View source for History of Cardiff

{{Short description| The 6,000 year history of Cardiff}}
{{EngvarB|date=June 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
[[File:Cardiff Castle keep.jpg|thumb|The ruins of the [[Norman architecture|Norman]] [[keep]] at [[Cardiff Castle]]]]
The '''history of Cardiff'''{{mdash}}a [[Local government in Wales|City and County Borough]] and the capital of [[Wales]]{{mdash}}spans at least 6,000 years. The area around [[Cardiff]] has been inhabited by [[Human|modern humans]] since the [[Neolithic]] Period. Four Neolithic burial chambers stand within a radius of {{convert|10|mi|abbr=on}} of Cardiff City Centre, with the [[St Lythans burial chamber]] the nearest, at about {{convert|4|mi|abbr=on}} to the west. [[Bronze Age Britain|Bronze Age]] [[Tumulus|tumuli]] are at the summit of [[Garth Hill]] (''The Garth''; {{langx|cy|Mynydd y Garth}}), within the county's northern boundary, and four [[British Iron Age|Iron Age]] [[Hill fort#Britain|hillfort]] and [[Enclosure (archaeology)|enclosure]] sites have been identified within the [[Cardiff|City and County of Cardiff]] boundary, including [[Caerau Hillfort]], an enclosed area of {{convert|5.1|ha|abbr=on}}. Until the [[Roman conquest of Britain]], Cardiff was part of the territory of an Iron Age [[Iron Age tribes in Britain|Celtic British tribe]] called the [[Silures]], which included the areas that would become known as [[Brecknockshire]], [[Monmouthshire (historic)|Monmouthshire]] and [[Glamorgan]]. The [[Cardiff Roman Fort|Roman fort]] established by the [[River Taff]], which gave its name to the city{{mdash}}''Caerdydd'', earlier ''Caerdyf'', from ''caer'' (fort) and ''Taf''{{mdash}}was built over an extensive settlement that had been established by the Silures in the 50s&nbsp;AD.

== Origins ==
{{See also|Neolithic|British Iron Age|Silures}}
[[File:Siambr Gladdu Lythian Sant o dde gorllewin.JPG|left|thumb|300px|[[St Lythans burial chamber]], is a single stone [[megalith]]ic [[dolmen]], built around [[5th millennium BC|6000&nbsp;BP]]]]
[[Mesolithic]] [[hunter-gatherer]]s from Central Europe began to [[Human migration|migrate]] northwards from the end of the last [[ice age]] (between 12,000 and 10,000&nbsp;[[Before Present|years before present(BP)]]). The area that would become known as Wales had become free of [[glacier]]s by about 10,250&nbsp;BP. At that time sea levels were much lower than today, and the shallower parts of what is now the [[North Sea]] were dry land. The east coast of present-day England and the coasts of present-day Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands were connected by the former landmass known as [[Doggerland]], forming the British Peninsula on the European mainland. The post-glacial rise in sea level separated Wales and Ireland, forming the [[Irish Sea]]. Doggerland was submerged by the North Sea and, by 8000&nbsp;BP, the British Peninsula had become the island of Great Britain.<ref name="Wales Hist 1">{{cite book|last=Davies|first=John|author-link =John Davies (historian)|title=A History of Wales|publisher=Penguin|year=1994|location=London|pages=4 & 5|isbn = 0-14-014581-8}}</ref><ref name="Tempus 1">{{cite book
  | editor-last = Morgan
  | editor-first = Prys
  
  | title = History of Wales, 25,000&nbsp;BC AD&nbsp;2000
  | publisher = Tempus
  | year = 2001
  | location = Stroud, Gloucestershire
  | pages = 17–22
  | isbn = 0-7524-1983-8}}</ref><ref name="BBCHistory-P1">{{cite web|title=Overview: From Neolithic to Bronze Age, 8000–800 BC (Page 1 of 6)|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/british_prehistory/overview_british_prehistory_01.shtml|access-date=5 August 2008|work=BBC History website|publisher=BBC|date=5 September 2006}}</ref> [[John Davies (historian)|John Davies]] has theorised that the story of ''[[Cantre'r Gwaelod]]'s'' drowning and tales in the ''[[Mabinogion]]'', of the waters between Wales and Ireland being narrower and shallower, may be distant folk memories of this time.<ref name="Wales Hist 1"/>

