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 (later city) and county borough of

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 ...

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

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 ...

between 1889 and 1974. The county borough council was replaced in 1974 by a district council, covering part of

South Glamorgan South Glamorgan () is a preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Wales. It was originally formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, as a county council area. It consisted of the county borough of Cardiff along with the south ...

and also known as

Cardiff City Council 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 Cardiff County Borough Council, pre-1974 county borough council. ...

Background

Cardiff had become a fully self-governing borough in 1835, with a new council becoming effective from 1 January 1836 (though it did not acquire a full-time salaried clerk until 1884). The council elected a town

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

each year. Local government in England and Wales was reorganised following the

Local Government Act 1888 The Local Government Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 41) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales. It came into effect ...

with the establishment of county councils and county borough councils. Initial proposals were to give county status to all counties and ten boroughs with a population greater than 150,000. According to the 1881 census, Cardiff had a population of 123,000 and was growing rapidly. They petitioned to be given county borough status too. On 11 June 1888 the town's Member of Parliament, Sir Edward J. Reed, sent a telegram confirming the population size restriction had been reduced to 50,000.''Cardiff 1889-1974 - The Story of the County Borough'', pp. 13-15 Cardiff was given county borough status and its council became a county borough council, taking effect from 1 April 1889. The only noticeable change was the insertion of the word "County" into the council's title, Cardiff County Borough Council. The borough's municipal year began and ended each November, so legislation to increase their functions came later (this initially included education and the

Poor Law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

). Cardiff County Borough Council had 40 members, 30 were councillors elected by Cardiff's voters and 10 were

aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking membe ...

, elected by the councillors. This pattern remained the same till the abolition of the council in 1974.''Cardiff 1889-1974 - The Story of the County Borough'', p. 16 The first meeting of Cardiff County Borough Council took place at Cardiff Town Hall on Monday 8 April 1889, chaired by the Deputy Mayor (Mayor David Jones was in London on Parliamentary business). Five other Aldermen and 22 councillors were in attendance. In his introductory remarks Deputy Mayor Lewis suggested (to laughter) that councillors should be paid for their duties. Amongst items discussed were a new train station for

Roath Roath () is a district and Community (Wales), community to the north-east of the Cardiff city centre, city centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. The area is mostly covered by the Plasnewydd electoral ward, and stretches from Adamsdown in the so ...

, a proposed weir for the River Taff and a report compiled by the town clerk proposing extensions to the county borough's boundaries.

City status

The council petitioned unsuccessfully in 1897 and 1902 for Cardiff to be granted city status. It was finally granted on 23 October 1905, with Cardiff's mayor becoming Lord Mayor of Cardiff.''Cardiff 1889-1974 - The Story of the County Borough'', pp. 36-37 The county borough council became known as Cardiff City Council. On Monday 29 October 1906, the new

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

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 ...

, with its new 48-seat council chamber, assembly hall and council offices. In 1922 parts of the parishes of Caerau,

Llandaff Llandaff (; ; from 'church' and ''River Taff, Taf'') is a district, Community (Wales), community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Bisho ...

, Llanishen, Michaelston-super-Ely,

St Fagans St Fagans ( ; ) is a village and Community (Wales), community in the west of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is home to the St Fagans National History Museum. History The name of the area invokes Saint Fagan (Saint), Fagan, according ...

and Whitchurch were incorporated into Cardiff, together with the creation of new wards of

Penylan Penylan is a district and Community (Wales), community in the east of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, known for its Edwardian era period houses and spacious tree lined roads and avenue (landscape), avenues. Situated to both the north and ...

, Llandaff and Gabalfa. The numbers of councillors increased from 30 to 39 and the number of aldermen increased from 10 to 13, giving a total representation of 52.''Cardiff 1889-1974 - The Story of the County Borough'', p. 42

Elections

Electoral wards of Cardiff County Borough 1890

The first full council elections to the new county borough council took place on 1 November 1889, though contests took place in only the Canton and West

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

s. In 1889 there were five electoral wards - Canton, East,

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

and West - each with six councillors who stood down for re-election in 3-yearly rotation. From July 1890 ten electoral wards were created, of Adamsdown, Canton, Cathays, Central, Grangetown, Park, Riverside, Roath, South,

Splott Splott () is a district and community in the south of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales, just east of the city centre. It was built up in the late 19th century on the land of two farms of the same name: Upper Splott and Lower Splott Farms. S ...

. Six Liberals and four

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

were returned at the November 1891 elections, the same composition as prior to the election. The first elections after Cardiff's award of city status took place on 1 November 1906. Ten councillors were elected from the ten

s, of Adamsdown, Canton, Cathays, Central, Grange, Park, Riverside, Roath, South and

. Prior to the election, five of the seats were held by the Conservative Party, four by the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

and one by the Labour Party. The new City Hall was officially opened three days beforehand. At the local elections on 7 May 1970, Labour recovered some ground on the Conservative Party, winning back seats in Cathays and Grangetown. The Conservative Lady Mayoress, Mary Hallinan, was the most prominent casualty, losing in the Central ward. Labour also recovered a seat from

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...

in Plasmawr.

Dissolution

Local government in England and Wales was again reorganised following the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

. The old administrative county of

was subdivided, with Cardiff and the ''Vale'' between Cardiff and Bridgend forming

. Cardiff became a second-tier district of South Glamorgan, with a district council, known as Cardiff City Council.Stewart Williams (Ed.)
''The Cardiff Book: Volume I.''
Stewart Williams Publishers (1973), p. 8. .

Sources

References

{{Cardiff council elections, state=collapsed 1889 establishments in Wales 1974 disestablishments in Wales Former local authorities of Wales Politics of Cardiff Glamorgan History of Cardiff