Sophia Crichton-Stuart, Marchioness of Bute

Sophia Gardens ( cy, Gerddi Sophia) is a public park in

Riverside Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

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 ...

, on the west bank of the

River Taff The River Taff ( cy, Afon Taf) is a river in Wales. It rises as two rivers in the Brecon Beacons; the Taf Fechan (''little Taff'') and the Taf Fawr (''great Taff'') before becoming one just north of Merthyr Tydfil. Its confluence with the R ...

. International

test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...

matches and

county cricket Inter-county cricket matches are known to have been played since the early 18th century, involving teams that are representative of the historic counties of England and Wales. Since the late 19th century, there have been two county championship ...

matches are held in the Sophia Gardens cricket ground, the home of

Glamorgan County Cricket Club Glamorgan County Cricket Club ( cy, Criced Morgannwg) is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Glamorgan ( cy, Morgannwg). Founded in 1888, ...

. Sophia Gardens is located close to

Cardiff city centre Cardiff city centre ( cy, Canol Dinas Caerdydd) is the city centre and central business district of Cardiff, Wales. The area is tightly bound by the River Taff to the west, the Civic Centre to the north and railway lines and two railway sta ...

and is adjacent to

Bute Park Bute Park and Arboretum () is a park in Cardiff, Wales. It comprises of landscaped gardens and parkland that once formed the grounds of Cardiff Castle. The park is named after the 3rd Marquess of Bute, whose family owned the castle. History and ...

and

Pontcanna Fields Pontcanna () is a district and community in the city of Cardiff, Wales. It is located a short distance to the west of the city centre, and its borders are approximately indicated by Western Avenue, the River Taff, Cowbridge Road East, Llandaff R ...

. It is linked to Bute Park by the Millennium footbridge over the River Taff (1999). In addition to the Glamorgan County Cricket Ground, the park contains the

Sport Wales National Centre The Sport Wales National Centre ( cy, Canolfan Genedlaethol Chwaraeon Cymru) is a sports facility in Cardiff, Wales, set up to assist the development of elite athletes in Wales. The Centre, owned and operated by Sport Wales, was established by ...

, Brewhouse & Kitchen public house, an exhibition area and a car and coach park, and the former warden's house.

History

The park is named after

Sophia Crichton-Stuart, Marchioness of Bute Sophia Crichton-Stuart, Marchioness of Bute (1 February 1809 – 28 December 1859), formerly Lady Sophia Frederica Christina Rawdon-Hastings, was a Scottish noblewoman. She was the second wife of John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute, an ...

(1809–1859), the widow of the second Marquess of Bute. Lady Sophia was concerned to provide open space for recreation in the rapidly expanding town in the late 19th century, in which her husband was heavily involved. The gardens were laid out in 1854 on the site of Plasturton Farm by the architect

Alexander Roos Alexander Roos ( – 30 June 1881) was an Italian-born British architect and urban planner. He was the architect to the Bute Estates in South Wales, for which he designed many buildings and laid out several areas of Cardiff. Early life Alexand ...

. They were opened to the public by Lady Sophia in 1858, to compensate for the closure of Cardiff Castle grounds. The park was extended northwards by 28 acres in about 1879. The park was acquired by

Cardiff City Council Cardiff City Council was the local government district authority that administered the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales, from 1974 until 1996. The district council replaced the pre-1974 county borough council. It was succeeded in 1996 by Car ...

, then the Cardiff Corporation, from the 5th Marquess of Bute in 1947. In the late 19th and early 20th century the

Cardiff Horse Show Cardiff Horse Show, also the Cardiff and South Wales Horse Show or Royal Horse Show was an annual horse show in May in Cardiff, south Wales in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It attracted farmers from all across Glamorganshire. It was hel ...

was held in the park. In 1891 the park was home to

Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but he lived for several years in ...

during his tour of British provincial towns.

Sophia Gardens Pavilion Sophia Gardens Pavilion was a performance venue located in Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Wales. It was built in 1951 for the Festival of Britain and was the boxing and wrestling venue for the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. History T ...

was built in 1951 for the

Festival of Britain The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Historian Kenneth O. Morgan says the Festival was a "triumphant success" during which people: ...

, and was used as a concert venue until it collapsed under heavy snowfall in 1982. Following the closure of

Cardiff Central bus station Cardiff Central bus station was the main bus transport interchange in the Cardiff city centre until it closed on 1 August 2015. With 34 stands, it was the largest bus station in Wales. It was located adjacent to Cardiff Central railway station ...

in 2015,

National Express National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...

long-distance coach services depart and arrive at Sophia Gardens.

References

{{reflist Parks in Cardiff World's fair sites in the United Kingdom