As Great Britain became heavily wooded, movement between different areas was restricted, and travel between what was to become known as Wales and continental Europe became easier by sea, rather than by land. People came to Wales by boat from the [[Iberian Peninsula]].<ref name="BBCNews-Genes">{{cite news|title=Genes link Celts to Basques|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/1256894.stm|access-date=5 August 2008|publisher=BBC News |date=3 April 2001}}</ref> These [[Neolithic]] [[colonization|colonists]] integrated with the indigenous people, gradually changing their lifestyles from a nomadic life of hunting and gathering, to become farmers, some of whom settled in the area that would become [[Glamorgan]].<ref name="GGAT 72">{{cite web|title=GGAT 72 Overviews|url=http://www.ggat.org.uk/cadw/cadw_reports/pdfs/GGAT%2072%20Overviews.pdf|format=PDF|pages=7, 31 & 47|access-date=18 December 2008|work=A Report for Cadw by Edith Evans BA PhD MIFA and Richard Lewis BA|publisher=Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust|year=2003}}</ref> They cleared the forests to establish pasture and to cultivate the land, developed new technologies such as ceramics and textile production, and they brought a tradition of [[long barrow]] construction that began in continental Europe during the [[5th millennium BC|7th&nbsp;millennium&nbsp;BC]].<ref name="Tempus 1"/>

[[Archaeology|Archaeological]] evidence from sites in and around Cardiff—the [[St Lythans burial chamber]], near [[Wenvoe]] (about {{convert|4|mi|abbr=on}} west, southwest of Cardiff City Centre), the [[Tinkinswood|Tinkinswood burial chamber]], near [[St. Nicholas, Vale of Glamorgan]] (about {{convert|6|mi|abbr=on}} west of Cardiff City Centre), the Cae'rarfau [[Chamber tomb|Chambered Tomb]], [[Creigiau]] (about {{convert|6|mi|abbr=on}} northwest of Cardiff City Centre) and the Gwern y Cleppa Long Barrow, near [[Coedkernew]], [[Newport, Wales|Newport]] (about {{convert|8+1/4|mi|abbr=on}} northeast of Cardiff City Centre)—shows that these Neolithic people had settled in the area around Cardiff from at least around 6,000&nbsp;BP, about 1500 years before either [[Stonehenge]] or The Egyptian [[Great Pyramid of Giza]] was completed.<ref name="Coflein St L">{{Coflein|desc=St Lythans Chambered Long Cairn, Maesyfelin; Gwal-y-Filiast|num=227289|access-date=9 June 2009|date=26 July 2007}}</ref><ref name="Coflein Tink">{{Coflein|desc=TINKINSWOOD CHAMBERED CAIRN|num=94510|access-date=9 June 2009|date=29 January 2003}}</ref><ref name="Coflein Cae">{{Coflein|desc=CAE-YR-ARFAU; CAE'RARFAU BURIAL CHAMBER|num=93016|access-date=9 June 2009|year=2009}}</ref><ref name="Coflein Gwern">{{Coflein|desc=GWERN-Y-CLEPPA, LONG BARROW|num=307811|access-date=9 June 2009|date=10 February 2003}}</ref><ref name="Stonehenge">{{cite web|title=Your guide to Stonehenge, the World's Favourite Megalithic Stone Circle|url=http://www.stonehenge.co.uk/history.htm|access-date=9 June 2009|work=Stonehenge.co.uk website|publisher=Longplayer SRS Ltd (trading as www.stonehenge.co.uk)|year=2009|archive-date=30 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120930081506/http://www.stonehenge.co.uk/history.php|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Wales.pre-Roman.jpg|left|thumb|Tribes of Wales at the time of the Roman invasion (The modern English border is also shown)]]
In common with the people living all over Great Britain, over the following centuries the people living around what is now known as Cardiff assimilated new immigrants and exchanged ideas of the [[Bronze Age Britain|Bronze Age]] and [[British Iron Age|Iron Age]] [[Celts|Celtic]] cultures. Together with the approximate areas now known as Breconshire, Monmouthshire and the rest of Glamorgan, the area that would become known as Cardiff was settled by a [[Celts|Celtic]] [[Britons (historical)|British]] tribe called the Silures.<ref name="Wales Hist 2">{{cite book|last=Davies|first=John|author-link =John Davies (historian)|title=A History of Wales|publisher=Penguin|year=1994|location=London|pages=15&nbsp;18|isbn = 0-14-014581-8}}</ref> There is a group of five [[Tumulus|tumuli]] at the top of [[Garth Hill|Mynydd y Garth]]—near the [[Cardiff|City and County of Cardiff]]'s northern boundary—thought to be Bronze Age, one of which supports a [[Triangulation station|trig. pillar]] on its flat top.<ref name="Coflein Garth">{{Coflein|desc=GARTH HILL, BARROW I |num=93060 |year=2008 }}</ref><ref name="Geograph1">{{cite web|title=Trig point on Tumulus on Garth Hill|url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/401909|access-date=30 September 2008|work=Geograph British Isles website|publisher=Geograph British Isles |year=2008}}</ref> Several Iron Age sites have been found in the City and County of Cardiff. They are: the Castle Field Camp, east of Graig Llywn, [[Pontprennau]]; Craig y Parc enclosure, Pentyrch; [[Llwynda-Ddu Camp|Llwynda Ddu Hillfort]], Pentyrch; and [[Caerau Hillfort]]—an enclosed area of {{convert|5.1|ha|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Coflein Graig">{{Coflein|desc=CASTLE FIELD CAMP E OF CRAIG-LLYWN|num=301309|access-date=9 June 2009|date=22 October 2004}}</ref><ref name="Coflein Craigyparc">{{Coflein|desc=CRAIG-Y-PARC, ENCLOSURE|num=91922|access-date=9 June 2009|year=1990}}</ref><ref name="Coflein Llwynda">{{Coflein|desc=LLWYNDA-DDU, HILLFORT|num=94599|access-date=9 June 2009|date=14 June 1989}}</ref><ref name="Coflein Caerau">{{Coflein|desc=CAERAU HILLFORT|num=94517|access-date=9 June 2009|date=5 February 2003}}</ref>

