Newtown was a residential area of Cardiff, Wales that was also known as 'Little Ireland' because of its population of Irish families. Its six streets and 200 houses existed from the mid-nineteenth century until they were demolished in 1970. It was known as one of the "5 towns of Cardiff", the others being
Butetown
Butetown (or ''The Docks'', ) is a district and community (Wales), community in the south of the city of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. It was originally a model housing estate built in the early 19th century by John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marqu ...
,
Crockherbtown,
Grangetown and
Temperance Town.
History
The areas later known as Newtown and
Adamsdown
Adamsdown (sometimes or , ) is an inner city area and community in the south of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. Adamsdown is generally located between Newport Road, to the north and the mainline railway to the south. The area includes C ...
were the first significant areas of housing that developed outside of Cardiff's old town boundaries in the early nineteenth century, clearly evident by the 1830s.
[William Rees, ''Cardiff: A History of the City'', The Corporation of the City of Cardiff, 2nd edition (1969), pp. 298–299 (also maps and commentary facing p. 277)] In the years following the
Great Famine of Ireland of 1845 hundreds of Irish families began to arrive in Cardiff, often travelling as 'ballast' in ships from
Cork
"Cork" or "CORK" may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
*** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine
Places Ireland
* ...
and
Waterford
Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
.
[David Morgan, ''The Cardiff Story: A History of the City from the Earliest Times to the Present'', Hackman Ltd, Tonypandy (1991), p.164] They were generally housed in Newtown, which had been purposely expanded by 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 ...
to house construction workers for Cardiff's new docks.
[History](_blank)
Newtown Association webpages. Retrieved 17 January 2012. In 1850 the South Wales Railway (from Swansea to Chepstow) had been opened, separating Adamsdown from Newtown. Newtown came to consist of six streets – Ellen Street, North Williams Street, Pendoylan Street and Pendoylan Place, Roland Street, Rosemary Street – immediately south of the railway and north of Tyndall Street. A footbridge gave access over the railway.
Newtown became known as 'Little Ireland'.
Cardiff's first
race riot
This is a list of ethnic riots by country, and includes riots based on Ethnic conflict, ethnic, Sectarian violence, sectarian, xenophobic, and Racial conflict, racial conflict. Some of these riots can also be classified as pogroms.
Africa
A ...
occurred in Newtown in 1848. A Welshman, Thomas Lewis, had been stabbed to death by an Irishman, John Connors. Welsh mobs took the law into their own hands and headed to Newtown to find the culprit. At Lewis's funeral Irishmen with pick axes had to stand guard to ward off any further trouble.
By the 1930s, Newtown had already deteriorated to slum conditions.
[Stephen Fisk]
''Cardiff's Lost Communities''
WalesOnline, 1 April 2010. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
Eventually, in 1966 the houses were compulsorily purchased in anticipation of the redevelopment of the old dock areas. In 1970 the houses were demolished.
The site became a
trading estate. In 2010 this in turn had been demolished. It was anticipated the area would be redeveloped for mixed-use, with new housing and offices.
One of the last original remnants of Newtown,
The Vulcan public house on Adam Street (originally Whitmore Lane, Newtown), was demolished in 2012 with plans to rebuild it at
St Fagans National History Museum
St Fagans National Museum of History ( ; ), commonly referred to as St Fagans after the village where it is located, is an open-air museum in St Fagans, Cardiff, Wales, chronicling the historical lifestyle, culture, and architecture of the Wels ...
.
On 11 May 2024 the Vulcan reopened.
Notable people
*
'Peerless' Jim Driscoll, a famous Welsh
boxer Boxer most commonly refers to:
*Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing
* Boxer (dog), a breed of dog
Boxer or boxers may also refer to:
Animal kingdom
* Boxer crab
* Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans
* Boxer snipe ee ...
, born in Newtown in 1880.
Memorial garden
In 1999 Cardiff Bay Development Corporation gave £10,000 toward the cost of a memorial to commemorate the Newtown community. The Newtown Memorial Garden was created, opened on 20 March 2005. It contains a large stone 'knotwork' sculpture by local artist David Mackie.
Memorial Garden
Newtown Association webpages. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
References
{{Reflist
External links
The Newtown Association
Former districts of Cardiff
Great Famine (Ireland)
Populated places established in the 19th century