Editing Cardiff (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Cardiff|Timeline of Cardiff history}}

===Origins===
[[archaeology|Archaeological]] evidence from sites in and around Cardiff show that people had settled in the area by at least around 6000&nbsp;BC, during the early Neolithic: about 1,500 years before either [[Stonehenge]] or the [[Great Pyramid of Giza]] was completed.<ref name="Coflein St L">{{Cite web |date=26 July 2007 |title=St Lythans Chambered Long Cairn, Maesyfelin; Gwal-y-Filiast, site details |url=http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/227289/details/ST+LYTHANS+CHAMBERED+LONG+CAIRN%2C+MAESYFELIN%3B+GWAL-Y-FILIAST/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717040000/http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/227289/details/ST+LYTHANS+CHAMBERED+LONG+CAIRN%2C+MAESYFELIN%3B+GWAL-Y-FILIAST/ |archive-date=17 July 2012 |access-date=9 June 2009 |work=The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales website |publisher=Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales }}</ref><ref name="Coflein Tink">{{Cite web |date=29 January 2003 |title=Tinkinswood Chambered Cairn, site details |url=http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/94510/details/TINKINSWOOD+CHAMBERED+CAIRN/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519182602/http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/94510/details/TINKINSWOOD+CHAMBERED+CAIRN/ |archive-date=19 May 2012 |access-date=9 June 2009 |work=The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales website |publisher=Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales }}</ref><ref name="Coflein Cae">{{Cite web |year=2009 |title=Cae-Yr-Arfau; Cae'Rarfau Burial Chamber, site details, Coflein |url=http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/93016/details/CAE-YR-ARFAU%3B+CAE%27RARFAU+BURIAL+CHAMBER/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519110846/http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/93016/details/CAE-YR-ARFAU%3B+CAE%27RARFAU+BURIAL+CHAMBER/ |archive-date=19 May 2012 |access-date=9 June 2009 |work=The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales website |publisher=Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales }}</ref><ref name="Coflein Gwern">{{Cite web |date=10 February 2003 |title=Gwern-Y-Cleppa, Long Barrow, site details |url=http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/307811/details/GWERN-Y-CLEPPA%2C+LONG+BARROW/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519182557/http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/307811/details/GWERN-Y-CLEPPA%2C+LONG+BARROW/ |archive-date=19 May 2012 |access-date=9 June 2009 |work=The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales website |publisher=Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales }}</ref><ref name="Stonehenge">{{Cite web |year=2009 |title=Your guide to Stonehenge, the World's Favourite Megalithic Stone Circle |url=http://www.stonehenge.co.uk/history.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120930081506/http://www.stonehenge.co.uk/history.php |archive-date=30 September 2012 |access-date=9 June 2009 |work=Stonehenge.co.uk website |publisher=Longplayer SRS Ltd }}</ref> These include the [[St Lythans burial chamber]] near [[Wenvoe]], (approximately {{convert|4|mi|0|abbr=out|spell=on|disp=or}} west of Cardiff city centre); the [[Tinkinswood|Tinkinswood burial chamber]], near [[St. Nicholas, Vale of Glamorgan|St. Nicholas]] (about {{convert|6|mi|0|abbr=out|spell=on|disp=or}} west of Cardiff city centre), the Cae'rarfau [[Chambered tomb|Chambered Tomb]], [[Creigiau]] (about {{convert|6|mi|km|0|abbr=out|spell=on|disp=or}} northwest of Cardiff city centre) and the Gwern y Cleppa [[long barrow]], near [[Coedkernew]], [[Newport, Wales|Newport]] (about {{convert|8|mi|0|abbr=out|spell=on|disp=or}} northeast of Cardiff city centre). A group of five [[Bronze Age Britain|Bronze Age]] [[tumulus|tumuli]] is at the summit of the [[Garth Hill|Garth]], within the county's northern boundary.<ref name="Coflein Garth">{{Cite web |title=Garth Hill, Barrow I |url=http://www.coflein.gov.uk/pls/portal/coflein.w_details?inumlink=6060351 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121223142900/http://www.coflein.gov.uk/pls/portal/coflein.w_details?inumlink=6060351 |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 December 2012 |access-date=30 September 2008 |publisher=Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales |year=2008 |work=The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales website }}</ref> Four [[British Iron Age|Iron Age]] [[Hill fort#Britain|hill fort]] and [[Enclosure (archaeology)|enclosure]] sites have been identified within Cardiff's county boundaries, including [[Caerau Hillfort]], an enclosed area of {{convert|5.1|ha|acre|frac=4}}.<ref name="Coflein Graig">{{Cite web |title=Castle Field Camp E OF Craig-Llywn, site details |url=http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/301309/details/CASTLE+FIELD+CAMP+E+OF+CRAIG-LLYWN/ |access-date=9 June 2009 |publisher=Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales |date=22 October 2004 |work=The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales website |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519110841/http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/301309/details/CASTLE+FIELD+CAMP+E+OF+CRAIG-LLYWN/ |archive-date=19 May 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Coflein Craigyparc">{{Cite web |title=Craig-Y-Parc, enclosure, site details |url=http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/91922/details/CRAIG-Y-PARC%2C+ENCLOSURE/ |access-date=9 June 2009 |publisher=Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales |year=1990 |work=The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales website |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519182609/http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/91922/details/CRAIG-Y-PARC%2C+ENCLOSURE/ |archive-date=19 May 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Coflein Llwynda">{{Cite web |title=Llwynda-Ddu, Hillfort, site details |url=http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/94599/details/LLWYNDA-DDU%2C+HILLFORT/ |access-date=9 June 2009 |publisher=Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales |date=14 June 1989 |work=The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales website |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519110836/http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/94599/details/LLWYNDA-DDU%2C+HILLFORT/ |archive-date=19 May 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Coflein Caerau">{{Cite web |title=Caerau Hillfort, site details |url=http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/94517/details/CAERAU+HILLFORT/ |access-date=9 June 2009 |publisher=Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales |date=5 February 2003 |work=The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales website |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519110829/http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/94517/details/CAERAU+HILLFORT/ |archive-date=19 May 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Cardiff Castle (Roman wall).jpg|thumb|left|Front wall of [[Cardiff Castle]]<br />part of the original Roman fort beneath the red stones]]