The Roman army invaded Great Britain in May AD&nbsp;43. The area to the south east of the [[Fosse Way]]—between modern day [[Lincoln, Lincolnshire|Lincoln]] and [[Exeter]]—was under Roman control by 47. British tribes from beyond this new frontier of the [[Roman Empire]] resisted the Roman advance and the Silures, along with [[Caratacus]] ({{langx|cy|Caradoc}}), attacked the Romans in 47 and 48.<ref name="Wales Hist 3"/> A [[Roman legion]] (thought to be the Twentieth) was defeated in 52 by the Silures.<ref name="Wales Hist 3">{{cite book|last=Davies|first=John|author-link =John Davies (historian)|title=A History of Wales|publisher=Penguin|year=1994|location=London|pages=27&nbsp;29|isbn = 0-14-014581-8}}</ref>
Archaeological evidence shows that a settlement had been established by the Silures in central Cardiff in the 50s&nbsp;AD, probably during the period following their victory over the Roman army. The settlement included several large timber-framed buildings of up to {{convert|45|m|abbr=on}} by {{convert|25|m|abbr=on}}. The extent of the settlement is not known. Until the Romans established their fort, which they built on the earlier Silures settlement, the area that would become known as Cardiff remained outside the control of the Roman province of [[Britannia]].<ref name="Coflein 2">{{Coflein|desc=CARDIFF ROMAN SETTLEMENT|num=301346|access-date=10 June 2009|date=30 August 2007}}</ref>

== The Roman settlement ==
{{Main|Cardiff Roman Fort}}
{{See also|Roman conquest of Britain|Sub-Roman Britain}}
[[File:Cardiff Castle (Roman wall).jpg|thumb|right|Part of the [[Ancient Roman defensive walls|Roman fort]] (below the red bricks) at [[Cardiff Castle]]]]
Excavations from inside Cardiff Castle walls suggest [[Roman legion]]s arrived in the area as early as AD&nbsp;54–68 during the reign of the [[Nero|Emperor Nero]].<ref name="Castle"/> The Romans defeated the [[Silures]] and exiled [[Caratacus]] to Rome. They then established their first [[Castra|fort]], built on this strategically important site where the [[River Taff]] and [[River Ely]] enter the [[Bristol Channel]], on a {{convert|10|acre|abbr=on}} site on which were built timber barracks, stores and workshops.<ref name="Castle"/>

