Castle Quarter () is an independent retail destination area in the north of the

city centre A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...

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 ...

. Castle is also a

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

(parish) of Cardiff. The listed Castle Quarter includes some of Cardiff's Victorian and Edwardian arcades: Castle Arcade, High Street Arcade and Duke Street Arcade, and principal shopping streets: St Mary Street, High Street, Castle Street and Duke Street. Development of the area by

Cardiff Council Cardiff Council, formally the County Council of the City and County of Cardiff () is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Administrative divisions of Wales, principal areas of Wales. The principal area and its council were established ...

began in February 2010 aiming to create the Castle Quarter, particularly High Street and St Mary Street, into a pedestrian friendly environment to enhance the city centre.

History of the principal streets

The modern Castle Quarter is generally defined as the part of the city centre closest to

Cardiff Castle Cardiff Castle () is a medieval castle and Victorian Gothic revival mansion located in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales. The original motte and bailey castle was built in the late 11th century by Norman invaders on top of a 3rd-century Roma ...

, including the Castle Arcade, High Street Arcade and Duke Street Arcades, High Street and St Mary Street, Castle Street/Duke Street and Westgate Street.Chris Kelsey (12 May 2015
"Historic Cardiff arcades to be returned to their Victorian splendour as owner aims to attract independent retailers"
''Wales Online''. Retrieved 2016-02-21.

Church Street

The original first floor of Truffles tea room was once the residence of

John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...

where he first began his preaching of Methodism.WalesOnline , Cardiff city centre history

High Street

Riots took place during the 16th century between supporters of the rivalling Herberts family, who hailed from the Friary, and the Mathews family of

Radyr Radyr (; ) is an outer suburb of Cardiff, about northwest of Cardiff city centre. Radyr is part of Radyr and Morganstown Community, for which the 2011 Census recorded a population of 6,417. Morganstown is north of Radyr, on the other sid ...

. Herbert's servants were all arrested in the course of their fighting and how he was able to free them all because his brother was the town sheriff. The street may have been as bustling with activity as much back then as it is today, albeit with a very different kind of activity. There would have been market stalls, but also stocks, whipping posts and there was even a jail house on this street. At the top end of High Street, before Duke Street and the Castle, used to stand the old Guildhall, demolished in 1860 for the construction of the larger one standing today.

Trinity Street/Working Street

Trinity Street and Working Street run either side of St John the Baptist Church, over 800 years old and the main parish church for Cardiff. Cardiff's Old Library (1882) is also at the south end of both streets. Cardiff Central Market (1891) faces onto Trinity Street.

Victorian and Edwardian arcades

In 2014 three of the Castle Quarter arcades - Castle, High Street and Duke Street - were bought by investment group Mansford, also for £25 million, with a view to investing in a refurbishment. Nearby properties in High Street and Westgate Street were also added to Mansford's portfolio and independent retailers signed new leases, including tapas restaurant Bar 44, interiors shop Pad Deco and vintage lifestyle shop Annie & Co. In 2004 the Morgan Arcade and Royal Arcade (towards the southern end of St Mary Street) were purchased by property firm Helical Bar for £25 million, after the Cardiff Arcade Company went into liquidation. Mansford retains ownership of the Wyndham Arcade, which is furthest south.

Significant buildings

Cardiff Castle

Cardiff Castle forms the centrepoint of the Castle Quarter and faces onto Castle Street and Duke Street. It is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

and

Victorian architecture Victorian architecture is a series of Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the st ...

Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

, transformed from a Norman keep erected over a

Roman fort ''Castra'' () is a Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified military base.. Included is a discuss ...

. The Norman

keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

was built on a high

motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or Bailey (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortificati ...

on the site of a Roman ''

castra ''Castra'' () is a Latin language, Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'Fortification, fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified milita ...

'', first uncovered during the third Marquess of Bute's building campaign. The Norman

, of which the shell remains, was constructed about 1091 by Robert Fitzhamon, lord of Gloucester and conqueror of

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 ...

. In the early 19th century the castle was enlarged and refashioned in an early

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style for

John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute, Knight of the Thistle, KT, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (10 August 1793 – 18 March 1848), styled Lord Mount Stuart between 1794 and 1814, was a wealthy Scottish aristocrat and industrialist in Ge ...

by Henry Holland. But its transformation began in 1868 when

John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, (12 September 1847 – 9 October 1900) was a Scottish landed aristocrat, industrial magnate, antiquarian, scholar, philanthropist, and architectural patron. When Bute succeeded to the marq ...

commissioned

William Burges William Burges (; 2 December 1827 – 20 April 1881) was an English architect and designer. Among the greatest of the Victorian era, Victorian art-architects, he sought in his work to escape from both nineteenth-century Industrial Revolution, ...

to undertake a massive rebuilding which turned the castle into a 19th century fantasy of a medieval palace, with a series of rooms that, perhaps, constitute the highest achievement of later Victorian Gothic Revival design.