Until the [[Roman conquest of Britain]], Cardiff was part of the territory of the [[Silures]] – a [[Iron Age tribes in Britain|Celtic British tribe]] that flourished in the [[Iron Age]] – whose territory included the areas that would become known as [[Breconshire]], [[Monmouthshire (historic)|Monmouthshire]] and Glamorgan.<ref name="Wales Hist 1">{{Cite book |last=Davies |first=John |author-link=John Davies (historian) |title=A History of Wales |publisher=Penguin |year=1994 |location=London |pages=17–18 |isbn=0-14-014581-8 }}</ref> The {{cvt|3.2|ha|acre|frac=4|adj=on}} [[Cardiff Roman Fort|fort]] established by the [[Roman army|Romans]] near the mouth of the [[River Taff]] in AD&nbsp;75, in what would become the north western boundary of the centre of Cardiff, was built over an extensive settlement that had been established by the Romans in the 50s&nbsp;AD.<ref name="Coflein 2">{{Cite web |title=Cardiff Roman settlement – Site details – coflein |url=http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/301346/details/CARDIFF+ROMAN+SETTLEMENT/ |access-date=10 June 2009 |publisher=Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales |date=30 August 2007 |work=RCAHMW website |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727072730/http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/301346/details/CARDIFF+ROMAN+SETTLEMENT/ |archive-date=27 July 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> The fort was one of a series of military outposts associated with {{lang|la|[[Isca Augusta]]}} ([[Caerleon]]) that acted as border defences. The fort may have been abandoned in the early 2nd century as the area had been subdued. However, by this time a civilian settlement, or {{lang|la|[[vicus (Rome)|vicus]]}}, was established. It was likely made up of traders who made a living from the fort, ex-soldiers and their families. A [[Roman villa]] has been discovered at [[Ely, Cardiff|Ely]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rees |first=William |title=Cardiff: A History of the City |publisher=The Corporation of the City of Cardiff |year=1969 |page=1 }}</ref> Contemporary with the [[Saxon Shore forts]] of the 3rd and 4th centuries, a stone fortress was established at Cardiff. Similar to the shore forts, the fortress was built to protect [[Britannia]] from raiders.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rees |first=William |title=Cardiff: A History of the City |publisher=The Corporation of the City of Cardiff |year=1969 |page=2 }}</ref> Coins from the reign of [[Gratian]] indicate that Cardiff was inhabited until at least the 4th century; the fort was abandoned towards the end of the 4th century, as the last Roman legions left the province of Britannia with [[Magnus Maximus]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rees |first=William |title=Cardiff: A History of the City |publisher=The Corporation of the City of Cardiff |year=1969 |page=3 }}</ref><ref name="Visit 1">{{Cite web |title=About Cardiff >> Cardiff History >> Cardiff History |url=http://www.visitcardiff.com/About-Cardiff/Cardiff-History.html |access-date=8 June 2009 |publisher=Cardiff & Co |year=2009 |work=The official website for Cardiff |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511141305/http://www.visitcardiff.com/About-Cardiff/Cardiff-History.html |archive-date=11 May 2008 }}</ref>

