Timeline of Cardiff history

The Timeline of Cardiff history shows the significant events in the history of Cardiff which transformed it from a small Roman fort into the modern capital city of Wales. Many believe that Cardiff actually takes its name, Caer Didi meaning ‘Fort of Didius’ after Aulus Didius Gallus, who built the small wooden fort where Cardiff Castle now stands.

The Roman settlement of Cardiff

43: Cardiff was founded by Aulus Didius, the native population called him Didi Gawr.cite web |url= http://www.cardiffworld.com/info/History-of-cardiff/Short-history-of-Ancient-Cardiff.html |publisher= www.cardiffworld.com |title=Short history of Ancient Cardiff |accessdate=2007-12-31] 75: A Roman fort at Cardiff, where Cardiff Castle now is, was established.cite web |url= http://www.angelfire.com/ga/BobSanders/CDFF1.html |publisher=Bob Sanders |title=A Cardiff & Vale of Glamorgan Chronology up to 1699 |accessdate=2007-12-31]

380s: The Romans abandoned Cardiff.

The Dark Ages and the Viking settlement

445: The first written mention of Cardiff is made in the Annates Cambriae (The Welsh Annals).cite web |url= http://www.theosophycardiff.care4free.net/One%20Minute%20History%20of%20Cardiff.htm |publisher= Theosophical Society |title= Chronology of Cardiff History |accessdate=2007-12-31]

850: The Vikings attack the Welsh coast. The Vikings used Cardiff as a base and then as a port. Street names such as Dumballs Road and Womanby Street come from the Vikings

The Norman town of Cardiff

1081: William I of England, known as William the Conqueror, led an army through southern Wales and may have erected defences at Cardiff on the site of the old Roman fort.

1100: A small town outside the castle was establishing itself. It was made up primarily of settlers from England.

1126: Ralph "Prepositus de Kardi" who took up office as the first Mayor of Cardiff.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|accessdate=2007-12-31]

1158: Ifor Bach, Lord of Senghenydd attacked Cardiff Castle and carried off William of Gloucester, Lord of Glamorgan.

1294: The Glamorgan Welsh attacked Cardiff Castle. 1315: Llywelyn Bren, a great-grandson of Ifor Bach.cite web |url= http://www.cardiffcastle.com/castle.htm|publisher=Cardiff Castle |title= 2000 years of history|accessdate=2007-12-31] , attacked Cardiff Castle

1318: Llewelyn Bren executed at Cardiff as a traitor.

1327: Cardiff declared a Staple Port.

1404: Owain Glyndŵr burned Cardiff to the ground and captured Cardiff Castle.

The county town of Glamorganshire

1536: Legislative union of England and Wales (Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542).. The shire of Glamorgan was established and Cardiff became the county town and the Herbert family became the most powerful family in Cardiff

1551: William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, became the first Baron Cardiff (Baron Herbert of Cardiff).

1542: Cardiff became a Free Borough.

1574: Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, began restoration work to Cardiff Castle.

1595: The first shipment of coal was exported from Cardiff docks.cite web |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/wales/south_east/4816826.stm |publisher=BBC |title= Search for Cardiff museum ideas|accessdate=2008-01-10] 1608: King James I granted a Royal Charter to the town of Cardiff.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|accessdate=2007-12-31]

1610: Map of Cardiff produced by John Speed.cite web |url= http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/walespast/article.shtml?id=71&
publisher=National_Museum_of_Wales_|title=_An_Introduction_to_Medieval_Cardiff|accessdate=2007-12-31]

1648: Battle of St. Fagans fought between the Parliamentarian Army and the Royalists. It was the last major battle to occur in Wales, some 8,000 Royalists were defeated in a two hour fight by 3,000 Parliamentarian troops of the New Model Army with about 200 soldiers, mainly Royalists, killed.

1737: Flat Holm Lighthouse built.cite web |url= http://www.angelfire.com/ga/BobSanders/CDFF2.html |publisher=Bob Sanders |title=A Cardiff & Vale of Glamorgan Chronology 1700 - 1849 |accessdate=2007-12-31]

1766: John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute married into the Herberts, the great local landowning family.

1774: An Act of Parliament established the Improvement Commissioners, responsible for paving, cleaning streets and providing oil lamp lighting in Cardiff.cite web |url= http://www.localhistories.org/Cardiff.html |publisher= www.localhistories.org|title= A Short History of Cardiff |accessdate=2007-12-31]

1776: John Stuart was created Baron Cardiff of Cardiff Castle.