The Silures were not finally conquered until {{circa}} AD&nbsp;75, when [[Sextus Julius Frontinus]]' long campaign against them began to succeed, and they gained control of the whole of [[Roman Wales|Wales]].<ref name="Wales Hist 1"/> The Roman fort at Cardiff was rebuilt smaller than before, in the 70s&nbsp;AD on the site of the extensive previous settlement dating from the 50s&nbsp;AD.<ref name="Coflein 2"/> Another fort was built on the site around 250, with stone walls {{convert|10|ft|abbr=on}} thick along with an earth bank, to help defend against attacks from [[Hibernia]].  This was used until the [[Roman army]] [[End of Roman rule in Britain|withdrew]] from the fort, and from the whole of the [[Roman province|province]] of [[Britannia]], near the start of the 5th century.<ref name="Castle"/><ref name="Bob Sanders-period up to 1699">{{cite web |url= https://www.angelfire.com/ga/BobSanders/CDFF1.html |publisher=Bob Sanders |title=A Cardiff & Vale of Glamorgan Chronology up to 1699 |access-date=29 February 2008}}</ref>

== The Viking settlement and the Middle Ages ==
During the early [[Dark Ages (historiography)|Dark Ages]] little is known of Cardiff. It is speculated that perhaps for long periods, raiders attacked the area, making Cardiff untenable,<ref name="Castle">{{cite web|url=http://www.cardiffcastle.com/castle.htm |publisher=Cardiff Castle |title=Romans 55-400AD |access-date=30 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080304033337/http://www.cardiffcastle.com/castle.htm |archive-date=4 March 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="1911 Encyclopedia">{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Cardiff |volume=5 |page=318}}</ref> By 850 the [[Viking#Wales|Vikings]] attacked the Welsh coast and used Cardiff as a base and later as a port. Street names such as Dumballs Road and [[Womanby Street]] come from the Vikings.<ref name="Theosophical Society">{{cite web |url= http://www.theosophycardiff.care4free.net/One%20Minute%20History%20of%20Cardiff.htm |publisher= Theosophical Society |title= Chronology of Cardiff History |access-date=31 December 2007}}</ref>

[[File:Cardiff Records Town wall - G H Wills.jpg|thumb|left|Section of Cardiff town wall east of Working Street in 1890, demolished in 1901]]