Little is known of the fort and civilian settlement in the period between the Roman departure from Britain and the Norman Conquest. The settlement probably shrank in size and may even have been abandoned. In the absence of Roman rule, Wales was divided into small kingdoms; early on, [[Meurig ap Tewdrig]] emerged as the local king in [[Glywysing]] (which later became [[Glamorgan]]). The area passed through his family until the advent of the Normans in the 11th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rees |first=William |title=Cardiff: A History of the City |publisher=The Corporation of the City of Cardiff |year=1969 |pages=4–5 }}</ref>

===Norman occupation and Middle Ages===
[[File:We'll keep the Red Dragon flying here^ - geograph.org.uk - 2104072.jpg|left|thumb|The Norman keep]]
In 1081 [[William the Conqueror|William I, King of England]], began work on the castle keep within the walls of the old Roman fort.<ref name="Coflein 1">{{Cite web |title=Cardiff Castle – Site details – coflein |url=http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/33/details/CARDIFF+CASTLE/ |access-date=8 June 2009 |publisher=Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales |date=3 December 2007 |work=RCAHMW website |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110916114757/http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/33/details/CARDIFF+CASTLE/ |archive-date=16 September 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> Cardiff Castle has been at the heart of the city ever since.<ref name="Cardiff Visitors">{{Cite web |url=http://www.visitcardiff.com/About-Cardiff/Cardiff-History.html |publisher=Visit Cardiff |title=Cardiff history |access-date=29 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080208165613/http://www.visitcardiff.com/About-Cardiff/Cardiff-History.html |archive-date=8 February 2008 }}</ref> The castle was substantially altered and extended during the Victorian period by [[John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute]], and the architect [[William Burges]].<ref name=Scheduled>{{Cadw|uid=3388|class=SM|num=GM171|desc=Cardiff Castle and Roman Fort|access-date=15 October 2021 }}</ref> Original Roman work can, however, still be distinguished in the wall facings.

A town grew up under the castle, consisting mainly of settlers from England.<ref name="Cardiffians">{{Cite web |url=http://www.cardiffians.co.uk/timeline.html |publisher=Cardiffians |title=Cardiff Timeline |access-date=29 February 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080219053249/http://www.cardiffians.co.uk/timeline.html |archive-date=19 February 2008 }}</ref> Cardiff had a population of between 1,500 and 2,000 in the Middle Ages – a normal size for a Welsh town in the period.<ref name="Tim Lambert-short history of Cardiff">{{Cite web |url=http://www.localhistories.org/Cardiff.html |publisher=Tim Lambert |title=A short history of Cardiff |access-date=29 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121211062541/http://www.localhistories.org/Cardiff.html |archive-date=11 December 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It was the centre of the Norman [[Marcher lord|Marcher Lordship]] of Glamorgan. By the end of the 13th century, Cardiff was the only town in Wales with a population exceeding 2,000, although it remained relatively small compared with notable towns in England and continued to be contained within its walls, which were begun as a wooden [[palisade]] in the early 12th century.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.helsinki.fi/iehc2006/papers3/Campbell122.pdf |title=Benchmarking medieval economic development: England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, circa 1290 |first=Bruce M S |last=Campbell |date=25 August 2006 |access-date=20 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002125826/http://www.helsinki.fi/iehc2006/papers3/Campbell122.pdf |archive-date=2 October 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> It was of sufficient size and importance to receive a series of charters, notably in 1331 from William La Zouche, Lord of Glamorgan through marriage with the [[de Clare]] family,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://calmview.cardiff.gov.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=BC%2f1%2f1&pos=2 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20160426230208/http://calmview.cardiff.gov.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=BC/1/1&pos=2 |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 April 2016 |title=Cardiff Borough Council Records: Charter 1 |access-date=23 March 2016 }}</ref> [[Edward III of England|Edward III]] in 1359,<ref name="calmview.cardiff.gov.uk">{{Cite web |url=http://calmview.cardiff.gov.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=BC%2f1%2f4&pos=5 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612141258/http://calmview.cardiff.gov.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=BC%2f1%2f4&pos=5 |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 June 2018 |title=Cardiff Borough Council Records: Charter 4 |access-date=23 March 2016 }}</ref> then [[Henry IV of England|Henry IV]] in 1400,<ref name="calmview.cardiff.gov.uk"/> and later [[Henry VI of England|Henry VI]].