1778: The reconstruction of Cardiff Castle begins.

The building of Cardiff docks

1793: John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute was born. He is later described as the creator of modern Cardiff, building the Port of Cardiff.

1815: Boat service between Cardiff and Bristol established, running twice a week.

1819: Cardiff Free School for boys and girls opened.

1821: Cardiff Gas Works established.

1826: The first theatre in Cardiff, the Theatre Royal, is opened.

1832: A new County gaol built in the Spital Field (the site of the present Cardiff Prison. 1835: Thomas Revel Guest became the first elected Mayor of Cardiff and also Judge of the Borough Court of Record.

1839: West Bute Dock opened.

1850: Cardiff Water Company established to provide water for Cardiff.cite web |url= http://www.angelfire.com/ga/BobSanders/CDFF3.html |publisher=Bob Sanders |title=A Cardiff & Vale of Glamorgan Chronology 1850 - 1960 |accessdate=2007-12-31]

1853: The new Town Hall opened.

1855: The Taff Vale Railway begins a train service from the Rhondda Valley to Cardiff.

1857: The last public execution in Cardiff. 1860: the Principality Building Society established in Cardiff.

1863: The Royal Arcade opened. The first of many in Cardiff.

1865: James Howell establishes Howells department store.

1867: Cardiff Cricket Club established with Cardiff Arms Park as its ground.

1872: Cardiff Castle Clock Tower completed.

1876: Cardiff Arms Park hosted the first rugby game between Cardiff Rugby Club and Swansea Rugby Club.cite web |url= http://www.cardiffians.co.uk/timeline.html |publisher= Cardiffians |title=A Cardiff Timeline |accessdate=2007-12-31]

1879: The Cardiff Town Council took over responsibility of the water supply from the Cardiff Water Company.

1881: The first grandstand was built at Cardiff Arms Park, it held 300 spectators.

1883: The National Eisteddfod held in Cardiff.

1886: The Coal Exchange was opened to cope with the handle the growing coal trade.cite web |url= http://www.coalexchange.co.uk/index.htm
publisher= The Coal Exchange |title= A Brief History |accessdate=2007-12-31]

1889: Cardiff became a County Borough, which was independent of the new Glamorgan County Council..

1893: Ivor Novello was born in Cowbridge Road East, Cardiff.cite web |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southeast/halloffame/showbiz/ivor_novello.shtml|publisher= BBC |title= Ivor Novello Stage and screen legend|accessdate=2007-12-31]

1895: The first Welsh Grand National hunt race was run at Ely Racecourse. 1897: The Pierhead Building was completed.

1899: Riverside Football Club, later to be renamed Cardiff City, was formed.cite web |url= http://www.cardiffcityfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/ClubHistory/0,,10335~61928,00.html|publisher= Cardiff City Football Club |title= The foundations and early years |accessdate=2007-12-31]

1903: The first building in Cathays Park, the University of Wales, Registry is opened. 1904: Cardiff Town Hall opened, later renamed City Hall.cite web |url= http://www.cardiffcityhall.com/CH_history_e.htm |publisher= Cardiff Council |title= A brief history |accessdate=2007-12-31]

The city of Cardiff - the largest coal port in the world

1905: Cardiff was granted city status by Edward VII and the Mayor became the Lord Mayor, with the right to use "The Right Honourable".

1907: Queen Alexandra Dock was opened, it was the largest in Cardiff.

1909: The University building in Cathays Park was opened. The first Clark's Pies were produced.

1910: Cardiff City played their first match at Ninian Park.

1913: The record amount of around 107 million tons of coal were exported through Cardiff docks. This was the high point of the docks.

The decline of the docks

1916: Roald Dahl was born in Llandaff, Cardiff.

1923: The BBC began broadcasting from studios in Castle Street.

1927: Cardiff City beat Arsenal 1-0 to win the FA Cup.

1931: Cardiff Airport was opened on Pengam Moors

1932: The first miners' hunger march took place from Cardiff to London to protest about unemployment.

1935: The first RAC Welsh Rally started from Cardiff.

1937: Shirley Bassey was born in Tiger Bay, Cardiff.cite web |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/sites/shirleybassey/pages/biography.shtml |publisher= BBC |title= Shirley Bassey biography|accessdate=2007-12-31]

1939: Billy the Seal died.cite web |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southeast/sites/cardiff/pages/blee_billyseal.shtml|publisher= BBC |title= Billy the Seal|accessdate=2007-12-31]

1941: The heaviest German Luftwaffe raid of World War II occurred when 156 people were killed.

