The
Mansion House?
Have you ever
noticed the Mansion House in Cardiff?
This large house on Richmond Road is used by the Mayor of Cardiff as
an official residence.
But there is something
unusual about it.
Look at this
picture of the Mansion House.
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| 1. |
What do
you notice about the door? |
|
| 2. |
Can you explain it? |
|
This house
was built in 1896 for a man called James Howell.
| 3. |
Does this
house tell you anything about Mr Howell? |
|
Now look at
these extracts from the 1891 census.
In 1891 James Howell and his family are living at a different address,
21 The Walk.
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Name |
Relation to head
of household |
Occupation |
| James Howell |
Head |
Draper |
| Fanny |
Wife |
|
| Thomas |
Son |
Barrister Solicitor |
| Minnie |
Daughter |
|
| Lilian |
Daughter |
|
| James |
Son |
Draper's Assistant |
| Fanny |
Daughter |
|
| Mabel |
Daughter |
|
| John |
Son |
|
| Mary |
Daughter |
|
| Harold |
Son |
|
| Arthur |
Son |
|
| Fred |
Son |
|
| Hannah Rees |
Servant |
Cook |
| Mary Harris |
Servant |
Housemaid |
| Elizabeth Evans |
Servant |
Parlourmaid |
| Mary Richards |
Servant |
General Servant |
| Mary Hitching |
Servant |
Nurse |
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| 4. |
What does
Mr Howell do? |
|
| 5. |
Does the fact that Howell
is planning on building a new house give you any information about
his job? |
|
| 6. |
How many children does
he have? |
|
| 7. |
How many servants does
he have? |
|
| 8. |
How many people live
at 21 The Walk all together? |
|
Now have a
look at a plan of the Mansion House.
| 9. |
If you compare
the plan with the photograph, what do you notice? |
|
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| 10. |
How many
staircases are there? |
|
| 11. |
Why do you think this
is? |
|
| 12. |
How many bedrooms can
you count? |
|
| 13. |
Compare the number of
bedrooms with the number of children. |
|
Look again
at the photograph of the house.
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| 14. |
Where do
you think the servants slept? |
|
James Howell
was the owner of Howell's shop, and a very clever businessman.
He planned that the large house, built for him and his family, could
be converted into smaller homes. After his death his children could
either live in the smaller ones or sell them more easily.
Look at the
plan of the ground floor of the house.
| 15. |
How would
you convert one
house into two? |
|
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James Howell
planned that the house would be divided through the middle, and had
two front doors built. In the cellar of the house there is a very strong
wall that runs between the front doors to the back of the house. If
necessary this could be extended upwards to make two separate houses.
After his
death in 1909, the house wasn't divided after all. Instead the whole
property was sold to the Borough Council in 1913. It was used as an
official residence for the mayor of the city.
| 16. |
Do you think
many people lived in houses like Mr Howell? |
|
| 17. |
Is your house like this
one?
List the things that are similar, and the things that are different |
|
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