercolour. Early life Alfred Jones was born in Hulme, Manchester in 1872, the son of Thomas Jones (b1844) ...

dated 1905.

In popular culture

The cover of the Catatonia single " Mulder and Scully" has a UFO above the building similar to the movie poster for ''

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

''.

References

External links

*
The history of the Marble Hall
{{Authority control Politics of Cardiff Landmarks in Cardiff Cathays Park Grade I listed buildings in Cardiff Grade I listed government buildings

Cardiff City Hall City Hall ( cy, Neuadd y ddinas) is a civic building in Cathays Park, Cardiff, Wales, UK. It serves as Cardiff's centre of local government. It was built as part of the Cathays Park civic centre development and opened in October 1906. Built of ...

Government buildings completed in 1906 Edwardian architecture Government buildings with domes 1906 establishments in Wales