Tŷ Hywel (Hywel House or Hywel's House) is a building in

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

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, used by the

Senedd The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gov ...

(Welsh Parliament; ; formerly the National Assembly for Wales). It is named after the medieval king (''Howell the Good''), King of

Deheubarth Deheubarth (; lit. "Right-hand Part", thus "the South") was a regional name for the realms of south Wales, particularly as opposed to Gwynedd (Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under the House o ...

South West Wales South West Wales is one of the regions of Wales consisting of the unitary authorities of Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. This definition is used by a number of government agencies and private organisations including ...

. The building was previously known as Crickhowell House ( cy, Tŷ Crughywel), after the former

Secretary of State for Wales The secretary of state for Wales ( cy, ysgrifennydd gwladol Cymru), also referred to as the Welsh secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Wales Office. The incumbent is a member ...

, Lord Crickhowell. It houses Members of the Senedd and their staff, as well as staff of the Senedd Commission. The

Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( cy, Llywodraeth Cymru) is the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of ministers and Minister (government), deputy ministers, and also of a Counsel General for Wales, counsel general. Minist ...

also operates from the building and occupies one whole floor and part of another. It is leased by the Senedd under the

Government of Wales Act 1998 The Government of Wales Act 1998 (c. 38) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was passed in 1998 by the Labour government to create a Welsh Assembly, therefore granting Wales a degree of self-government. This legislative ...

. The building was opened in 1991 and has a total floor area of . It is built of red brick and is connected to the Senedd debating chamber in

Cardiff Bay Cardiff Bay ( cy, Bae Caerdydd; historically Tiger Bay; colloquially "The Bay") is an area and freshwater lake in Cardiff, Wales. The site of a former tidal bay and estuary, it serves as the river mouth of the River Taff and Ely. The body of ...

. Tŷ Hywel houses staff of the Senedd Commission, MSs, the First Minister and other ministers. Crickhowell House was used as a temporary debating chamber for the National Assembly for Wales from 1999 until its new building, also originally known as the , was opened in 2006. On 25 June 2008 the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rule ...

officially opened , the National Assembly's youth

debating chamber A debate chamber is a room for people to discuss and debate. Debate chambers are used in governmental and educational bodies, such as a parliament, congress, city council, or a university, either for formal proceedings or for informal discourse ...

and education centre, based on the former debating chamber in . Tŷ Hywel is part of the Senedd estate in Cardiff Bay, along with the

Senedd building The Senedd building () in Cardiff houses the debating chamber and three committee rooms of the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; , formerly the National Assembly for Wales). The Senedd building was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 1 March 2006, Saint ...

and the

Grade 1 listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Pierhead Building. Two covered link bridges connect the Senedd building to Tŷ Hywel. Construction of the link bridges began in September 2004 and they were completed by December 2005.

Notes

External links

* Politics of Cardiff Buildings and structures in Cardiff Government buildings in Wales Senedd buildings Government buildings completed in 1993 {{Wales-struct-stub