Cathays

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cathays ward

Ordnance Survey
OS grid reference:	Maps for ST181780
Geography
Total population	13,940 (2001 census)
Post office and telephone
Post town:	CARDIFF
Postal district:	CF24
Dialling code:	+44-29
Administration
Local council:	Cardiff Council
Number of councillors:	4
Politics
Welsh Assembly:	Cardiff Central
UK Parliament:	Cardiff Central
European Parliament:	Wales

Cathays (pronounced Cattays) is a district of the city of Cardiff, Wales. It is a old suburb of Cardiff established in 1875. It is very densely populated and contains many older terraced houses giving it a Victorian atmosphere.

The area of Cathays is probably best known to locals for the disproportionately high number of students living in the locality, given its proximity to most of Cardiff University's teaching sites. The station is sited next to the Students' Union building, with the approach tracks running underneath the building itself, and right behind the neighbouring Sherman Theatre. With the student demand, the proximity to the city centre and major roads in and out of Cardiff, demand for housing is extremely high.

Cardiff's civic centre is centred around Cathays Park in the area and contains a number of important buildings, including:

• City Hall,
• the Crown Court,
• offices of the Welsh Assembly Government (former home of the Welsh Office),
• the National Museum and Gallery of Wales,
• Cathays Police Station, and
• a number of buildings belonging to the Cardiff University campus

Other major landmarks in the Cathays area

• Cathays Park, part of the Bute Parks complex,
• Maindy Stadium,
• Cathays Cemetery,
• the Temple of Peace, and
• Cardiff YMCA

[edit] History

The origin of the name "Cathays" is uncertain. "Cad" is Welsh for "battle" and "hays" denotes woodlands or hedges. Hence, the name "Cathays" seems to derive from the old Welsh for "battlefield"; although no battle is known on the site, the name is quite old and may be pre-Roman in origin. Many of the roads in the area are named after farms that existed there before urbanisation, Allensbank and Wedal are two examples.

The present day character of the area owes much to the Marquess of Bute, an extremely successful and wealthy businessman. He acquired much of the lands in Cathays through investment and by inheritance through his marriage to Charlotte Windsor in 1766. In 1898, the local council bought 59 acres of land from the 3rd Marquess of Bute in order to erect a new town hall. As part of the sale, the 3rd Marquis of Bute placed strict conditions on how the land was to be developed. The area was to be used for civic, cultural and educational purposes and the avenues were to be preserved.

[edit] Government

The electoral ward of Cathays is located in the the parliamentary constituency of Cardiff Central. It is bounded by Gabalfa and Heath to the north; Plasnewydd and Adamsdown to the east; Butetown to the south; and Riverside to the west.

[edit] References

• Cathays suburb of Cardiff

NW	Heath	Roath Park
Pontcanna	Cathays	Roath
Riverside	City centre	Adamsdown