The Welsh National Temple of Peace and Health, known as the Temple of Peace and Health () or commonly the Temple of Peace (), is a non-religious civic building 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 ...

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 ...

, the capital city of

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 ...

. It was designed by the architect Sir Percy Thomas. Since its foundation, the building has served a dual function as headquarters for health and international affairs organisations.

Facilities

The building's conference and seminar facilities include the 200 capacity Marble Hall, the 50 capacity wood-panelled Council Chamber and a smaller 20 capacity meeting room. The venue has parking nearby and is within walking distance of the northern city centre. It can also be reached by rail transport from

Cathays railway station Cathays railway station is a station on the Merthyr and Rhondda lines in the Cathays district of Cardiff, Wales. It is north of . The station is next to Cardiff University Students' Union and across the road from many Cardiff University bui ...

History

The Temple of Peace and Health was the brainchild of David Davies, 1st Baron Davies, and was conceived to serve two purposes. The first was to provide a home for the King Edward VII Welsh National Memorial Association, a voluntary organisation dedicated to the prevention, treatment and eradication of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, which Davies had founded in 1910. Davies was also the founding president of the Welsh National Council of the

League of Nations Union The League of Nations Union (LNU) was an organization formed in October 1918 in Great Britain to promote international justice, collective security and a permanent peace between nations based upon the ideals of the League of Nations. The League o ...

, and in 1934 he pledged £58,000 () towards the erection of a building to house the two organisations. Davies wanted the Temple of Peace and Health to be "a memorial to those gallant men from all nations who gave their lives in the war that was to end war", so it was dedicated to the memory of those who died in that war. In founding the Temple, Davies intended to combine the goals of peace and health and to express these ideals in the architectural design of the building. The building's architect, Sir Percy Thomas, was awarded the bronze medal by the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

for its design. The foundation stone was laid by Viscount Halifax in 1937. The building opened on 23 November 1938, with a ceremony that featured Minnie James of

Dowlais Dowlais () is a village and Community (Wales), community of the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales. At the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census the electoral ward had a population of 6,926, The populati ...

, who lost three of her sons in World War I. The Temple of Peace and Health was bombed in July 1968 by

Welsh nationalists Welsh nationalism () emphasises and celebrates the distinctiveness of Culture of Wales, Welsh culture and Wales as a nation or country. Welsh nationalism may also include calls for further autonomy or self-determination, which includes Welsh de ...

in protest at the approaching investiture of Prince Charles (now

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

) as

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

. In 2018,

Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

bought the Temple of Peace from Public Health Wales, although the

Welsh Centre for International Affairs The Welsh Centre for International Affairs (WCIA) is a Welsh international affairs and strategy think tank, established in 1973 to promote the exchange of ideas on international issues, build international partnerships connecting Welsh people ...

remains as leaseholder of part of the building.

Building

The building is in the form of the letter T, with two wings, and is built of

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone geological formation (formally named the Portland Stone Formation) dating to the Tithonian age of the Late Jurassic that is quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. The quarries are cut in beds of whi ...

. The roofs of the wings are dark red Italian pattern tiles. The wings contain offices and committee rooms, on three levels.

Marble Hall

The central portion of the building, being deliberately higher than the wings, houses the spacious Marble Hall. Situated on the ground floor and facing the main entrance, it is lined with dove-grey marble to symbolise the emblem of peace. It serves as a meeting place of cultural and social organisations, with many lectures and conferences on international issues having been held here; it is also a venue for campaigning groups and social events.

The Crypt and the Welsh National Book of Remembrance

Situated immediately below the Temple Hall, the Crypt houses a

Book of Remembrance A book of remembrance is a book commemorating those who have died, usually listing their names in date or alphabetical order. They are often compiled to commemorate war dead and others who have died on military operations. Another use is to com ...

for those who died in World War I. It is 1,100 pages long and contains the names of 35,000 men and women who were of Welsh birth or parentage or served in Welsh regiments. As most died on Belgian or French soil, the bronze used on the glass casing of the book is French, and the marble pedestal on which it rests is from Belgium. Concealed lighting illuminates the book from the roof of the Crypt.

Council Chamber

The Council Chamber is a wood-panelled room on the first floor of the building. It is used as a meeting place, and also houses many books with international themes, including part of Davies' own book collection.

Use as a filming location

Much of the 2005 ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' episode " The End of the World" was filmed in the Marble Hall and other parts of the building. The location was used to represent a

space station A space station (or orbital station) is a spacecraft which remains orbital spaceflight, in orbit and human spaceflight, hosts humans for extended periods of time. It therefore is an artificial satellite featuring space habitat (facility), habitat ...

five billion years in the future. The hall was also used in the episodes "

Gridlock Gridlock is a form of traffic congestion where continuous queues of vehicles block an entire network of intersecting streets, bringing traffic in all directions to a complete standstill. The term originates from a situation possible in a grid ...

" (2007), "

The Fires of Pompeii "The Fires of Pompeii" is the second episode of the Doctor Who (series 4), fourth series of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was broadcast on BBC One on 12 April 2008. Set shortly before and during the 79 eruption ...

" (2008), " Cold Blood" (2010), "

Let's Kill Hitler "Let's Kill Hitler" is the eighth episode of the Doctor Who series 6, sixth series of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', and was first broadcast on BBC One, Space (Canadian TV channel), Space and BBC America on 27 August ...

" (2011) and "

Nightmare in Silver "Nightmare in Silver" is the twelfth and penultimate episode of the seventh series of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and was first broadcast on BBC One on 11 May 2013. It was written by Neil Gaiman and directed by ...

" (2013). The building has also been used as a filming location for other television shows, including the 2010 '' Sherlock'' episode "

The Blind Banker "The Blind Banker" is the second episode of the television series '' Sherlock,'' first broadcast on BBC One and BBC HD on 1 August 2010. It was written by Stephen Thompson and directed by Euros Lyn. ''Sherlock'' is a loose adaptation of Arthur ...

" and ''

His Dark Materials ''His Dark Materials'' is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman consisting of '' Northern Lights'' (1995; published as ''The Golden Compass'' in North America), '' The Subtle Knife'' (1997), and '' The Amber Spyglass'' (2000). It follo ...

''.

References

External links

Temple of Peace website
* {{Authority control Landmarks in Cardiff Grade II listed buildings in Cardiff Percy Thomas buildings Art Deco architecture in Wales Cathays Park Terrorist incidents in Cardiff Stripped Classical architecture