Cathays
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%2c_Cardiff.jpg) Cathays Library, aCarnegie library built in 1906 | |
  Cathays Location withinCardiff | |
| Population | 20,121 (2011)[1] |
| OS grid reference | ST181780 |
| Community |
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| Principal area | |
| Preserved county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CARDIFF |
| Postcode district | CF10 |
| Postcode district | CF24 |
| Dialling code | 029 |
| Police | South Wales |
| Fire | South Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
51°29′46″N3°10′55″W / 51.496°N 3.182°W /51.496; -3.182  Map of the community | |
Cathays (/kəˈteɪz/kə-TAYZ;standardisedWelsh:Cathays;[2] sometimesY Waun Ddyfal, 'the constant meadow') is a district andcommunity in the centre ofCardiff, capital ofWales. It is an oldsuburb of Cardiff established in 1875. It is densely populated and contains manyVictorianterraced houses. The area falls into theCathays ward. It is the third most populous community in Cardiff, having a population of 18,002 in 2011.
The area that is now Cathays was formerly known in Welsh asY Waun Ddyfal and in English as Little Heath (to distinguish it fromGreat Heath).[3]
The name Cathays first appeared in 1699 asCatt Hays and originally denoted a tract ofcommon land north-east of Cardiff, now represented byCathays Park. The second element is a derivative ofOld Englishhaga, meaning 'park or enclosure', while the first element has been variously traced to the Welsh wordcad, meaning 'battle', and the Old English wordcatt, meaning 'wildcat'.[4][5]
By the medieval period farmland outside the old Cardiff Castle, Cathays takes in the northern limit ofmediaeval Cardiff — marked by the crossroads of Fairoak Road and Crwys Road.
AfterJohn Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute, married Charlotte Hickman-Windsor (daughter ofHerbert Windsor, 2nd Viscount Windsor) on 12 November 1766, he inherited great further lands, including in Cathays to the north of his existing estate which he had partially developed. He then bought other properties and farms to the north and east, including what becameCathays Park. There he built Cathays House at a cost of £40,000 and at further cost landscaped Cathays Park. Afterhis son took over the title he preferred to live inCardiff Castle, so demolished the house in 1815, and turned Cathays Park into purely enclosed parkland for grazing.
Following the 2nd Marquis' development ofCardiff Docks, and the resultant number of new workers flocking to Cardiff, in 1875 the then rural Cathays became a suburb of Cardiff. At that time, a few streets led off Woodville Road and Cathays Terrace. By 1900 the urbanisation of Cathays was virtually completed. Allensbank and Wedal farms survived briefly. In 1914 they became no more than local place names.[6]
Maindy Barracks opened in 1871. WithUnited States Army troops temporarily stationed in transit in Cardiff during bothWorld War I andWorld War II, the footpath between Gelligaer Street and New Zealand Road became known as "BURMA Road" (from the phrase "Be Undressed and Ready My Angel"), as they came to meetprostitutes.[6]
Cathays does not have acommunity council.
Theelectoral ward ofCathays includes both the Cathays andCastle communities and elects four councillors toCardiff Council.
From 1840, theTaff Vale Railway company developed a railway line through Cathays, where they also developed theCathays railway works. A major carriage and wagon construction and maintenance facility, it and the associatedlocomotive depot were taken over and maintained by theGreat Western Railway. After nationalisation in 1946,British Railways sold the business and leased the site to thePullman Company Ltd, where they maintained their carriages until the 1970s. The depot was closed from the late 1960s, and was later redeveloped for buildings now used byCardiff University. The carriage and wagon works was redeveloped in the early 2000s, and now houses aLidl store and a student accommodation block.Cathays railway station opened in 1983, adjacent to thestudents' union building which encloses the railway tracks.
In 1875,Nazareth House was opened to provide accommodation for orphans and the elderly. A popular local charity, one of its many benefactors was the boxerJim Driscoll, who, since his burial inCathays cemetery in 1925, has had his grave tended by the nuns of Nazareth House.[citation needed]
In 1898,John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute sold a large piece of land toCardiff Council for the building of a newCity Hall, imposing strict conditions regarding its purpose and where development could take place. As a result, City Hall was built as far south in the purchased block of land as possible, and the residual area to its north used for civic, cultural and educational purposes only. City Hall cost £129,000 to build, and was completed in 1905 when Cardiff was awarded city status.
The land purchased by the council to the north of the city hall now houses:
Maindy Pool was aclay pit that had gradually filled with water. After the death by drowning of ten children and adults, it was filled in by using it as a rubbish tip. In 1948 the building ofMaindy Stadium began on the same site, completed in 1951, which held cycling races in the1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.[citation needed] When the stadium was closed and replaced with aleisure centre, part of the site became a swimming pool.
Cathays Library is aCarnegie library built in 1906 and refurbished in 2009–10.
Companies House, which holds the registration records of all companies registered in England or Wales, has its headquarters in Cathays.
The area of Cathays, given its proximity to most ofCardiff University's teaching sites and theUniversity Hospital of Wales, has seen a dramatic fall in owner-occupation, with a high proportion ofhouses in multiple occupation (HMOs) which are let through private landlords and letting agencies to the large student population. 2012 figures available under the Freedom of Information Act show that over 70% of the houses in Cathays were then HMOs.[citation needed] Thebuy-to-let market has deterred young couples, families and first-time buyers from setting up home in the area.[citation needed]
Cathays High School is an 11–18 mixedcomprehensive school that started as a boys'grammar school in 1903 and became a comprehensive high school in 1973.[7]
Despite the urbanisation of Cathays, there is extensive parkland around the civic centre, including Gorsedd Gardens, Queen Alexandra Gardens,Bute Park and Blackweir.
Of more than 8570 wards in the 2011 census across England and Wales, Cathays ranked 8th lowest in the number of retired people and second lowest in Wales (behindMenai, a ward associated withBangor University).[8]
| 2011 Electoral Ward | adults | retired | as a % of adults |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cathays | 18,693 | 370 | 1.98% |
The area is served byCathays railway station in the east, with frequent services south toCardiff Queen Street andCardiff Central or north toMerthyr Tydfil andTreherbert viaPontypridd.Cardiff Bus provides many services in the area.The following bus services run along North Road (in the west), going to the city centre in the reverse direction:
Likewise, the following services run north along Crwys Road and/or Whitchurch Road (in the east):
The area is close to the busyGabalfa Interchange, connecting it with theA48 and theM4 motorway.
| NW | Heath | Roath Park |
| Pontcanna | Cathays | Roath |
| Riverside | City centre | Adamsdown |
