Temperance Town,

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, was the unofficial name for a

working-class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

inner-city suburb established in the late 1850s and demolished in the 1930s to make way for

Cardiff Bus Station Cardiff Central bus station was the main bus transport interchange in the Cardiff city centre until it closed on 1 August 2015. With 34 stands, it was the largest bus station in Wales. It was located adjacent to Cardiff Central railway station ...

History

Temperance Town was built on reclaimed land next to the

River Taff The River Taff ( cy, Afon Taf) is a river in Wales. It rises as two rivers in the Brecon Beacons; the Taf Fechan (''little Taff'') and the Taf Fawr (''great Taff'') before becoming one just north of Merthyr Tydfil. Its confluence with the R ...

. The land was owned by Colonel Edward Wood, a

teetotaller Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or is ...

, 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 Dubricius or Dubric ( cy, Dyfrig; Norman-French: ''Devereux''; c. 465 – c. 550) was a 6th-century British ecclesiastic venerated as a saint. He was the evangelist of Ergyng ( cy, Erging) (later Archenfield, Herefordshire) and much of ...

'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 British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

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 Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

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 The Wales Empire Pool, known locally as the Empire Pool, was an international standard swimming pool building, located in Cardiff, Wales from 1958 until it was demolished in 1998. It was a centrepiece for the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealt ...

, was built for the

British Empire and Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

, in the same year.

Sources

References

{{Reflist Former districts of Cardiff Alcohol in Wales Demolished buildings and structures in Wales

History

See also

Sources

References