Temperance Town,
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 ...
, was the unofficial name for a
working-class
The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...
inner-city suburb established in the late 1850s and demolished in the 1930s to make way for
Cardiff Bus Station.
History
Temperance Town was built on reclaimed land next to the
River Taff. The land was owned by Colonel Edward Wood, a
teetotaller, who imposed a condition on the developer that the sale of alcohol would not be allowed - hence the district's name.
Development took place in the late 1850s and the early 1860s. Schools were opened in January 1879 and a church,
St Dyfrig's, was built in 1888. The main street, Wood Street, was filled with shops and other businesses. The large Temperance Hall was eventually converted into the
Wood Street Congregational Church.
In the early 20th century Cardiff's prosperity had been reduced by the decline in coal exports. Poverty and overcrowding in Temperance Town increased, and conditions deteriorated. In 1930 the
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
built a new station on the edge of the district and the railway company was concerned that the visible poverty of the district would affect its image and its business. It persuaded the
Cardiff Corporation (the local authority) to improve the area; the Corporation (without consultation with the inhabitants) obtained the
Cardiff Corporation Act 1934 to provide the necessary powers. The redevelopment plans included new public facilities such as a bus station.
The Corporation rehoused Temperance Town's residents elsewhere in better housing elsewhere in the city, and the district's demolition started in late 1937.
In the event
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
delayed redevelopment. The bus station opened in 1954; Wood Street was widened and lined with offices and shops. In 1958 a swimming pool, the
Wales Empire Pool, was built for the
British Empire and Commonwealth Games, in the same year.
See also
*
Temperance Towns, other settlements built by followers of the Temperance movement
Sources
References
{{Reflist
Former districts of Cardiff
Alcohol in Wales
Demolished buildings and structures in Wales