In 1091, [[Robert Fitzhamon]] the [[Lord of Glamorgan]], began work on the castle keep within the walls of the old Roman fort and by 1111, [[Cardiff town walls]] had also been built and this was recorded by [[Caradoc of Llancarfan]] in his book ''[[Brut y Tywysogion]]'' (''Chronicle of the Princes'').<ref name="Roese Town">{{cite web|url= http://web.onetel.net.uk/~herbertroese/Townwalls.htm|publisher= Herbert E. Roese|title= The Town's Wall|date= 6 February 2000|access-date= 11 December 2011|archive-date= 28 May 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120528150350/http://web.onetel.net.uk/~herbertroese/Townwalls.htm|url-status= dead}}</ref> [[Cardiff Castle]] has been at the heart of the city ever since.<ref name="Cardiff Visitors">{{cite web|url=http://www.visitcardiff.com/About-Cardiff/Cardiff-History.html |publisher=Visit Cardiff |title=Cardiff history |access-date=29 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080208165613/http://www.visitcardiff.com/About-Cardiff/Cardiff-History.html |archive-date=8 February 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Soon a little town grew up in the shadow of the castle, made up primarily of settlers from England.<ref name="Cardiffians">{{cite web |url= http://www.cardiffians.co.uk/timeline.shtml |publisher= Cardiffians |title=Cardiff Timeline |access-date=29 February 2008}}</ref> Cardiff had a population of between 1,500 and 2,000 in the Middle Ages, a relatively normal size for a Welsh town in this period.<ref name="Tim Lambert-short history of Cardiff">{{cite web |url=http://www.localhistories.org/Cardiff.html |publisher=Tim Lambert |title=A SHORT HISTORY OF CARDIFF |access-date=29 February 2008 |archive-date=11 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121211062541/http://www.localhistories.org/Cardiff.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Robert Fitzhamon died in 1107,<ref name="Castle"/> later his daughter Mabel, married [[Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester]], the [[Legitimacy (family law)|illegitimate]] son of [[Henry I of England|King Henry I of England]]. He built the first stone keep in Cardiff Castle, and he used it to imprison [[Robert II, Duke of Normandy]] from 1126 until his death in 1134,<ref name="Castle"/> by order of King Henry I, who was the Duke's younger brother.<ref name="Castle"/> During the same period Ralph "Prepositus de Kardi" ("Provost of Cardiff") took up office as the first Mayor of Cardiff.<ref name="Cardiff Council">{{cite web |url= http://www.cardiff.gov.uk/content.asp?nav=2872%2C4951%2C5030&parent_directory_id=2865&positioning_article_id=&language=&sortkey= |publisher= Cardiff Council |title= The Early Mayors of Cardiff |access-date= 31 December 2007 |archive-date= 9 June 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110609170711/http://www.cardiff.gov.uk/content.asp?nav=2872,4951,5030&parent_directory_id=2865&positioning_article_id=&language=&sortkey= |url-status= dead }}</ref> During this period after the Norman conquest they usually referred the leading figure by the Latin name of prepositus ({{langx|en|[[Provost (civil)|provost]]}}) meaning "leading man".<ref name="Glossary">{{cite web |url=http://www.trytel.com/~tristan/towns/glossary.html#bailiff |publisher= Medieval English Towns |title= Medieval English Towns – Glossary|access-date=2 April 2008}}</ref> Robert (Earl of Gloucester) died in 1147 and was succeeded by his son [[William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester|William, 2nd Earl of Gloucester]] who died without male heir in 1183.<ref name="Castle"/> The lordship of Cardiff then passed to Prince John, later [[John of England|King John]] through his marriage to [[Isabel, Countess of Gloucester]], William's daughter. John divorced Isabel but retained the lordship until her second marriage; to Geoffrey FitzGeoffrey de Mandeville, 2nd [[Earl of Essex]] in 1214 until 1216 when the lordship passed to [[Gilbert de Clare, 5th Earl of Hertford]].<ref name="Castle"/>

Between 1158 and 1316 Cardiff was attacked on several occasions.<ref name="Bob Sanders-period up to 1699" /> Amongst the various attackers of the castle were [[Ifor Bach]], who captured the [[Earl of Gloucester]] who at the time held the castle. [[Morgan ap Maredudd]] apparently attacked the settlement during [[Welsh revolt of 1294–95|the revolt]] of [[Madog ap Llywelyn]] in 1294. In 1316 [[Llywelyn Bren]], Ifor Bach's great-grandson, also attacked Cardiff Castle as part of a revolt. He was illegally executed in the town in 1318 on the order of [[Hugh Despenser the Younger]].

By the end of the 13th century, Cardiff was the only town in Wales with a population exceeding 2,000, but it was relatively small compared to most other notable towns in the [[Kingdom of England]].<ref name="International Economic History Congress">{{cite web |url= http://www.helsinki.fi/iehc2006/papers3/Campbell122.pdf |format=PDF|title=Benchmarking medieval economic development: England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, circa 1290|access-date=2 April 2008}}</ref> Cardiff had an established port in the Middle Ages and by 1327, it was declared a [[Staple port]].<ref name="Bob Sanders-period up to 1699"/> The town had weekly markets and after 1340, Cardiff also had 2 annual [[fair]]s, which drew traders from all around [[Glamorgan]].<ref name="Local History">{{cite web|url=http://www.localhistories.org/Cardiff.html|publisher=World History Encyclopedia by Tim Lambert|title=A Short History of Cardiff|access-date=2 April 2008|archive-date=11 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121211062541/http://www.localhistories.org/Cardiff.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1404, [[Owain Glyndŵr]] burned Cardiff and took Cardiff Castle.<ref name="Bob Sanders-period up to 1699" /> As the town was still very small, most of the buildings were made of wood and the town was reduced to ashes. However, the town was rebuilt not long after and began to flourish once again.<ref name="Tim Lambert-short history of Cardiff" />