1946: Welsh National Opera put on its first staged productions at the Prince of Wales Theatre.

1947: The Bute family gave Cardiff Castle to the city.

1948: Welsh Folk Museum was opened at St. Fagans.

1952: The last execution took place in Cardiff Prison. Mahmoud Mattan was hanged for murder, but his conviction was quashed in 1998.cite web |url= http://www.stephen-stratford.co.uk/mattan.htm |publisher= BBC |title= Mahmood Hussein Mattan |accessdate=2007-12-31]

1954: Cardiff Airport moved from Pengam Moors to its current home in Rhoose

1955: Cardiff was officially recognised as the capital city of Wales.

1956: Cardiff ceased being a fishing port after 70 years.

1958: The British Empire and Commonwealth Games opened at Cardiff Arms Park in Cardiff.

1959: The movie Tiger Bay was released. It was partly shot in Cardiff.

1961: Public houses in Cardiff were allowed to open for the first time on Sundays since the 1880s.

1963: The Rover car factory was opened.

1964: West Bute Dock closed with the last shipment of coal, just 229,000 tons, left the docks.cite web |url= http://www.glamro.gov.uk/check/Building%20of%20a%20Capital%202/A_Why.html|publisher= Glamorgan Record Office |title= Why did Cardiff grow?|accessdate=2007-12-31]

1966: The Heath Hospital was officially opened.cite web |url= http://www.caerdydd.ac.uk/insrv/libraries/scolar/special/milestones/1953-1980.html|publisher= Cardiff University |title= Timeline 1951-1980|accessdate=2007-12-31]

1967: Glamorgan County Cricket Club play their first game at Sophia Gardens, having moved from Cardiff Arms Park.

1970: Bute East Dock was closed.

1972: The National Sports Centre in Sophia Gardens was opened.

1974: South Glamorgan was established as part of the local government reorganisation. Cardiff lost the independent County Borough status it had since 1889.

1976: James Callaghan MP for Cardiff became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

1980: The M4 motorway to the north of the city was opened.

1982: The S4C, the Welsh-language television channel was established.cite web |url=http://www.s4c.co.uk/sched/e_press_level2.shtml?id=134 |publisher= S4C |title= S4C unveils silver anniversary line-up|accessdate=2007-12-31]

1983: BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition was launched.cite web |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/cardiffsinger/sites/content/pages/timeline.shtml|publisher= BBC |title= History of the Competition|accessdate=2007-12-31]

1984: The National Stadium at Cardiff Arms Park was opened.

1986: Wales National Ice Rink was opened and the Cardiff Devils ice hockey team established.

The regeneration of Cardiff Bay and the city

1987: The Cardiff Bay Development Corporation was established to transform derelict land that was Cardiff docks into Cardiff Bay.

1988: The new County Hall was completed in Cardiff Bay.

1989: Cardiff Athletics Stadium was opened in Leckwith.

1996: Cardiff became a unitary authority in a local government reorganisation of 1996. Cardiff reverted to its previous status of administratively-independent city.

1997: Wales voted in favour of a Welsh Assembly in a national referendum, but Cardiff again voted against it.

1999: The Millennium Stadium was opened to host the final of the 1999 Rugby World Cup. The Cardiff Bay Barrage was opened.

2001: The Census showed that the population of 305,353 had reached its highest actual recorded figure. 2004: The Wales Millennium Centre was opened.

2005: Cardiff celebrated 100 years as a city and 50 years as the Capital City of Wales.

2006: The Senedd, the new debating chamber for the Welsh Assembly was opened. The official Office for National Statistics estimate of Cardiff’s population was 317,500.cite web |url= http://www.cardiff.gov.uk/ObjView.asp?Object_ID=9648 |publisher= Cardiff Council|title= Latest Official Population Estimates for Cardiff|accessdate=2007-12-31]

2008: Cardiff International Pool opened to the public at the International Sports Village in Cardiff Bay on 12 January, replacing the Empire Pool that was demolished in 1997 to make way for the Millennium Stadium.cite web |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/7184798.stm|publisher= BBC|title= £32m Olympic pool opens its doors|accessdate=2008-01-14]

See also

*List of years in Wales

Notes