Mansion House, Cardiff

Mansion House
Y Plasty
Mansion House in 2008
Map
Former namesThe Grove
General information
Architectural styleNeo-Baroque style
AddressRichmond Road, Roath CF24 3UN
Town or cityCardiff
CountryWales
Coordinates51°29′10″N 3°10′14″W / 51.4862°N 3.1706°W / 51.4862; -3.1706
Technical details
Floor count2
Design and construction
Architecture firmHabershon and Fawckner
Website
mansionhousecardiff.co.uk -->
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameThe Mansion House[1]
Designated24 May 2002; 22 years ago (2002-05-24)[1]
Reference no.26661[1]

The Mansion House (Welsh: Y Plasty), located on Richmond Road in Cardiff, was the official residence of the Lord Mayor of Cardiff until 1971. It was listed Grade II by Cadw in May 2002.[1]

History

The house was commissioned by James Howell, the owner of Howells department store, who opened his first shop in 1865. He selected a site on Richmond Road which he leased from Lord Tredegar in 1890. The house was designed by the architects Habershon & Fawckner in the Neo-Baroque style, built in rubble masonry and was completed in 1896. It was originally called 'The Grove'.[2]

The house was designed as a large family home, to house his 11 children. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of four bays facing onto Richmond Road. An unusual aspect of the house was that it was designed to be able to be divided into two: it featured two round headed front doors, with a balcony above, and a wall in the cellar which was designed allow extension upwards. The outer bays were fenestrated by bay windows on both floors. At roof level, there was a modillioned cornice and there were three dormer windows.[1]

Residents at the house in the early 20th century included Mabel Howell (a daughter of James Howell), who was secretary of the Cardiff and District Women's Suffrage Society.[3][4] The Prince of Wales met civic leaders at the mansion house during a visit to Cardiff in May 1930.[5]

The house was bought by the Cardiff Corporation, for use as the home of the lord mayors, in 1913.[2] Internally, it featured two apartments on the first floor and these were also used by judges sitting in the city.[6] The house continued to be used by successive lord mayors until 1971.[7]

The building had a major overhaul in time for the Cardiff European Council summit held on 15 and 16 June 1998.[8][7][9] It was then used by Cardiff Council for events, functions, civil ceremonies and weddings. It also became the base for the council's protocol team.[7]

The actress, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and her husband, Michael Douglas, visited the mansion house, in July 2010, for the launch of the Noah's Ark Children's Hospital for Wales appeal of which she is a patron.[10] Scenes from the BBC television series, Doctor Who, starring Ncuti Gatwa, were shot at the mansion house in October 2023.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Cof Cymru – National Historic Assets of Wales – Full Report for Listed Buildings – Mansion House". Cadw – Cof Cymru. Archived from the original on 31 May 2021.
  2. ^ a b Mortimer, Dic (2014), Cardiff: The Biography, Amberley Publishing, ISBN 978-1-4456-4251-2
  3. ^ Jenkins, Beth (2021). "The politics of women's suffrage". University of London Press. ISBN 978-1913002121.
  4. ^ Crawford, Elizabeth (2013). The Women's Suffrage Movement in Britain and Ireland A Regional Survey. Taylor and Francis. p. 222. ISBN 978-1136010545.
  5. ^ "The famous Cardiff mansion that will cost millions to fix". Wales Online. 1 March 2024. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  6. ^ MacKinnon, Sir Frank Douglas (1940). On circuit 1924–1937. Cambridge University Press. p. 29.
  7. ^ a b c Waldram, Hannah (7 August 2011). "Council to market one of its oldest buildings for venue hire". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  8. ^ Owen, Twm (12 June 2022). "Cardiff European Council". South Wales Argus. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Cardiff European Council". European Parliament. Archived from the original on 23 June 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  10. ^ "Cardiff Mansion house in 'aggressive' takings boost bid". BBC. 9 April 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  11. ^ "Ncuti Gatwa films Doctor Who in Cardiff". Cult Box. 31 October 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2024.