== County town of Glamorganshire ==
[[File:John Speed's map of Cardiff 1610.jpg|thumb|right|[[John Speed]]'s map of Cardiff from 1610]]
[[File:DV405 no.182 Cardiff.png|thumb|Cardiff in 1830]]
In 1536, the [[Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542|Act of Union]] between England and Wales led to the creation of the [[shire]] of Glamorgan. Cardiff was made the [[county town]]. Around this same time the Herbert family became the most powerful family in the area.<ref name="Cardiffians" /> In 1538, [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] closed the [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] and [[Franciscan]] friaries in Cardiff, the remains of which were used as building materials.<ref name="Tim Lambert-short history of Cardiff" /> A writer around this period described Cardiff: "The River Taff runs under the walls of his honours castle and from the north part of the town to the south part where there is a fair quay and a safe harbour for shipping."<ref name="Tim Lambert-short history of Cardiff" />

In 1542, Cardiff gained representation in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] for the first time. The next year, the English [[militia]] system was introduced. In 1551, [[William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (died 1570)|William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke]] was created first [[Baron Herbert of Cardiff]].<ref name="Cardiffians" />

Cardiff had become a Free Borough in 1542.<ref name="Bob Sanders-period up to 1699" /> In 1573, it was made a head port for collection of customs duties. In 1581, [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]] granted Cardiff its first [[royal charter]].<ref name="Cardiffians" /> By 1602 [[Pembrokeshire]] historian [[George Owen of Henllys|George Owen]] described Cardiff as "the fayrest towne in Wales yett not the welthiest.<ref name="Cardiffians" /> The town gained a second [[Royal charter]] in 1608.<ref name="GoogoBits">{{cite web|url=http://www.googobits.com/articles/2181-a-history-lovers-guide-to-cardiff.html |publisher=GoogoBits.com |title=A History Lovers Guide to Cardiff |access-date=31 December 2007 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080117091733/http://www.googobits.com/articles/2181-a-history-lovers-guide-to-cardiff.html |archive-date=17 January 2008 }}</ref> During the [[Second English Civil War]], [[St. Fagans]] just to the west of the town, played host to the [[Battle of St Fagans]]. The battle, between a [[Cavalier|Royalist]] rebellion and a [[New Model Army]] detachment, was a decisive victory for the [[Roundhead|Parliamentarians]] and allowed [[Oliver Cromwell]] to conquer Wales.<ref name="Bob Sanders-period up to 1699" /> It is the last major battle to occur in Wales, with a total death toll of about 200 (mostly Royalist) soldiers killed.<ref name="Cardiffians" />

In the ensuing century Cardiff was at peace. In 1766, [[John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute]] married into the Herbert family and was later created [[Marquess of Bute|Baron Cardiff]].<ref name="Cardiffians" /> In 1778, he began renovations on Cardiff Castle.<ref name="Bob Sanders 2">{{cite web |url= https://www.angelfire.com/ga/BobSanders/CDFF2.html |publisher=Bob Sanders |title=A Cardiff & Vale of Glamorgan Chronology 1700 – 1849 |access-date=4 March 2008}}</ref> In the 1790s, a [[race track]], [[printing press]], bank and [[coffeehouse|coffee room]] all opened, and Cardiff gained a [[stagecoach]] service to London. Despite these improvements, Cardiff's position in the Welsh [[urban hierarchy]] had declined over the 18th century. [[Iolo Morganwg]] called it "an obscure and inconsiderable place", and the [[Census Act 1800|1801 census]] found the population to be only 1,870, making Cardiff only the twenty-fifth largest town in Wales, well behind [[Merthyr Tydfil]] and [[Swansea]].<ref name="Encyclopedia of Wales">The Welsh Academy Encyclopedia of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press 2008.</ref>

== Building of the docks to modern Cardiff ==
[[File:John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute.jpg|thumb|left|upright|2nd Marquess of Bute]]

In 1793, [[John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute]] was born. He would spend his life building the Cardiff docks and would later be called "the creator of modern Cardiff".<ref name="Cardiffians" /> In 1815, a boat service between Cardiff and [[Bristol]] was established, running twice weekly.<ref name="Bob Sanders 2" /> In 1821, the Cardiff Gas Works was established.<ref name="Bob Sanders 2" />

