City Hall () is a municipal building in

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 ...

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 ...

, UK. It serves as Cardiff's centre of local government. It was built as part of the

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 ...

civic centre development and opened in October 1906. 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 ...

, it is an important early example of the Edwardian Baroque style. It is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

History

The complex was commissioned to replace Cardiff's fourth town hall on the western side of St Mary's Street, which was completed in 1853. Following a design competition, the firm of Lanchester, Stewart and Rickards was selected to design the city's fifth town hall and adjacent law courts in the Edwardian Baroque style. The contractor, E. Turner and Sons, used the world's first all-electrically operated building site, including eight 5-ton cranes to lift the stone blocks. The total building cost was £129,708 (with the concurrently-built courts costing £96,583). As Cardiff received its city charter in 1905 while construction was underway, the current building is known as City Hall. The new building was officially opened by

Lord Bute John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (; 25 May 1713 – 10 March 1792), styled Lord Mount Stuart between 1713 and 1723, was a British Tories (British political party), Tory statesman who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Mini ...

on 29 October 1906.

Exterior architecture

Clock tower

The distinctive clock tower is in height and has a gilded dial on each of its four faces. The clock mechanism includes an hour bell and four quarter bells which are each inscribed with mottoes in English or Welsh.Cardiff Council ''City Hall Cardiff: Visitor Information Guide'' Second edition, 2006

Fountains and pool.

In front of the entrance portico is a rectangular pool with fountains. The fountains were created to mark the investiture of

Prince Charles 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 in July 1969.

Memorials

On the southern side of the building are two memorials: the memorial on the right is dedicated to victims of the

Second World War 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 ...

while the one on the left is dedicated to the Polish soldiers, airmen and sailors who gave their lives during that war.

Interior rooms, functions and art collections

Marble Hall

The first floor landing of City Hall is decorated with statues in Pentelicon marble of famous figures from Welsh history. These were funded by a gift from David Alfred Thomas, 1st Viscount Rhondda; the individuals commemorated were decided by a competition in the '' Western Mail'' newspaper. The Marble Hall with completed statues was unveiled by

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

, then Secretary of State for War, on 27 October 1916., pp. 21–6 The figures portrayed are as follows: *

Boudica Boudica or Boudicca (, from Brittonic languages, Brythonic * 'victory, win' + * 'having' suffix, i.e. 'Victorious Woman', known in Latin chronicles as Boadicea or Boudicea, and in Welsh language, Welsh as , ) was a queen of the Iceni, ancient ...

(1st-century queen of the

Iceni The Iceni ( , ) or Eceni were an ancient tribe of eastern Britain during the British Iron Age, Iron Age and early Roman Britain, Roman era. Their territory included present-day Norfolk and parts of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, and bordered the ar ...

) by James Havard Thomas *

Saint David David (; ; ) was a Welsh Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Mynyw during the 6th century. He is the patron saint of Wales. David was a native of Wales, and tradition has preserved a relatively large amount of detail about his life. ...

(6th-century patron saint of Wales) by Sir William Goscombe John *

Hywel Dda Hywel ap Cadell, commonly known as Hywel Dda, which translates to Howel the Good in English, was a Welsh king who ruled the southern Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth and eventually came to rule most of Wales. He became the sole king of Seisyllw ...

(king and codifier of Welsh law, 10th century) by

F. W. Pomeroy Frederick William Pomeroy (9 October 1856 – 26 May 1924) was a prolific British sculptor of architectural and monumental works. He became a leading sculptor in the New Sculpture movement, a group distinguished by a stylistic turn towards na ...

Gerald of Wales Gerald of Wales (; ; ; ) was a Cambro-Norman priest and historian. As a royal clerk to the king and two archbishops, he travelled widely and wrote extensively. He studied and taught in France and visited Rome several times, meeting the Pope. He ...

(scholar and writer in the 12th and 13th centuries) by Henry Poole * Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf (Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last ruling Prince of Wales) by

Henry Alfred Pegram Henry Alfred Pegram (27 July 1862 – 26 March 1937) was a British sculptor and exponent of the New Sculpture movement.Chamot, M.; Farr, D.; Butlin, M.: The Modern British Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture'' London 1964. Life Pegram w ...

Dafydd ap Gwilym Dafydd ap Gwilym ( 1315/1320 – 1350/1370) is regarded as one of the leading Welsh poets and among the great poets of Europe in the Middle Ages. Dafydd’s poetry also offers a unique window into the transcultural movement of cultural pract ...

(Welsh poet of the 14th century) by W. W. Wagstaff *

Owain Glyndŵr Owain ap Gruffydd (28 May 135420 September 1415), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr (Glyn Dŵr, , anglicised as Owen Glendower) was a Welsh people, Welsh leader, soldier and military commander in the Wales in the late Middle Ages, late Middle ...

(Welsh patriot and warrior of the 14th and 15th centuries) by Alfred Turner * Henry VII (founder of the Tudor dynasty, 15th and 16th centuries) by Ernest Gillick * Bishop William Morgan (translated the Bible into Welsh in the 16th century) by Thomas John Clapperton * William Williams, Pantycelyn (revivalist and hymn writer, 18th century) by Leonard Stanford Merrifield * Sir

Thomas Picton Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton (24 August 175818 June 1815) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator. He fought in the Napoleonic Wars and died at Waterloo. According to the historian Alessandro Barbero, Picton was "respecte ...

(general at Waterloo, 18th and 19th centuries) by T. Mewburn Crook In July 2020, Cardiff Council voted to remove the marble statue of Sir Thomas Picton, on account of his links to slavery.

Assembly Room

This room has hosted royalty, international statesmen and diplomats, and can seat 500 diners. It is used for various ceremonies, conferences and events during the year. It is decorated with mouldings picked out in gold leaf, of mermaids and other sea creatures. Three large bronze chandeliers are contemporary to the original architects' design.

Council Chamber

This is located above the main entrance portico and directly below the main dome of the building. Hanging from the dome is a bronze chandelier designed by Edwin Alfred Rickards. The arrangement is unusual in that the seating is set in a circular pattern, whereas normally British council chambers have semicircular seating. The chamber was designed to host Cardiff's Council meetings (which have subsequently been relocated to County Hall in the Atlantic Wharf area). The dome of City Hall is supported by four massive pillars of Italian marble with bronze Ionic capitals. The chamber is paneled throughout in oak. The plaster work is by G.P. Bankart and the stained glass window depicts a personification of the City of Cardiff by Alfred Garth Jones, dated 1905.

In popular culture

The cover of the

Catatonia Catatonia is a complex syndrome most commonly seen in people with underlying mood disorders, such as major depressive disorder, or psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia. People with catatonia exhibit abnormal movement and behaviors, wh ...

single " Mulder and Scully" has a UFO above the building similar to the movie poster for ''

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

''.

References

External links

*
The history of the Marble Hall
{{Authority control Politics of Cardiff Landmarks in Cardiff Cathays Park Domes in the United Kingdom Grade I listed buildings in Cardiff Grade I listed government buildings Cardiff City Hall Government buildings completed in 1906 Edwardian architecture in the United Kingdom Government buildings with domes 1906 establishments in Wales Baroque Revival architecture in the United Kingdom