Cardiff

“ For the Cardiff would be grappled to some honest India-man, and the rivers of gold and treasures, sir, that poured into the black ship's hold was as great as the rivers of blood that poured off her decks. ”

“ From half-way between Newport and Cardiff to Newport, from Newport to a mile east of Newport, then to four miles east of Newport, at last to three miles west of Cardiff: they will surely be laid in the land of their fathers at the end. So it might have been with me, perhaps, if it had not been for the blood of certain Scottish sailors intermingled with the stay-at-home stock of Gwent. But I often wonder, as I say, how it would have happened to me if I had found a home under the shadow of Twyn Barlwm instead of becoming a dweller in the tents of London. ”

“ Such would be folly indeed as we sit on the soft green turf of the court and contemplate the fantastic outlines in the glow of the sunset; when all is silence save for the angry brawls of the rooks, which have entered into full possession—reincarnations, perhaps, of the erstwhile contentious owners.
But the spell of Caerphilly dissolves and a different world surrounds us as we enter the broad [Pg 110] modern streets of Cardiff and pause before the American-looking Park Hotel. Cardiff as a village antedates the Conquest, but as a metropolis of two hundred thousand, it is quite recent. ”

“ On entering Cardiff, the capital of Glamorganshire, between the ivy-mantled walls of its castle, and the mouldering ruin of a house of White Friars, we were much pleased with the aspect of the town: nor were we less so on a closer examination of its neat well-paved streets; it appearing to us one of the cleanest and most agreeable towns in Wales. The high tower of its church, crowned with four transparent Gothic pinnacles, had long engaged our interest; but on a near view we did not find the body of the church to correspond with it; it being of an older date, a plain Norman structure. ”

“ The town of Cardiff is built on the eastern bank of the river Taff, over which there is a handsome bridge of five arches, leading to Swansea. It is a thriving town, possessing considerable trade; and, by means of a canal from Pennarth to Merthyr-Tydvil, has become the connecting medium between these extensive iron-works and the English market, and is, in fact, the port of the latter. The Taff, which falls into the sea at Cardiff, forms a principal outlet for the mining districts of Glamorganshire, the produce of which has hitherto found its way to market through the Glamorganshire canal ”

“ Its cathedral, for a long time dilapidated, has within a few years been thoroughly restored. All the valleys [Pg 376] in the hilly region tributary to Cardiff are full of coal and iron, the mining and smelting of which have made enormous fortunes for their owners and developed a vast industry there within the present century. About nine miles north of Cardiff is Caerphilly Castle, which has the most remarkable leaning tower in Britain, it being more inclined from the perpendicular than any other that is known. It is about eighty feet high, and leans over a distance of eleven feet. ”

“ The town grew up around the castle but never received a charter or had a governing body. In 1661 the corporation of Cardiff complained of Cardiff’s impoverishment by reason of a fair held every three weeks for the previous four years at Caerphilly, though “no Borough.” Its markets during the 19th century had been chiefly noted for the Caerphilly cheese sold there. ”

“ On Saturday morning last the quiet little village of Cardiff, which lies in the valley about twelve miles south of Syracuse, was thrown into an excitement without precedent, by the report that a human body had been exhumed in a petrified state, the colossal dimensions of which had never been the fortune of the inhabitants of the little village to behold, and the magnitude of which was positively beyond the comprehension or the understanding of the wise men of the valley. ”

“ Merthyr Tydvil had sprung up more like a vast miners’ camp than like a well-ordered municipality. Along the eastern side of the Taff valley, on the slopes and in bottoms of the hills, but everywhere at an elevation of some four or five hundred feet above the level of Cardiff docks, were numerous groups of mean-looking miners’ cottages, with their attendant ale-houses, small retail shops, schools and meeting-houses. ”

“ Mary’s, the main street, can boast of costly banks and hotels and a very great deal of traffic. It is singularly noisy at night; and that also, we presume, is evidence of the strong modern spirit of the place. The town in 1896 indulged in an Exhibition on such a scale that its loss may be computed in scores of thousands of pounds; but the Exhibition was an investment, and it is a proof of Cardiff’s wealth that it can afford thus to cast expectantly so many thousands upon the waters. The Marquess’s castle is as unique in its splendour as is Cardiff among Welsh towns in its development. ”