The town grew rapidly from the 1830s onwards, when the [[Marquess of Bute]] built a dock which eventually linked to the [[Taff Vale Railway]]. Cardiff became the main port for exports of coal from the [[Cynon Valley|Cynon]], [[Rhondda]], and [[Rhymney Valley|Rhymney]] valleys, and grew at a rate of nearly 80% per decade between 1840 and 1870. Much of the growth was due to [[Human migration|migration]] from within and outside Wales: in 1851, a quarter of Cardiff's population were English-born and more than 10% had been born in Ireland. By the 1881 census, Cardiff had overtaken both Merthyr and Swansea to become the largest town in Wales. Cardiff's new status as the premier town in South Wales was confirmed when it was chosen as the site of the [[University of Wales|University College South Wales and Monmouthshire]] in 1893.<ref name="Encyclopedia of Wales"/>

Cardiff developed municipal [[slaughterhouse]]s from 1835, one of the first cities in the United Kingdom to do so, and by the early twentieth century there were no private slaughterhouses.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Otter |first1=Chris |title=Diet for a large planet |date=2020 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=USA |isbn=978-0-226-69710-9 |page=38 }}</ref>

Cardiff faced a challenge in the 1880s when [[David Davies (industrialist)|David Davies of Llandinam]] and the [[Barry Railway Company]] promoted the development of rival docks at [[Barry, Vale of Glamorgan|Barry]]. Barry docks had the advantage of being accessible in all [[tide]]s, and David Davies claimed that his venture would cause "grass to grow in the streets of Cardiff". From 1901 coal exports from Barry surpassed those from Cardiff, but the administration of the coal trade remained centred on Cardiff, in particular its [[Coal Exchange]], where the price of coal on the British market was determined and the first million-pound deal was struck in 1907.<ref name="Encyclopedia of Wales"/> The city also strengthened its industrial base with the decision of [[GKN|Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds]], owners of the [[Dowlais Ironworks]] in Merthyr, to build a new [[steel mill|steelworks]] close to the docks at East Moors in 1890. The metalworks at nearby [[Port Talbot]] also helped developed the industrial base of [[Glamorgan]].

== City and capital city status ==
[[File:Pierhead & Senedd Buildings.jpg|thumb|The former Associated British Ports [[Pierhead Building]] and the Welsh Assembly's [[Senedd building|Senedd]] building in [[Cardiff Bay]]]]
[[Edward VII of the United Kingdom|King Edward VII]] granted Cardiff [[City status in the United Kingdom|city status]] on 28 October 1905,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27849|page=7249|date=31 October 1905}}</ref> and the city acquired a [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral|Cathedral]] in 1916.<ref group=notes>The ancient [[Llandaff Cathedral]] was outside the city boundaries until 1922</ref> In subsequent years an increasing number of national institutions were located in the city, including the [[National Museum Cardiff|National Museum of Wales]], Welsh national [[war memorial]], and the [[University of Wales]] registry – although it was denied the [[National Library of Wales]], partly because the library's founder, [[Sir John Williams, 1st Baronet, of the City of London|Sir John Williams]], considered Cardiff to have "a non-Welsh population".<ref name=autogenerated1>Encyclopedia of Wales</ref>

After a brief post-war boom, Cardiff docks entered a prolonged decline in the [[interwar period]]. By 1936, their trade was less than half its value in 1913, reflecting the slump in demand for [[South Wales coalfield|Welsh coal]].<ref name=autogenerated1 /> In 1938, the county borough of Cardiff was extended to include [[Rumney, Cardiff|Rumney]], though Rumney remained part of [[Monmouthshire]] and so England.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/1937-07-27/debates/d13251d3-de35-4898-8b3c-82b2d025ff32/CardiffExtensionBill|publisher=Hansard|title=House of Lords: Cardiff Extension Bill third reading|date=27 July 1937}}</ref><ref>{{cite map|url=http://maps.nls.uk/view/91577104|title=Ordnance Survey One-inch to the mile, 7th Series, Sheet 154 - Cardiff|publisher=[[National Library of Scotland]]|date=1961}}</ref> Bomb damage during the [[Cardiff Blitz]] in [[World War II]] included the devastation of [[Llandaff Cathedral]], and in the immediate postwar years the city's link with the Bute family came to an end.

