Glamorgan Building

Last updated

Glamorgan Building
Glamorgan Building, Cardiff University.JPG
Glamorgan Building
Location Cardiff
Coordinates 51°29′09″N3°10′53″W / 51.4859°N 3.1815°W / 51.4859; -3.1815
Built1912
Architect E. Vincent Harris
Thomas A. Moodie
Architectural style(s) Beaux-Arts classical style
Listed Building – Grade I
Designated25 January 1966
Reference no.13738
Cardiff UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of Glamorgan Building in Cardiff

The Glamorgan Building (Welsh : Adeilad Morgannwg) is a former county hall located at King Edward VII Avenue in Cathays Park, Cardiff, Wales. It was the headquarters of Glamorgan County Council from 1912 to 1974 and then of Mid Glamorgan County Council from 1974 to 1996. The building, which was acquired by Cardiff University in 1997 and is now home to the university's School of Social Sciences and the School of Geography and Planning, is a Grade I listed building. [1]

Contents

History

Design and construction

Following the implementation of the Local Government Act 1888, which established county councils in every county, it became necessary to find a meeting place for Glamorgan County Council. [2] Initially the county council used offices in Westgate Street and St Mary Street. [3] After finding this arrangement inadequate, county leaders decided to procure a purpose-built facility: the site they selected at Cathays Park was acquired from the Marquess of Bute in 1898. [1]

Construction of the new building started in 1909. [4] It was designed by Vincent Harris and Thomas Anderson Moodie in the Beaux-Arts classical style following a design competition [5] and was built by Turner & Sons of Cardiff at a cost of £67,724. [6] It was officially opened by the Chairman of the County Council, J. Blandy Jenkins, [7] as Glamorgan County Hall on 19 September 1912. [8] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of seven bays facing King Edward VII Avenue; the central section of five bays featured a large portico with a deeply recessed entrance flanked by a series of pared Corinthian order columns. [1] Internally, the principal room was the council chamber. [1]

Serving as reminders of Glamorgan's source of wealth, two groups of statues by Albert Hodge, one representing navigation and the other coal mining, were unveiled outside the building. [9]

Statues outside the Glamorgan Building
Navigation Glamorgan Building.jpg
Minerva, representing mining
Neptune, Glamorgan Building.jpg
Neptune in a chariot, representing navigation

With the Local Government Act 1929, which transferred more powers to local authorities, a large extension was required. It was built to the south west of the main building to a design by Ivor Jones and Percy Thomas at a cost of £54,054 [6] and opened on 22 September 1932. [6]

Recent history

Following the implementation of the Local Government Act 1972, which broke up Glamorgan County Council and established Mid Glamorgan County Council, the new county council took over the building. [2]

On 1 April 1996, under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, Mid Glamorgan County Council was abolished and the building was acquired by Cardiff University in 1997 and became home to the university's School of Social Sciences and the School of Geography and Planning. [10] The Glamorgan Record Office, which had been based in the building since 1939, relocated to a purpose-built office in Leckwith next to the Cardiff City football stadium as Glamorgan Archives in 2009. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardiff</span> Capital of Wales

Cardiff is the capital and largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of 372,089 in 2022 and forms a principal area officially known as the City and County of Cardiff. The city is the eleventh largest in the United Kingdom. Located in the southeast of Wales and in the Cardiff Capital Region, Cardiff is the county town of the historic county of Glamorgan and in 1974–1996 of South Glamorgan. It belongs to the Eurocities network of the largest European cities. A small town until the early 19th century, its prominence as a port for coal when mining began in the region helped its expansion. In 1905, it was ranked as a city and in 1955 proclaimed capital of Wales. Cardiff Built-up Area covers a larger area outside the county boundary, including the towns of Dinas Powys and Penarth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mid Glamorgan</span> Preserved county in Wales

Mid Glamorgan is a preserved county of Wales. From 1974 until 1996 it was also an administrative county with a county council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathays</span> District and community in Cardiff, Wales

Cathays is a district and community in the centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is an old suburb of Cardiff established in 1875. It is densely populated and contains many Victorian terraced houses. The area falls into the Cathays ward. It is the third most populous community in Cardiff, having a population of 18,002 in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathays railway station</span> Railway station in Cardiff, Wales

Cathays railway station is a station on the Merthyr and Rhondda lines in the Cathays district of Cardiff, Wales. It is 1+1⁄4 miles (2 km) north of Cardiff Central.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathays Park</span> Civic centre area in Cardiff, Wales

Cathays Park or Cardiff Civic Centre is a civic centre area in the 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 includes Edwardian buildings such as the Temple of Peace, City Hall, the National Museum and Gallery of Wales and several buildings belonging to the Cardiff University campus. It also includes Cardiff Crown Court, the administrative headquarters of the Welsh Government, and the more modern Cardiff Central police station. The Pevsner architectural guide to the historic county of Glamorgan judges Cathays Park to be "the finest civic centre in the British Isles". The area falls within the Cathays electoral ward and forms part of the Cathays Park Conservation Area, which was designated in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City Hall, Cardiff</span> Municipal building in Cardiff, Wales

