View source for Splott

{{Short description|Area of Cardiff, Wales}}
{{for|the electoral ward of the same name|Splott (electoral ward)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox UK place
| official_name               = Splott
| country                     = Wales
| type                        = [[Community (Wales)|Community]]
| static_image_name           = 
| static_image_caption        = 
| static_image_width          = 260px
| population                  = 13,261
| population_ref              = <ref name="2011census" />
| os_grid_reference           = ST200767
| post_town                   = CARDIFF
| postcode_area               = CF
| postcode_district           = CF24
| dial_code                   = 029
| constituency_westminster    = [[Cardiff South & Penarth (UK Parliament constituency)|Cardiff South & Penarth]]
| unitary_wales               = [[Cardiff]]
| constituency_welsh_assembly = [[Cardiff South and Penarth (National Assembly for Wales constituency)|Cardiff South & Penarth]]
| CASCode                     =
| hide_services               = 
| module= [[File:Cardiff Wales communities - Splott post-2016 locator.png|240px]]<br />Map of the community
}}
'''Splott''' ({{langx|cy|Y Sblot}}) is a [[district]] and [[Community (Wales)|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. Splott is characterised by its once vast steelworks and rows of tightly knit terraced houses. The [[suburb]] of Splott falls into the [[Splott (electoral ward)|Splott electoral ward]].

Fanciful suggestions for the origin of the name have included a truncation of ''God's Plot'', as the land belonged to the [[Bishop of Llandaff]] in [[medieval]] times, and a derivation of ''plat'', meaning a grassy area of land. The name of the original farm would seem to be [[Middle English]] {{lang|enm|splott}}, from [[Old English]] ('speck, blot, patch of land') and the word is to be found in other English place names in the [[Vale of Glamorgan]], [[Gower Peninsula|Gower]], and [[Pembrokeshire]], as well as in [[Somerset]] and [[Devon]], in the [[West Country]] of England, from where it was presumably introduced by English settlers. It has frequently been noted on lists of [[place names considered unusual|unusual place names]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=29zh3dIgmv8C&pg=PR12 |title=Welcome to Horneytown, North Carolina, Population: 15: An insider's guide to 201 of the world's weirdest and wildest places |publisher=Adams Media |last=Parker |first=Quentin |year=2010 |isbn=9781440507397}}</ref>

The population of Splott in the [[United Kingdom Census 2001]]<ref name="Census">{{cite web |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/localarea?compare=W04000863 |title=Splott Parish Local Area Report |work=National Statistics |year=2001 |access-date=2021-01-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527142403/https://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=801840&c=CF24+2BU&d=16&e=15&g=422647&i=1001x1003x1004&o=1&m=0&r=0&s=1199910119265&enc=1&dsFamilyId=779 |archive-date=2013-05-27}}</ref> was 12,074, in 5,101 households, of which only 183 are detached homes. Of the 8,221 adults in the area, only 1,000 have the lowest category of qualifications (Level 1 or below). In 2011 the population had increased to 13,261.<ref name="2011census">{{cite web |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/localarea?compare=W04000863 |title=Splott Parish Local Area Report |work=Nomis |access-date=2021-01-16}}</ref>

==History==
Splott is a traditional part of the City of Cardiff. Most of the housing stock is Victorian in origin built during the expansion of the city's iron and steel industry to house workers in these factories.

The early history of Splott is given in the Cardiff Records.<ref name="CardRec">{{cite book |last=Matthews |first=John Hobson |title=Cardiff Records, being Materials for a History of the County Borough from the Earliest Times (Vol 2) |year=1900 |url=http://www.btinternet.com/~pat.sewell/cr/manors/cr-splott.html |access-date=2021-01-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060522150314/http://www.btinternet.com/~pat.sewell/cr/manors/cr-splott.html |archive-date=2006-05-22}}</ref> This says that "Splott was anciently held by the Bawdrips of Penmark. It consisted mainly of two farms, called the Upper and Lower Splott, situated between [[Roath]] Village and the sea."
* 1440 – the Splott is mentioned as bounding certain lands of [[Isabel le Despenser, Countess of Worcester and Warwick]].
* 1596 – William Bawdrip of Penmark built a fair house at the Splott and made it his chief residence.
* 1626 – William Bawdrip of Splott was [[Member of Parliament]] for Cardiff. He sold Penmark and Splott to Sir Edward Lewis of the Van.
* 1638 – Sir Edward Lewis of the Van died.
* 1740 – the Llandaff Survey of this year mentions a chief rent of four [[shilling]]s as payable in respect of Splott Farm in Roath.