The city was proclaimed capital city of Wales on 20 December 1955, by a written reply by the [[Home Secretary]] [[Gwilym Lloyd George, 1st Viscount Tenby|Gwilym Lloyd George]]. [[Caernarfon]] had also vied for this title.<ref>Cardiff as Capital of Wales: Formal Recognition by Government. The Times. 21 December 1955.</ref> Cardiff therefore celebrated two important [[anniversary|anniversaries]] in 2005. The Encyclopedia of Wales notes that the decision to recognise the city as the capital of Wales "had more to do with the fact that it contained marginal [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] constituencies than any reasoned view of what functions a Welsh capital should have". Although the city hosted the [[Commonwealth Games]] in 1958, Cardiff only became a centre of national administration with the establishment of the [[Welsh Office]] in 1964, which later prompted the creation of various other public bodies such as the [[Arts Council of Wales]] and the [[Welsh Development Agency]], most of which were headquartered in Cardiff.  

The East Moors Steelworks closed in 1978 and Cardiff lost population during the 1980s,<ref>[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_table_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TPop&u_id=10150530&c_id=10001043&add=N Cardiff Wales through time | Population Statistics | Total Population]</ref> consistent with a wider pattern of [[counter urbanisation]] in Britain. However, it recovered and was one of the few cities (outside London) where population grew during the 1990s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/dps/case/cbcb/census1.pdf|title=The Growth and Decline of Cities and Regions|first1=Ruth |last1=Lupton |first2=Anne|last2=Power|date= July 2004|publisher=Case-Brookings Census Briefs|via=[[London School of Economics]]}}</ref> During this period the [[Cardiff Bay Development Corporation]] was promoting the [[Urban renewal|redevelopment]] of south Cardiff; an evaluation of the regeneration of Cardiff Bay published in 2004 concluded that the project had "reinforced the competitive position of Cardiff" and "contributed to a massive improvement in the quality of the built environment", although it had failed "to attract the major inward investors originally anticipated".<ref>Esys Consulting Ltd, Evaluation of Regeneration in Cardiff Bay. A report for the Welsh Assembly Government, December 2004</ref>

In the [[1997 Welsh devolution referendum|1997 devolution referendum]], Cardiff voters rejected the establishment of the [[National Assembly for Wales]] by 55.4% to 44.2% on a 47% turnout, which Denis Balsom partly ascribed to a general preference in Cardiff and some other parts of Wales for a [[British people|'British']] rather than exclusively [[Welsh people|'Welsh']] [[Nation|identity]].<ref>Balsom, Denis. 'The referendum result'. In Jones, James Barry; Balsom, Denis (ed.), ''The road to the National Assembly for Wales''. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2000.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.swansea.ac.uk/history/research/Wales%20the%20Postnation.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2008-05-20 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408201247/http://www.swansea.ac.uk/history/research/Wales%20the%20Postnation.pdf |archive-date=8 April 2008 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The relative lack of support for the Assembly locally, and difficulties between the Welsh Office and Cardiff Council in acquiring the original preferred venue, [[City Hall, Cardiff|Cardiff City Hall]],<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/34653.stm | publisher=BBC News | title=Where to now for the Welsh Assembly? | date=25 November 1997 | access-date=4 May 2010}}</ref> encouraged other local authorities to bid to house the Assembly.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ossw.wales.gov.uk/2006/foi/foi_20060920_15.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=20 May 2008 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528025511/http://ossw.wales.gov.uk/2006/foi/foi_20060920_15.pdf |archive-date=28 May 2008 }}</ref> However, the Assembly eventually located at Crickhowell House in Cardiff Bay in 1999; in 2005, a new [[Senedd building|debating chamber]] on an adjacent site, designed by [[Richard Rogers]], was opened.

The city was [[county town]] of [[Glamorgan]] until the council reorganisation in 1974 paired Cardiff and the now [[Vale of Glamorgan]] together as the new county of [[South Glamorgan]]. Further local government restructuring in 1996 resulted in Cardiff city's [[Districts of Wales|district]] council becoming a [[unitary authority]], the [[Cardiff Council|City and County of Cardiff]], with the addition of [[Creigiau]] and [[Pentyrch]].

On 1 March 2004, Cardiff was granted [[Fairtrade Town|Fairtrade City]] status.

==See also==
{{Portal|Wales}}
* [[History of Wales]]
* [[Timeline of Cardiff history]]
* [[Tiger Bay]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=notes}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://members.lycos.co.uk/NorwegianChurch2/Medievalcardiff.html Cardiff's Medieval Town Defences]

{{-}}
{{Cardiff}}
{{Culture in Cardiff}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Cardiff}}
[[Category:History of Cardiff| ]]