Animal Wall

The Animal Wall is a sculptured wall depicting 15 animals on Castle Street. It is a Grade I listed structure, designed by architect William Burges in 1866, though not built until 1890. The work was completed by Burges' former assistant William Frame. The original nine animal figures were sculptured by Thomas Nicholls, they were the hyena, wolf, apes, seal, bear, lioness, lynx, and 2 different lions. They were painted in naturalistic colours, although since then the paint work on the sculptures has been removed.Do you nose how castle sculpture used to look?
/ref>

St John the Baptist Church

St John the Baptist Church, at the junction of Church Street and Trinity Street, was built over 800 years ago and has been renovated and resized over the centuries. Its tower was a gift from the Neville sisters, Anne and Isabel, in 1473.

Anne Neville Anne Neville (11 June 1456 – 16 March 1485) was List of English royal consorts , Queen of England from 26 June 1483 until her death in 1485 as the wife of King Richard III. She was the younger of the two daughters and co-heiresses of Richard N ...

was both Princess of Wales, after her marriage to Edward of Westminster, and later married

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

to become Queen of England. Inside the church, two male stone effigies lie side by side to mark the burial place of Sir John Herbert and his brother William, both famous in the area in the 16th and 17th centuries. Sir John, who lies on the right on a red cushion, was known to speak four languages, as he was the English Ambassador to France, Poland, Holland and Denmark and was Chief Secretary to both

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

and

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334� ...

Central Market

Cardiff Central Market is a

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

indoor

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market *Marketing, the act of sat ...

on St Mary Street. The market was designed by the Borough Surveyor, William Harpur, and opened in May 1891. A farmers' market is known to have existed at the site since the 18th century. File:Animal Wall Cardiff.jpg, Animal Wall, ''c.'' 1890 File:Central Market, Cardiff.jpg, St Mary Street entrance to Central Market File:Cardiff City Parish Church (St John the Baptist).jpg, St John's Church in Working Street File:The Old Library, The Hayes, Cardiff. - geograph.org.uk - 1186781.jpg, Old Library and Hayes Island, viewed from The Hayes

Events

A Christmas Market takes place in the Castle Quarter. In 2010 the market saw more than 40 stalls open up along High Street, St John's Street and Working Street. The Castle Quarter also hosts varied pop ups as part of the ARTcade initiative. The events have included exhibitions (Creative Exchange, Engineers of the Imagination), Research and Development Projects (Yellow Back Books), Community Interest Companies (Heads Above The Waves).

2010s development

Developments outside

have linked the castle grounds and Bute Park directly to the city centre via a walkway with High Street, aiming to tie the leisure facilities with the business facilities and improve the numbers of shoppers. The development was part of the £30m Sustainable Travel City project jointly funded by Cardiff Council and the

Welsh Assembly Government Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

Construction works

The £4 millionGuardian Cardiff , Wonderful Copenhagen - a glimpse of Cardiff's future
/ref> project to change the street-scape of the city centre commenced in February 2010. Cardiff Council hope to provide an enhanced retail and pedestrian experience for residents, businesses and visitors to the city centre, to reduce traffic, air pollution and noise levels. Work to pedestrianise St Mary Street and High Street in the city centre began in June/July 2010. Roadworks which took place outside Castle Street have caused traffic problems for motorists and commuters using the busy vein through the city centre.Guardian Cardiff , City centre roadworks into next phase
/ref>

offered business owners in the area's arcades a £300 reduction on rates as compensation for the disruption."Cardiff shops seek compensation for roadworks"
BBC News, 29 October 2010. The roadworks ended on 31 OctoberGuardian Cardiff , Castle Street roadworks end as figures suggest change in travel behaviour
/ref> The council was to concentrate on work between Quay Street and Wood Street in order to turn St Mary Street into an area of pedestrian priority.Cardiff Council , High Street - The Future
Guildhall Place was to become one-way, with a taxi rank stationed on the north side. The lower end of Guildhall Place was to be kept two-way to allow access to private car parks.

References

External links

Cardiff Council: High Street - The Futurewww.castlequarterarcades.co.uk
{{Economy and Industry of Cardiff Districts of Cardiff Shopping in Cardiff