[[File:Haberson Street, Splott, Cardiff.jpg|thumb|right|Habershon Street, named after William Habershon]]
No residential or industrial development took place in the area, however, until the end of the 19th century. In 1880 the whole area between Cardiff and the [[Bristol Channel]] (known as East Moors) was [[marshland]], apart from the farms of Pengam and Splott. Residential development started in the 1880s, constructing streets, houses, shops, [[tavern]]s and Board Schools; subsequently, Churches were built by various denominations.<ref name="StAlb">{{cite web |url=http://www.stalbanssplott.co.uk/history.htm |title=St. Alban's Parish Cardiff |year=2006 |access-date=2021-01-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060502040600/http://www.stalbanssplott.co.uk/history.htm |archive-date=2006-05-02}}</ref><ref name="ParishHistory">{{cite web |url=https://cardifforatory.co.uk/parish-history/ |title=History of St. Alban on the Moors 1880-2020 |access-date=2021-01-16}}</ref> The streets and housing were laid out by [[Habershon and Fawckner|Habershon & Fawckner]], architects for the [[Tredegar Estate]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Newman |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DpUMspCtpNIC&q=Habershon+%26+Fawckner&pg=PA692 |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |title=The Buildings of Wales: Glamorgan |year=1995 |page=311 |isbn=0-14-071056-6}}</ref> Splott park opened in 1901.<ref name="SHoC">{{cite web |url=http://www.localhistories.org/Cardiff.html |title=A Brief History of Cardiff, Wales |first=Tim |last=Lambert |work=Local and National Histories |access-date=2021-01-16}}</ref>

Inevitably there have been many changes in the years since Splott was first developed. Portmanmoor Road is now an industrial estate and its former [[Victorian era]] housing was demolished along with adjoining Enid Street, Layard Street, and Menelaus Street which no longer exist.

There is a strong community focus and this is centred on churches, schools, pubs and sporting teams. Roman Catholics remain well catered for through St. Albans and the associated school. This continues to produce rugby teams of all age groups which compete in city leagues. Splott University Settlement was one of the most successful [[Welsh baseball|British baseball]] teams, winning the Welsh League title several times.

Bridgend Street was one of the 17 streets demolished in the early 1970s, but to this day is recalled in the name of Bridgend Street Football Club, which plays in the Welsh Football League.<ref name=page91>{{cite web |url=http://wfleague.co.uk/teams/view/91 |title=Bridgend Street – The Willows, Cardiff |publisher=The Welsh Football League |access-date=2021-01-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190910222054/http://wfleague.co.uk/teams/view/91 |archive-date=2019-09-10}}</ref> The nickname of Bridgend Street is "The Mission" and motto is "Deeds Not Words". Their home base is The Fleurs Social Club on Portmanmoor Road.<ref name=page91 />

In 2016 the [[Tremorfa]] district, which had previously been included as part of Splott, became a local government [[Community (Wales)|community]] in its own right.<ref>{{cite web |title=The City and County of Cardiff (Communities) Order 2016 No. 1155 (W. 277) |date=2016 |publisher=Welsh Statutory Instruments |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2016/1155/pdfs/wsi_20161155_mi.pdf |access-date=2021-01-16}}</ref> There is no [[community council]] for the Splott or Tremorfa areas.

In July 2017 the derelict citadel church collapsed with debris falling on the nearby rail line. One man died.<ref>{{cite news |title=Cardiff church collapses: Man dies after Splott incident |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-40647984 |date=2017-07-18 |newspaper=BBC |access-date=2021-01-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Collapsed church building in Cardiff: Everything we know so far |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/collapsed-church-building-cardiff-everything-13350909 |newspaper=Wales Online |first=Aled |last=Blake |date=2017-07-18 |access-date=2021-01-16}}</ref>

==The Welsh language==
The earliest known example of Welsh-language literature from Splott is a poem by the Elizabethan poet [[Dafydd Benwyn]] on the death of William Bawdrip of Splott.<ref>{{cite thesis |first=Dafydd H. |last=Evans |title=The Life and Work of Dafydd Benwyn |type=Ph.D. |publisher=Oxford University |year=1981}}</ref> It includes the couplet:

