Who built Cardiff ?
Architects
employed by the different landowners in Cardiff had a great deal of influence
over the building work in the city. The database
of building plans lists more than 300 architects who drew up plans on
behalf of many clients.
EWM
Corbett
Edwin Wortley Montague Corbett, is responsible for over 1100 plans
found in the collection. Corbett worked as architect, surveyor and
agent to the Bute Estate, based at the Estate Office in Castle Street.
Floor
Plan of Church at Church and Seaman's Institute Bute Crescent, 1890.
[BC/S1/7802] |
Stable
at Cathedral Road.
[BC/S1/9727]
The
majority of his work was undertaken on behalf of those who had been
granted building leases by the Marquess of Bute. He also oversaw
the development of the streets and drains in many areas of the city
belonging to the estate. |
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Bakehouse,
Railway Street 1890.
[BC/S1/7592]
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Habershon
and Fawckner
Habershon
& Fawckner, a firm established in the mid 19th century, carried
out work for the Tredegar Estate. Originally a London firm, an
office was opened in Newport in 1857 and then in Cardiff to manage
their estate work.
The
firm had particular responsibilty for the development of the estate
lands, particluarly in Splott, where the naming of Habershon Road
reflects their influence.
One
well known building designed by the firm is the Mansion House,
now the official residence of the Mayor of Cardiff. James Howell
was a leading business man in 1890. He opened his first Cardiff
shop in 1865, just at the beginning of Cardiff's commercial boom
and over time grew more and more successful, moving to new premises
and then extending them. In 1890 Howell made arrangements to build
a property on land leased from Lord Tredegar.
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The plans submitted by Habershon & Fawckner show a large family
home, sufficient to house his 11 children. The one unusual aspect
of the house is its two front doors. Howell, a canny business man,
had ensured the house could be divided in two - perhaps to make it
easier to dispose of after his death. In the cellar, a load bearing
wall was constructed which could have been extended upwards to divide
the house in two. The house was bought by the corporation in 1913,
mainly to serve as lodgings for the biannual visit of the judges of
the Quarter Sessions. |
Houses
in Richmond Road
[BC/S1/1811]
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William
Harpur
William
Harpur was appointed Borough Surveyor in 1883. Although no plans
drawn up by him survive in the collection, he was, perhaps more
than any other individual, responsible for the Cardiff we know today.
As Borough Surveyor, he ultimately had the the final say over whether
a proposed street layout scheme or individual building was acceptable
during the building boom powered by the growth of the city in the
late 19th and early 20th centuries. |
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You
can see the evidence of his work in the layout of both Roath and Victoria
Parks, as well as the civic centre at Cathays Park. If you have visited
the Central Market, in St Mary Street you will have entered the Market
Hall also designed by Harpur. |
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John
Prichard
John
Prichard was Llandaff Diocesan Architect and oversaw the restoration
of the Cathedral. He was responsible for many other church buildings
throughout the diocese. He also designed Nazareth house for the
Marquess of Bute. |
Nazareth
House, 1847.
[BC/S1/90847]
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1st
Floor plan of Nazareth House |
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Operating
Theatre for Cardiff Royal Infirmary, 1900
[BC/S1/14048] |
Edwin Seward
Edwin
Seward, a partner in the firm Seward and Thomas, was responsible
for designing many public and commercial buildings in Cardiff.
Seward
was heavily involved with the Industrial, Fine Art and Maritime
Exhibition held at Cardiff in 1896 and designed buildings for the
new municipal and art gallery buildings intended to be erected in
Park Place. |
Seward's
extension to the Royal Arcade, 1901
[BC/S1/14413]
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Seward was also
the architect of the Central Library and Museum in the Hayes, as
well as the Coal and Shipping Exchange, Mount Stuart Square. |
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Harry
Snell
Harry
Snell was appointed to the Windsor Estate as architect and surveyor
in 1875. He oversaw the development of Grangetown in the late 19th
century, and like Corbett and Habershon and Fawckner his work was
largely dependent on his position in the estate.
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Thomas
Waring
Thomas
Waring was employed as surveyor and engineer to Cardiff, Canton
and Roath Local Boards of Health, as well as Cardiff Rural District.
He is responsible for large numbers of houses built between 1874
and 1890, but no public works, unlike his successor William Harpur
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It
is hoped that this project will highlight the many other architects
responsible for the building of the capital. |
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