25 Points in History for Cardiff, Capital of Wales

 Cardiff, Capital City of Wales

Cardiff City, or Dinas Caerdydd, has been the capital city of Wales since 1955 and is the most important administrative, shopping, and cultural centre in the country. It is also the headquarters for many national organisations and government departments, including the home of the Senedd (the Wales Parliament). It also an important industrial centre and also a hub for commerce, law, higher education, media, and independent film production. Here are 25 points in the history of Cardiff in the two hundred years from 1800 to 1999.

25 Dates in the History of Cardiff

• 1813 - Cardiff’s oldest pub, the Goat major (formerly the Blue Bell) opposite the castle, opens
• 1815 - Boat service between Cardiff and Bristol was established
• 1826 - The first theatre in Cardiff, the Theatre Royal, was opened
• 1857 - The last public execution in Cardiff was held
• 1858 - The Royal Arcade opens. The first of six Victorian and Edwardian shopping arcades in Cardiff
• 1860 - The Principality Building Society was opened
• 1869 - The National Newspaper of Wales, the Western Mail was first published
• 1875 - Cardiff Castle’s clock tower was built
• 1876 - Cardiff Arms Park hosted the first rugby match between Cardiff and Swansea rugby clubs
• 1884 - Cardiff Arms Park hosted its first international rugby match between Wales and Ireland.
• 1885 - In the rugby season, Frank Hancock of Cardiff RFC, introduced new 'two-centre' tactical innovation, since adopted worldwide
• 1890 - Cardiff’s Animal Wall is built around the castle
• 1894 - Spillers the world’s oldest record store opens
• 1897 - The Pierhead Building was built
• 1905 - Cardiff becomes a city
• 1907 - The world’s first £1 million deal is signed in Cardiff’s Coal Exchange
• 1913 - The record amount of around 10.7 million tons of coal were exported through Cardiff docks
• 1916 - Roald Dahl was born in Cardiff
• 1950 - Cardiff’s trams make their final journeys
• 1952 - The last execution took place in Cardiff Prison. A Mr Matan was hanged for murder, but his conviction was quashed in 1998
• 1955 - Cardiff becomes the Capital city of Wales
• 1958 - The British Empire and Commonwealth Games are held in Cardiff
• 1983 - St David’s Hall and the National Concert Hall and Conference Centre of Wales opens
• 1984 - The National Stadium at Cardiff Arms Park was opened
• 1987 - Cardiff Bay Development Corporation was established to transform derelict land that had been Cardiff docks into Cardiff Bay
• 1997 - Wales voted in favour of a devolution and for a Welsh Assembly in Cardiff. The Senedd Building was completed in 2006.
• 1999 - Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium is built to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup

History of the Name Cardiff in Welsh

Cardiff in Welsh is "Caerdydd". The origins of the name Caerdydd are a point of debate but are widely believed to have come from an English corruption of the original Welsh title Caer-Taff (Fort on the Taff). Others believe that Caerdydd derives from the Middle Welsh word Caerdyf. Whatever its background, Cardiff in Welsh is firmly established as "Caerdydd"!!!

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Last update 18th July 2023