{{Verse translation|lang=cy|
Du yw'r Ysblot dros y blaid,
Diweniaith, da i weiniaid
|Splott is black for his people,
Without flattery, (he was) good to the weak}}

With the growth of Splott as a suburb of Cardiff, English was established as the main language.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

The number of Welsh speakers in the area increased when East Moors Steelworks was opened in 1891 with large numbers of workers from the parent plant at [[Dowlais]] near [[Merthyr Tydfil]]. To meet the religious needs of these Welsh-speaking workers, Welsh-language chapels were opened in the area, including Ainon, Walker Road (1894, Welsh [[Baptist Union of Wales|Baptists]]);<ref>{{cite book |first=G. Sorton |last=Davies |title=These Forty Years: A History of Ainon Baptist Church, Splott, Cardiff, 1889-1929 |location=Cardiff |year=1929}}</ref> Bethlehem, Eyre Stree (1895, Welsh [[Union of Welsh Independents|Independents]]);<ref name="Nonconformity">{{cite book |first1=J. Austin |last1=Jenkins |first2=R. Edwards |last2=James |title=The History of Nonconformity in Cardiff |location=London |publisher=H. R. Allenson |year=1901 |page=92 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4aBqMwEACAAJ |access-date=2021-01-16}}</ref> and Jerusalem, Manon Street/Walker Road (1892, [[Presbyterian Church of Wales|Calvinistic Methodists]]).<ref name="Nonconformity" />

According to the [[2011 UK Census]] the number of Splott residents over three years old who could speak Welsh was 1,077 (8.6%).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.comisiynyddygymraeg.cymru/English/Policy,%20research%20and%20data/Census%20Data/Pages/2011CensusresultsbyCommunity.aspx |title=2011 Census results by Community |publisher=Welsh Language Commissioner |access-date=2021-01-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106224958/http://www.comisiynyddygymraeg.cymru/English/Policy,%20research%20and%20data/Census%20Data/Pages/2011CensusresultsbyCommunity.aspx |archive-date=2018-11-06}}</ref>

Splott has one [[Welsh medium education|Welsh-medium]] primary school, Ysgol Glan Morfa.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ysgolglanmorfa.co.uk/ |title=Ysgol Glan Morfa |access-date=2021-01-16}}</ref>

==People==
[[Image:WilsonStreetSplott(Linda Bailey)Apr2006.jpg|right|thumb|170px|Wilson Street, Splott]]

* [[John Humphrys]] (radio and TV presenter) was born in Splott.<ref name="BBCJH">{{cite web |date=June 2005| title=John Humphrys {{!}} Tenacious journalist and broadcaster |work=BBC – South East Wales | url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southeast/halloffame/public_life/john_humphrys.shtml |access-date=2006-03-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111175730/http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southeast/halloffame/public_life/john_humphrys.shtml |archive-date=2012-11-11}}</ref>
* Dame [[Shirley Bassey]] (singer) originated from nearby [[Tiger Bay]], but moved to Splott at the age of two and attended Moorland Primary School and Splott Secondary Modern School.<ref name="BBCSB">{{cite web |date=June 2005| title=Dame Shirley Bassey {{!}} First lady of song - big voice from Tiger Bay |work=BBC - South East Wales | url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southeast/halloffame/showbiz/shirley_bassey.shtml |access-date=2021-01-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111175754/http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southeast/halloffame/showbiz/shirley_bassey.shtml |archive-date=2012-11-11}}</ref>
*[[Clive Sullivan]] (Welsh rugby league player) grew up in Splott.<ref name="WRL">{{cite web |author=Wales Rugby League |year=2004 |title=Clive Sullivan [1961–1984] |work=Wales Rugby League: Welsh Hall of Fame |url=http://wales.rleague.com/profiles/clive.php |access-date=2021-01-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070108150344/http://wales.rleague.com/profiles/clive.php |archive-date=2007-01-08}}</ref>
*[[Helen Raynor]], writer of the ''[[Torchwood]]'' episode "Ghost Machine", which is also largely set there, lives in Splott.
*[[Lynn Bowles]], the morning traffic reporter on [[BBC Radio 2]], was born in Splott.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-43547367 |title=Lynn Bowles: 'Totty from Splotty' just 'silliness' |date=2018-03-27 |work=BBC News |access-date=2021-01-16}}</ref>