In 1404, [[Owain Glyndŵr]] burned Cardiff and took possession of the Castle.<ref name="Bob Sanders-period up to 1699">{{Cite web |url=https://www.angelfire.com/ga/BobSanders/CDFF1.html |publisher=Bob Sanders |title=A Cardiff & Vale of Glamorgan Chronology up to 1699 |access-date=29 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513111318/http://www.angelfire.com/ga/BobSanders/CDFF1.html |archive-date=13 May 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> As many of the buildings were made of timber and tightly packed within the town walls, much of Cardiff was destroyed. The settlement was soon rebuilt on the same street plan and began to flourish again.<ref name="Tim Lambert-short history of Cardiff"/> (Glyndŵr's statue was erected in Cardiff Town Hall in the early 20th century, reflecting the complex, often conflicting cultural identity of Cardiff as capital of Wales.)  Besides serving an important political role in the governance of the fertile south Glamorgan coastal plain, Cardiff was a busy port in the Middle Ages and declared a [[staple port]] in 1327.

===County town of Glamorganshire===
[[File:Cardiff-Castle.jpg|thumb|View of Caerdiffe Castle]]
[[File:Cardiff old town hall, Glamorganshire.jpeg|thumb|upright|[[Cardiff Town Hall|Cardiff old town hall]] (1860)]]
In 1536, the [[Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542]] led to the creation of Glamorganshire and Cardiff was made the [[county town]], it also became part of [[Kibbor]] [[hundred (county subdivision)|hundred]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cardiff-records/vol2/pp8-41#h2-0001 |website=british-history.co.uk |title=The manors of Cardiff district: Descriptions }}</ref> around the same time the Herberts became the most powerful family in the area.<ref name="Cardiffians"/> In 1538, [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] closed Cardiff's [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] and [[Franciscan]] friaries, whose remains were used as building materials.<ref name="Tim Lambert-short history of Cardiff"/> A writer in this period noted: "The River Taff runs under the walls of his honours castle and from the north part of the town to the south part where there is a fair quay and a safe harbour for shipping."<ref name="Tim Lambert-short history of Cardiff"/>

Cardiff became a [[borough]] in 1542<ref name="Bob Sanders-period up to 1699"/> and further [[Royal Charter]]s were granted to it by Elizabeth I in 1600<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://calmview.cardiff.gov.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=BC%2f1%2f10&pos=11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620153437/http://calmview.cardiff.gov.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=BC%2f1%2f10&pos=11 |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 June 2018 |title=Cardiff Borough Council Records: Charter 12 – Exemplifications of Confirmation |access-date=23 March 2016 }}</ref> and James I in 1608.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://calmview.cardiff.gov.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=BC%2f1%2f11&pos=12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620153332/http://calmview.cardiff.gov.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=BC%2f1%2f11&pos=12 |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 June 2018 |title=Cardiff Borough Council Records: Charter 13 – Charter of Liberties |access-date=23 March 2016 }}</ref> In 1573, it was made a head port for collection of customs duties.<ref name="Cardiffians"/> [[Pembrokeshire]] historian [[George Owen of Henllys|George Owen]] described Cardiff in 1602 as "the fayrest towne in Wales yett not the welthiest".<ref name="Cardiffians"/> It gained a second Royal Charter in 1608.<ref name="GoogoBits">{{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 |access-date=31 December 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080117091733/http://www.googobits.com/articles/2181-a-history-lovers-guide-to-cardiff.html |archive-date=17 January 2008 }}</ref>