“ Coal was brought down from the hills on the backs of mules, and iron carried in two-ton wagons. In 1798 the first dock (12 acres in extent) was constructed at the terminus of the Glamorgan canal from Merthyr. The commercial greatness of Cardiff is due to the vast coal and iron deposits of the country drained by the Taff and Rhymney, between whose outlets the town is situated. But a great impetus to its development was given by the 2nd marquess of Bute, who has often been described as the second founder of Cardiff. ”

“ Cardiff is also the terminus of both the Taff Vale and the Rhymney railways, the latter affording the London & North-Western railway access to the town. The Barry line from Barry dock joins the Great Western and Taff Vale railways at Cardiff, and the Cardiff Railway Company (which owns all the docks) has a line from Pontypridd via Llanishen to the docks. The Glamorganshire canal, opened in 1794, runs from Cardiff to Merthyr Tydfil, with a branch to Aberdare. The increase of the population of Cardiff during the 19th century was phenomenal ”

“ Range beyond range, the hills completely encircle us: stern, bare hills with rugged outlines, and never a tree to soften them; and in the foreground great sweeping curves covered with short grass and here and there a glowing patch of heather. Then, when the summit is reached, and Cardiff waterworks are passed, begins the descent of nine miles on a perfect surface, close under the shoulder of the Brecon Beacons. ”

“ Its soft, warm winds bathe the hills with life; and the great sweep of the big Atlantic waves into the river mouths help our commerce. Holyhead, Milford Haven, Swansea, Newport, Barry, and Cardiff—now one of the chief ports of the world—can welcome the largest vessels afloat. The herring is plentiful on the west coast, and trout and salmon in the rivers. ”

“ The restoration and partial rebuilding of Cardiff Castle was the earliest work of the kind undertaken by Bute. The lofty tower conspicuous on the southwest of the castle enclosure, the restoration of the great southern curtain wall, with its covered way, and the erection of the noble staircase were among the most important of his building operations at Cardiff, which included also the discovery and partial restoration of the old Roman walls and gateway, the re-excavation of the moat, and the clearing and re-marking the sites of the mediæval friaries of the Dominicans and Franciscans. ”

“ On coming of age Bute became the owner of estates, not only in Scotland but in Wales—at Cardiff and its neighbourhood.
Cardiff, as one of the principal ports of the United Kingdom, and the largest coal-exporting port in the world, practically owes its existence to the foresight and expenditure of the marquis's father. The Bute docks, which his father began, he carried to completion with the same courage and intelligence; they now cover over 160 acres, and cost about 4,000,000l. The population of the city, which in 1801 was two thousand, is now over one hundred and fifty thousand. ”

“ Four earls of the race of Clare possessed Cardiff Castle for nearly a century; and though chiefly resident at Clare and Tonbridge, did much to adorn the castle and consolidate the seignory.
In 1320, Eleanor, the elder co-heir of the last De Clare, was married to Hugh le Despenser the younger, the minion of Edward II. During the minority or attainder of their son, Hugh d’Audley who had married the second co-heir, had the earldom, and possibly held Cardiff at his death in 1347. The Despensers then reappeared in the person of Thomas, son of Edward, who was son of Hugh and Eleanor de Clare. ”

“ The Taf, which runs to the south of Merthyr, comes down from Breconshire, and enters the Bristol Channel at Cardiff, a place the name of which in English is the city on the Taf. It is one of the most beautiful of rivers, but is not navigable on account of its numerous shallows. The only service which it renders to commerce is feeding a canal which extends from Merthyr to Cardiff. It is surprising how similar many of the Welsh rivers are in name: Taf, Tawey, Towey, Teivi, and Duffy differ but very little in sound. Taf and Teivi have both the same meaning, namely a tendency to spread out. ”