==Popular culture==
[[Image:FarmvilleRoadSplott(Linda Bailey)Feb2006.jpg|right|thumb|180px|Farmville Road, Splott]]

Splott is featured in the third episode ("[[Ghost Machine (Torchwood)|Ghost Machine]]") of the [[BBC]] [[science fiction]] [[drama]] and ''[[Doctor Who]]'' spin-off ''[[Torchwood]]'', which is set in Cardiff.  It is also mentioned somewhat humorously in other episodes, due to its English pronunciation, which was referred to as "SP-LO-T" but was corrected as "SP-LO". Splott also features in the ''Torchwood'' novel ''[[Another Life (Torchwood)|Another Life]]''.

Splott and the neighbouring district of [[Tremorfa]] are the settings for several works by Welsh playwright [[Peter Gill (playwright)|Peter Gill]].

Because the morning [[BBC Radio 2]] traffic reports are read by the Splott-born [[Lynn Bowles]], many listener contributions to the [[Terry Wogan]] and [[Ken Bruce]] shows feature (primarily fictitious) anecdotes humorously referring to the district. Lynn was affectionately known as "The Totty from Splotty". On 14 December 2009, Wogan was made ''Lord of Splott'' live on his [[Wake Up to Wogan|radio programme]] in its final week, by resident and broadcaster [[Noreen Bray]]. She invested him on behalf of TAFFS, or Terry's Adoring Fans From Splott.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/city-honour-sir-terry-wogan-2064786 |title=City honour for Sir Terry Wogan, 'Lord of Splott' |first=Abby |last=Bolter |date=2009-12-12 |access-date=2021-01-16 |work=WalesOnline}}</ref>

Splott is the setting of “Iphigenia in Splott”, a modern-day reworking of the classic Greek drama, by Welsh playwright [[Gary Owen (playwright)|Gary Owen]].  It premiered at Cardiff's [[Sherman Theatre]] in 2015, before transferring to the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]] in London and the [[59E59 Theaters]] in New York in 2016.

==Governance==
Splott is also an [[Ward (politics)|electoral ward]] and parish of [[Cardiff]], [[Wales]]. [[Splott (electoral ward)|The electoral ward]] includes the areas of [[Pengam Green]], Splott and [[Tremorfa]].  The ward is bounded by [[Adamsdown]] and [[Penylan]] to the northwest; [[Rumney, Cardiff|Rumney]] and [[Trowbridge, Cardiff|Trowbridge]] to the north east; the [[River Severn|Severn estuary]] to the south east and [[Butetown (electoral ward)|Butetown]] to the south west. It is a multi-member ward, with three councillors. The ward has generally returned Labour party candidates, including [[Jack Brooks (Welsh politician)|Jack Brooks]], who served two terms as Leader of [[South Glamorgan County Council]]. Gordon Houlston was a Splott Labour Councillor for over 30 years and was Chairman of South Glamorgan County Council, and Deputy Lord Mayor and Lord Mayor of the City of Cardiff.  He was made a Papal Knight (KSG) by Pope John Paul 2 for services to the Catholic Church.

Since May 2017, the ward has been represented by [[Welsh Labour]] Councillors Jane Henshaw, Ed Stubbs, and Huw Thomas. Huw Thomas is also the current Leader of [[Cardiff Council]].

In the UK Parliament, Splott is part of the constituency of [[Cardiff South and Penarth (UK Parliament constituency)|Cardiff South and Penarth]]. Its most prominent MP was former Labour Prime Minister [[James Callaghan]]. The current MP is Labour's [[Stephen Doughty]], first elected in 2012.

In the Welsh Senedd, Splott is part of the constituency of [[Cardiff South and Penarth (Assembly constituency)|Cardiff South and Penarth]], whose current MS is Labour's [[Vaughan Gething]], first elected in 2011.