[[File:John Speed's map of Cardiff 1610.jpg|thumb|left|[[John Speed]]'s map of Cardiff from 1610]]
A [[Bristol Channel floods, 1607|disastrous flood]] in the [[Bristol Channel]] on 30 January 1607 (now believed to have been a tidal wave)<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6311527.stm |title=Anniversary of 1607 killer wave |work=BBC News |date=30 January 2007 |access-date=8 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070210031214/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6311527.stm |archive-date=10 February 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> changed the course of the River Taff and ruined [[St Mary's Church, Cardiff|St Mary's Parish Church]], which was replaced by a chapel of ease dedicated to St John the Baptist.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-QUIAAAAQAAJ&q=cardiff+1607&pg=PA31 |title=A History of the Town and Castle of Cardiff |last=Jenkins |first=William L. |publisher=Charles Wakeford |year=1854 |pages=31–33 |access-date=1 October 2018 |archive-date=28 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210528130541/https://books.google.com/books?id=-QUIAAAAQAAJ&q=cardiff+1607&pg=PA31 |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the [[Second English Civil War]] [[St Fagans]], just to the west of the town, the [[Battle of St Fagans]], between [[Cavalier|Royalist]] rebels and a [[New Model Army]] detachment, was a decisive victory for the [[Roundhead|Parliamentarians]] that allowed [[Oliver Cromwell]] to conquer Wales.<ref name="Bob Sanders-period up to 1699"/> It was the last major battle in Wales, with about 200, mostly Royalist soldiers killed.<ref name="Cardiffians"/>

Cardiff was at peace throughout the ensuing century. In 1766, [[John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute]] married into the Herbert family and was later created [[Baron Cardiff]].<ref name="Cardiffians"/> In 1778, he began renovating Cardiff Castle.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://coflein.gov.uk/media/18/219/cpg211.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221127163625/https://coflein.gov.uk/media/18/219/cpg211.pdf |archive-date=27 November 2022 |url-status=live |title=Cardiff Castle and Bute Park |page=2 |publisher=Coflein |access-date=27 November 2022 }}</ref> A [[racecourse]], [[printing press]], bank and [[coffee house]] opened in the 1790s and Cardiff gained a [[stagecoach]] service to London. Despite these improvements, Cardiff's position in the Welsh [[urban hierarchy]] declined over the 18th century. [[Iolo Morganwg]] called it "an obscure and inconsiderable place" and the [[Census Act 1800|1801 census]] found a population of only 1,870, making it only the 25th largest town in Wales, well behind [[Merthyr]] and [[Swansea]].<ref name="Encyclopedia of Wales">{{Cite book |first1=John |last1=Davies |first2=Nigel |last2=Jenkins |first3=Menna |last3=Baines |first4=Peredur I. |last4=Lynch |title=The Welsh Academy Encyclopedia of Wales |publisher=University of Wales Press |location=Cardiff |date=17 April 2008 |isbn=978-0-7083-1953-6 |editor-first=John |editor-last=Davies }}</ref>

===Building the docks===
{{main|Cardiff Docks}}
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Cardiff Docks.jpg|thumb|[[Tiger Bay|Cardiff Docks]]—from where coal was shipped throughout the world]] -->
In 1793, [[John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute]] was born. He spent his life building the Cardiff docks and was later hailed as "the creator of modern Cardiff".<ref name="Cardiffians"/> A twice-weekly boat service between Cardiff and [[Bristol]] opened in 1815,<ref name="Bob Sanders 2">{{Cite web |url=https://www.angelfire.com/ga/BobSanders/CDFF2.html |publisher=Bob Sanders |title=A Cardiff & Vale of Glamorgan Chronology 1700–1849 |access-date=4 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080518194424/http://www.angelfire.com/ga/BobSanders/CDFF2.html |archive-date=18 May 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> and in 1821, the Cardiff Gas Works was established.<ref name="Bob Sanders 2"/>

After the Napoleonic Wars Cardiff suffered some social and industrial unrest, starting with the trial and hanging of [[Dic Penderyn]] in 1831.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Brief History of Wales |last=Morgan |first=Gerald |publisher=Y Lolfa |year=2011 |isbn=978-1847710185 }}</ref>