City Hall is a municipal building in Cardiff, Wales, UK. It serves as Cardiff's centre of local government. It was built as part of the Cathays Park civic centre development and opened in October 1906. Built of Portland stone, it is an important early example of the Edwardian Baroque style. It is a Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">District of Rhondda</span> Former district of Mid Glamorgan, Wales

Rhondda was a local government district in the geographical area of the Rhondda Valley, south Wales, from 1877 until 1996, with various statuses through its history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swansea Civic Centre</span> County building in Swansea, Wales

Swansea Civic Centre – formerly known as County Hall – is the principal administrative centre of Swansea Council. Standing some 800 m southwest of Swansea city centre, by the seafront and overlooking Swansea Bay, the complex houses – in addition to the council chamber and offices – a public cafe, the central library, an exhibition space, archives service, and contact centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardiff Council</span> Local government of Cardiff, Wales

Cardiff Council, formally the County Council of the City and County of Cardiff is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the principal areas of Wales. The principal area and its council were established in 1996 to replace the previous Cardiff City Council which had been a lower-tier authority within South Glamorgan. Cardiff Council consists of 79 councillors, representing 28 electoral wards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">County Hall, Cardiff</span> County building in Cardiff, Wales

The County Hall is a municipal building located beside the disused Bute East Dock in the Atlantic Wharf area of Butetown, Cardiff. Formerly the home of South Glamorgan County Council, it is now the headquarters of Cardiff Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardiff City Council</span> Local government of Cardiff, Wales from 1974 to 1996

Cardiff City Council was the local government district authority that administered the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales, from 1974 until 1996. The district council replaced the pre-1974 county borough council. It was succeeded in 1996 by Cardiff Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Percy Thomas</span> English-born architect active in Wales

Sir Percy Edward Thomas OBE was an Anglo-Welsh architect who worked in Wales for the majority of his life. He was twice RIBA president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardiff Crown Court</span> Historic building in Cardiff, Wales

Cardiff Crown Court is a historic building situated in Cathays Park, Cardiff, Wales. The building is a Grade I listed building. As a Crown Court venue it is part of the Wales Circuit of His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service. The court house has nine courtrooms in addition to one "virtual" courtroom. The senior judge at the court is Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke, the Recorder of Cardiff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Wales Registry</span> University headquarters in Wales

The University of Wales Registry is the administrative headquarters of the University of Wales, located in Cathays Park, Cardiff, Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of Cardiff history</span>

The timeline of Cardiff history shows the significant events in the history of Cardiff which transformed it from a small Roman fort into the modern capital city of Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Architecture of Cardiff</span> Overview of the architecture in the capital city of Wales

Architecture in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, dates from Norman times to the present day. Its urban fabric is largely Victorian and later, reflecting Cardiff's rise to prosperity as a major coal port in the 19th century. No single building style is associated with Cardiff, but the city centre retains several 19th and early 20th century shopping arcades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Percy Thomas Partnership</span>

Percy Thomas Partnership was the trading name of the award-winning British architectural practice established some time between 1965 and 1973 as the successor to a series of earlier partnerships originally set up by Percy Thomas (1883–1969) in Cardiff, Wales in 1911/12. Percy Thomas and the Percy Thomas Partnership put their name to a number of landmark buildings in the United Kingdom including the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff. It opened offices overseas and completed a number of prestigious buildings in Hong Kong.

Glamorgan County Council was established in 1889 together with the administrative county of Glamorganshire under the Local Government Act 1888. The first elections to the council were held in January 1889. The council was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974. It was replaced by Mid Glamorgan County Council, South Glamorgan County Council and West Glamorgan County Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mid Glamorgan County Council</span> Welsh local governing body (1974–1996)

Mid Glamorgan County Council was the upper-tier authority for the Welsh county of Mid Glamorgan between its creation in 1974 and its abolition in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardiff County Borough Council</span> Former council in Wales

Cardiff County Borough Council, known as Cardiff City Council after Cardiff achieved city status in 1905, was the elected local authority that administered the town and county borough of Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales between 1889 and 1974. The county borough council was replaced in 1974 by a district council, covering part of South Glamorgan and also known as Cardiff City Council.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Cadw. "Glamorgan Building (13738)". National Historic Assets of Wales . Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Glamorgan County Council". Archives Hub. Archived from the original on 21 October 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  3. ↑ "Glamorgan County Hall". Cardiff Parks. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  4. ↑ Hilling, John B. (2016). The History and Architecture of Cardiff Civic Centre: Black Gold, White City. University of Wales. ISBN   978-1783168422.
  5. ↑ "Thomas Anderson Moodie". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 Chappell, Edgar L. (1946). Cardiff's Civic Centre: A historical guide. Priory Press. p. 41.
  7. ↑ "Glamorgan County Council. The Election of Chairman". South Wales Echo. 14 March 1895. p. 2. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  8. ↑ William Rees (1969), "The Reformed Borough, 1836-1914", Cardiff - A History Of The City, The Corporation of the City of Cardiff, p. 338
  9. ↑ "Albert H. Hodge (1875–1918)". Bob Speel. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  10. ↑ "These are all the grade one listed buildings in Cardiff". Wales Online. 10 December 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  11. ↑ "All Black souvenir comes to light". BBC News . 5 November 2009. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.