==Splott Green Hub==

In October 2018, two Splott residents
Rebecca Clark and Hannah Garcia, launched a public campaign to stop the local council from selling land near Railway Street in Splott for development. A petition protesting against the decision gathered more than 2,500 signatures within five days.<ref>{{cite web |last=Willetts |first=Thomas |url=https://jomec.co.uk/thecardiffian/2018/11/06/council-chooses-profit-over-people-in-splott-petition/ |title=Council 'chooses profit over people' in Splott – petition |date=2018-11-06 |publisher=The Cardiffian |access-date=2021-01-16}}</ref>

Green City, also known as Green Squirrel, are a community-led environmental group that want to transform the unused site into a new eco-friendly social hub for Splott and Adamsdown. The campaign successfully stopped the sale and the council have now leased the land to the group for community benefit.<ref name="RailwayStreet">{{cite web |title=Railway Street: A creative, community green hub in Splott, Cardiff |url=https://www.greencityevents.co.uk/what-we-do/green-team-building/ |publisher=Green City Events |access-date=2021-01-16}}</ref>

According to the 2014 Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation, Splott and [[Adamsdown]] are among the most deprived areas of Wales, and both wards have an open space deficit compared to the standard recreational open space requirement for [[Cardiff]]. It is hoped that the Railway Street site can be used to help improve the local community and support other green projects in the area.<ref>{{cite web |last=Liddle |first=Hannah |url=https://cardiffjournalism.co.uk/intercardiff/global-city/gaining-ground-shared-vision-community-green-hub-splott |title=Gaining Ground: A Shared Vision for a Community Green Hub in Splott |date=2019-01-16 |publisher=InterCardiff |access-date=2021-01-16}}</ref>

According to the project website, plans could include a sustainable community hub building for workshops and events as well as affordable shipping containers for small businesses. Food growing and composting areas, bee hives and other wildlife habitats could also be created on the land to support local biodiversity and outdoor play and learning.<ref name="RailwayStreet" />

==Cardiff districts==
Splott is part of the STAR area of Cardiff (STAR stands for ''Splott, [[Tremorfa]], [[Adamsdown]] and [[Roath]]'', four inner city suburbs born out of the industrial revolution).<ref name="STAR">{{cite web |first=Jennie |last=Savage |title=STAR radio |url=http://www.starradio.org.uk/intro.htm |access-date=2021-01-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060113195651/http://www.starradio.org.uk/intro.htm |archive-date=2006-01-13}}</ref> The former [[Leisure centres in Cardiff#Star Centre|STAR Centre]] leisure facility is located in Splott (although this was closed when the new STAR Hub was opened and the former STAR Centre was then utilized by the NHS). [[Leisure centres in Cardiff#Splott Pool|Splott Pool]] was also closed and demolished to make way for the new STAR Hub, that opened in September 2016.

The area is served by [[Splott Library]] (within the new hub) and [[Roath Library]]. The latter was re-located to the [[Cardiff Royal Infirmary]] after the previous branch library building on Newport Road was closed due to prohibitive renovation costs. In January 2017, plans were announced for a new permanent library and cafe in the former hospital chapel.<ref>{{cite web |last=Duncan |first=Cathy |url=https://jomec.co.uk/thecardiffian/2017/01/24/new-library-adamsdown-roath-open-cardiff-royal-infirmary-site/ |title=New library for Adamsdown and Roath to open at Cardiff Royal Infirmary site |date=2017-01-24 |publisher=The Cardiffian |access-date=2021-01-16}}</ref> In 2018, a deal was made for the previous library building to be taken over by a local dance organization.

{| border=1 cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 align=center style="text-align:center;"
|-
|[[Riverside, Cardiff|Riverside]]
|[[Cardiff city centre|City centre]]
|[[Adamsdown]]
|-
|[[Grangetown, Cardiff|Grangetown]]
|[[Butetown]]
|'''Splott'''
|-
|
|[[Cardiff Bay]]
|[[Tremorfa]]
|}

==See also==
*For details of Splott Aerodrome, see [[RAF Pengam Moors]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
Splott today
*[https://www.bbc.com/news/wales/south_east_wales South East Wales - BBC]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071201094902/http://www.freewebs.com/splottblacks/ Splott Albion Blacks]
*[http://moorlandprm.cardiff.sch.uk/ Moorland Primary School, Splott]
*[http://www.myspace.com/splott The Splott Community Workshop]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070730092303/http://www.stsaviours-splott.co.uk/ St. Saviour's Church, Splott]
History of Splott
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070930230040/http://www.genuki.org.uk:8080/big/wal/GLA/Roath/Splott/ Genuki]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061118155200/http://www.btinternet.com/~pat.sewell/cr/manors/cr-splott.html Manor of Splott]
*[https://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=2774395 www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Splott and surrounding area]

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{{Cardiff}}
{{Communities of Cardiff}}

[[Category:Communities in Cardiff]]