[[File:A view of the jubilee dock, Cardiff, from the eastern side.jpeg|thumb|left|Jubilee dock, Cardiff, from the eastern side (1849)]]
The town grew rapidly from the 1830s onwards, when the [[John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute|Marquess of Bute]] built a [[dock (maritime)|dock]], which eventually linked to the [[Taff Vale Railway]]. Cardiff became the main port for coal exports from the [[Cynon Valley|Cynon]], [[Rhondda]], and [[Rhymney Valley|Rhymney]] valleys, and grew in population at a rate of nearly 80 per cent per decade between 1840 and 1870. Much of this was due to migration from within and outside Wales: in 1841, a quarter of Cardiff's population were English-born and more than 10 per cent born in Ireland.<ref>{{Cite book |last=O'Leary |first=Paul |title=Irish Migrants in Modern Wales |publisher=Liverpool University Press |year=2004 |page=14 |isbn=978-0-85323-858-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qkCmYNMVMxwC |access-date=2 October 2008 |archive-date=28 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210528130601/https://books.google.com/books?id=qkCmYNMVMxwC |url-status=live }}</ref> By the 1881 census, Cardiff had overtaken Merthyr and Swansea to become the largest town in Wales.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thompson |first=Francis Michael Longstreth |title=The Cambridge Social History of Britain, 1750–1950 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=311 |isbn=978-0-521-43816-2 |year=1993 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eozO2RzSAVUC&pg=PA311 |access-date=30 May 2020 |archive-date=28 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210528130543/https://books.google.com/books?id=eozO2RzSAVUC&pg=PA311 |url-status=live }}</ref> Cardiff's status as the premier town in South Wales was confirmed when it was chosen as the site for the [[University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire]] in 1883.<ref name="Encyclopedia of Wales"/>

A permanent military presence was established with the completion of [[Maindy Barracks]] in 1877.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wa-25831-detroit-st-vincent-block-at-maindy-barrac |title=Detroit & St Vincent block at Maindy Barracks, Cathays |publisher=British Listed buildings |access-date=23 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424005035/http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wa-25831-detroit-st-vincent-block-at-maindy-barrac |archive-date=24 April 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Cardiff faced a challenge in the 1880s when [[David Davies (industrialist)|David Davies of Llandinam]] and the [[Barry Railway Company]] promoted rival docks at [[Barry, Vale of Glamorgan|Barry]]. These had the advantage of being accessible in all [[tide]]s: David Davies claimed his venture would cause "grass to grow in the streets of Cardiff". From 1901 coal exports from Barry surpassed those from Cardiff, but the administration of the coal trade remained centred on Cardiff, in particular its [[Coal Exchange]], where the price of coal on the British market was determined and the first million-pound deal was struck in 1907.<ref name="Encyclopedia of Wales"/> The city also strengthened its industrial base when the owners of the [[Dowlais Ironworks]] in Merthyr (who would later form part of [[GKN|Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds]]) built a [[steel mill|steelworks]] close to the docks at East Moors, which Lord Bute opened on 4 February 1891.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.archivesnetworkwales.info/cgi-bin/anw/fulldesc_nofr?inst_id=33&coll_id=77663&expand= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090104023150/http://www.archivesnetworkwales.info/cgi-bin/anw/fulldesc_nofr?inst_id=33&coll_id=77663&expand= |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 January 2009 |title=East Moors Steelworks, Cardiff collection (record of information achival) |date=1 February 2006 |publisher=Glamorgan Records Office |access-date=2 October 2008 }}</ref>

===County Borough of Cardiff===
Cardiff became a [[county borough]] on 1 April 1889 under the [[Local Government Act 1888]]. The town had grown rapidly and had a population of over 123,000. It retained its county borough status until 1974.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Row |first1=B. W. |last2=Squire |first2=F. G. |title=Cardiff 1889–1974: The Story of the County Borough |publisher=The Corporation of Cardiff |year=1974 |pages=13–15 }}</ref>{{Clarify|reason=What happened in 1974? How did it lose its county borough status? What is it now?|date=December 2022}}

