What’s going on

The chaos capitalists in charge of Cardiff are wreaking havoc across the city. Here are some examples in a selection of areas – plus one or two instances of things …

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Printing WorksVarious locationsWhen London media giant Trinity Mirror closed its Cardiff printing operation in 2017, the event was largely ignored in the city. The state-of-the-art print works in Pacific Road, …

Pubocalypse 11

BUB’SChurch StreetThis effort from the Crafty Devil microbrewery didn’t even last four years, as I predicted with uncanny accuracy in Pubocalypse 7. Guess what? There’s no place for small independents …

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Guildford Crescent BathsGuildford CrescentThe 1846 Public Baths & Wash-Houses Act gave local authorities the power to raise money through rates to build much-needed public baths. But Cardiff’s councillors declined to …

Pubocalypse 10

CALLAGHANS Castle StreetThe plug-ugly Crest Hotel (later Posthouse, currently Holiday Inn) was built on the northern flank of the Arms Park in 1971. The dreadful development eradicated a leafy public …

Cardiff’s lost buildings 4

GreyfriarsGreyfriars RoadDuring the 13th century the Dominicans (Black Friars) and the Franciscans (Grey Friars) established religious houses just outside the town walls of Cardiff; the Black Friars near the West …

High tide

I first wrote about the Cardiff coast ten years ago, with a follow up piece a year later. In the process, I endowed a part of Cardiff with a semi-ironic …

Cardiff catch-up

What with one thing and another I haven’t written much about contemporary Cardiff for quite a while. It’s time for a bit of a catch-up, looking at 10 selected topics …

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Board Schools Various locations In 1870 the Liberal government of William Gladstone (1809-1898) passed the Elementary Education Act, the first attempt by the British State to establish a basic public …