The Crown Buildings (), which are also known as the Cathays Park Buildings, are the

Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( ) is the Executive (government), executive arm of the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of Cabinet secretary, cabinet secretaries and Minister of State, ministers. It is led by the F ...

's main offices in

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 ...

. The buildings were formerly used by the

Welsh Office The Welsh Office () was a department in the Government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Wales. It was established in April 1965 to execute government policy in Wales, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Wales, a post wh ...

and are situated in

Cathays Park Cathays Park () or Cardiff Civic Centre is a civic centre area in the Cardiff City Centre, 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 ...

. The complex consists of two buildings, Cathays Park 1 (a Grade II-listed building) and Cathays Park 2, joined by a

sky bridge A skyway, skybridge, skywalk, or sky walkway is an elevated type of pedway connecting two or more buildings in an urban area, or connecting elevated points within mountainous recreational zones. Urban skyways very often take the form of encl ...

Cathays Park 1

In 1914 foundations were laid for an imposing neoclassical building on this site housing Welsh Government Offices, to a design by R. J. Allison, architect to the

Office of Works The Office of Works was an organisation responsible for structures and exterior spaces, first established as part of the English royal household in 1378 to oversee the building and maintenance of the royal castles and residences. In 1832 it be ...

. Work soon stopped and did not resume for twenty years. In 1934–8, the block now known as Cathays Park 1 (a.k.a. CP1 or old Crown Building) was built by P. E. Hanton, as offices for the Welsh Board of Health. It is a three-storey building in the

Stripped Classical Stripped Classicism (also referred to as Starved Classicism or Grecian Moderne) Jstor is primarily a 20th-century classicist architectural style stripped of most or all ornamentation, frequently employed by governments while designing officia ...

style, with of floorspace. It also has an attic and a basement. In 1968, Cathays Park 1 was damaged by a bomb explosion, the second in the area in under 12 months following a previous attack on the nearby Temple of Peace.

Cathays Park 2

Cathays Park 2 (a.k.a. CP2 or new Crown Building or Crown Buildings Phase II) is a five-storey office building with of floorspace, including an underground car park and a central atrium housing a cafe for the office staff. The architect was Alex Gordon & Partners. It was built on the site of the former Crown Gardens. The ''

Encyclopaedia of Wales The ''Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales'', published in January 2008, is a single-volume-publication encyclopaedia about Wales. The Welsh-language edition, entitled ''Gwyddoniadur Cymru'' is regarded as the most ambitious encyclopaedic work t ...

'' describes CP2, which was built from 1972 and completed in 1979, as conveying an impression of "

bureaucracy Bureaucracy ( ) is a system of organization where laws or regulatory authority are implemented by civil servants or non-elected officials (most of the time). Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments ...

under siege". The historian John Davies, however, regarded the complex as being "splendid".

The sky bridge

The sky bridge between Cathays Park 1 and 2 'the link' has been the subject of some discussion amongst staff based in the building. People have reported an eerie feeling, a general sense of something "unworldly" with people catching fleeting glimpses out of the corner of their eye which had led to rumours of the area being haunted.'Something over your shoulder in the Link?' Seren (The Welsh Assembly Government Staff Magazine), February 2009

Notes

External links

Aerial photograph of Cathays Park (the Crown Buildings are in the middle foreground)

{{Government buildings in Wales Government buildings in Wales Grade II listed buildings in Cardiff Politics of Cardiff Neoclassical architecture in Wales Cathays Park Terrorist incidents in Cardiff Stripped Classical architecture