“ Glamorgan is in the S. Wales circuit, and both assizes and quarter-sessions are held at Cardiff and Swansea alternately. All the municipal boroughs have separate commissions of the peace, and Cardiff and Swansea have also separate courts of quarter-sessions. The county has thirteen other petty sessional divisions, Cardiff, the Rhondda (with Pontypridd) and the Merthyr and Aberdare district have stipendiary magistrates. There are 165 civil parishes. Excepting the districts of Gower and Kilvey, which are in the diocese of St David’s, the whole county is in the diocese of Llandaff. ”

“ No one could walk the streets of Cardiff without being impressed with the number of Welsh people one met and heard talking in their own language. Probably a great number of those simply came into the town for the day, but a considerable number must be residents of the town.
I see a great many ladies present, and I would urge them to do what they can, for, in the words of a Church magnate, who was, if not an archbishop or a bishop, certainly an archdeacon—"mendicity is good, but women-dicity is better." ”

“ It is admitted to be a fair success in the interior of Wales; but great difficulty has been found in enforcing it in Cardiff, and along the border line between England and Wales. In Cardiff a very large shebeen trade has sprung up, and a number of clubs have been established for the avowed purpose of supplying their members with liquor on Sundays.
In 1889, in consequence of many statements that were in circulation declaring Sunday closing in Wales to be a failure, the Government appointed a Royal Commission, presided over by Lord Balfour of Burleigh, to inquire into the matter. ”

“ Therefore it is better to be an ass than a pig.”
One of the most able of these “extension lecturers” was another Welshman—probably a native of Cardiff—Friar John David, whose lectures at Hereford were so successful that after a year both the friars and the clergy of the city declared he was indispensable, and petitioned for his reappointment. [Pg 124] He became the head of the Franciscan province of England, and lies buried among the ruins of the church of the Grey Friars in Cardiff. ”

“ These four castles are not mentioned in the Brut y Tywysogion, though the Annales Cambriæ mentions the capture of Bleddfa, Knighton, and Norton by the Welsh in 1262. They all command important roads. Knighton and Norton were boroughs.
Cardiff.
Loughor.
Fig. 43.—Motte-Castles of South Wales. Castles of Glamorganshire.
Cardiff (Fig. 43) .—The first castle of Cardiff was certainly a wooden one; its lofty mound still remains. It is placed inside a Roman station, and the south and west walls of the castle bailey rest on Roman foundations, “but do not entirely coincide with those foundations.” ”

“ On the conquest of the district by the Normans under Fitz Hamon, Cardiff became the caput of the seigniory of Glamorgan, and the castle the residence of its lords. The castle and lordship descended by heirship, male and female, through the families of De Clare, Despenser, Beauchamp and Neville to Richard III., on whose fall they escheated to the Crown, and were granted later, first to Jasper Tudor, and finally by Edward VI. in 1550 to Sir William Herbert, afterwards created Baron Herbert of Cardiff and earl of Pembroke. ”

“ SATURDAY morning was come, and all the summer world was bright and fresh, and brimming with life. There was a song in every heart; and if the heart was young the music issued at the lips. There was cheer in every face and a spring in every step. The locust-trees were in bloom and the fragrance of the blossoms filled the air. Cardiff Hill, beyond the village and above it, was green with vegetation and it lay just far enough away to seem a Delectable Land, dreamy, reposeful, and inviting. ”

“ Early in 1404 Owain was again in the south and captured Cardiff, the capital of the Glamorgan palatinate, burning the whole town, except the street in which his allies the Franciscans had their convent. But he seized the books and chalices which the friars had deposited for safety in the castle, and on their remonstrating replied: ‘Why did you put your goods in the castle? If you had kept them at home, they would have been safe’ (Cont. Eul. Hist. iii. 401) . ”

“ Nevertheless the Dominicans had houses at Bangor, Rhuddlan, Brecon, Haverfordwest, and Cardiff, while the Franciscans were to be found at Carmarthen, Cardiff, and Llan Vaes. In addition to the two great Orders, there was a settlement of White Friars (Carmelites) at Denbigh, and one of the Austin Friars at Newport. In Wales all the Friars seem to have been energetic preachers and lecturers; and in that way they did much to diffuse what learning they themselves were possessed of among the common people. ”