===City and capital city status===
{{Main|Capital of Wales}}
[[File:View of St. John the baptist church, 1852.jpeg|upright|thumb|[[St John the Baptist Church, Cardiff]], the only medieval building next to Cardiff Castle to still be in city centre. Seen here in 1852]]
[[File:Cardiff (15803795227).jpg|thumb|[[National Museum Cardiff|National Museum of Wales, Cardiff]]]]
[[Edward VII of the United Kingdom|King Edward VII]] granted Cardiff [[City status in the United Kingdom|city status]] on 28 October 1905.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Beckett |first=J.V. |title=City Status in the British Isles, 1830–2002 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing Ltd |year=2005 |page=2 |isbn=978-0-7546-5067-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jqqSSOyjBEoC&pg=PP8 |access-date=2 October 2008 |archive-date=28 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210528130543/https://books.google.com/books?id=jqqSSOyjBEoC&pg=PP8 |url-status=live }}</ref> It acquired a Roman Catholic cathedral in 1916. Later, more national institutions came to the city, including the [[National Museum Cardiff|National Museum of Wales]], the [[Welsh National War Memorial]], and the [[University of Wales]] Registry Building, but it was denied the [[National Library of Wales]], partly because the library's founder, Sir John Williams, considered Cardiff to have "a non-Welsh population".<ref name="Encyclopedia of Wales" />

After a brief post-war boom, Cardiff docks entered a prolonged decline in the [[interwar period]]. By 1936, trade was at less than half its value in 1913, reflecting the slump in demand for [[South Wales coalfield|Welsh coal]].<ref name="Encyclopedia of Wales" /> Bomb damage in the [[Cardiff Blitz]] of World War II included the devastation of [[Llandaff Cathedral]], and in the immediate postwar years, the city's link with the Bute family came to an end.

The city was recognised as the [[Capital of Wales|capital city of Wales]] on 20 December 1955, in a written reply by the [[Home Secretary]], [[Gwilym Lloyd George, 1st Viscount Tenby|Gwilym Lloyd George]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1955-12-20/debates/f75e8a8b-79d6-42d2-96be-80f271ffe0b1/CapitalOfPrincipality(Cardiff) |title=Capital of Principality (Cardiff) (Hansard, 20 December 1955) |website=hansard.millbanksystems.com |access-date=30 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830234559/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1955/dec/20/capital-of-principality-cardiff |archive-date=30 August 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Caernarfon]] had also vied for the title.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Cardiff as Capital of Wales: Formal Recognition by Government |newspaper=The Times |date=21 December 1955}}</ref> Welsh local authorities had been divided: only 76 out of 161 chose Cardiff in a 1924 poll organised by the ''South Wales Daily News''.<ref name="Johnes 2012">{{Cite journal |author=Prof. Martin Johnes |url=https://www.academia.edu/716868 |title=Cardiff: The Making and Development of the Capital City of Wales |year=2012 |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=509–28 |journal=Contemporary British History |doi=10.1080/13619462.2012.676911 |s2cid=144368404 |access-date=11 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511111542/https://www.academia.edu/716868/Cardiff_The_Making_and_Development_of_the_Capital_City_of_Wales |archive-date=11 May 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> The subject was not debated again until 1950, and meanwhile Cardiff took steps to promote its "Welshness". The stalemate between Cardiff and cities such as Caernarfon and Aberystwyth was not broken until Cardiganshire County Council decided to support Cardiff; and in a new local authority vote, 134 out of 161 voted for Cardiff.<ref name="Johnes 2012" />

Cardiff therefore celebrated two important [[anniversary|anniversaries]] in 2005. The ''Encyclopedia of Wales'' notes that the decision to recognise the city as the capital of Wales "had more to do with the fact that it contained marginal [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] constituencies than any reasoned view of what functions a Welsh capital should have." Although the city hosted the [[Commonwealth Games]] in 1958, Cardiff became a centre of national administration only with the establishment of the [[Welsh Office]] in 1964, which later prompted the creation of various other public bodies such as the [[Arts Council of Wales]] and the [[Welsh Development Agency]], most of which were based in Cardiff.

[[File:Cardiff Bay at night.jpg|thumb|Redevelopment in the city's historic Cardiff Bay area]]
The East Moors Steelworks closed in 1978 and Cardiff lost population in the 1980s,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_table_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TPop&u_id=10150530&c_id=10001043&add=N |title=Cardiff Wales Through Time – Population Statistics |access-date=20 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210191149/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_table_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TPop&u_id=10150530&c_id=10001043&add=N |archive-date=10 December 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> consistent with a wider pattern of counter-urbanisation in Britain. However, it recovered to become one of the few cities outside London where population grew in the 1990s.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/dps/case/cbcb/census1.pdf |title=The Growth and Decline of Cities and Regions |date=1 July 2004 |access-date=20 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528025505/http://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/dps/case/cbcb/census1.pdf |archive-date=28 May 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> During this period the [[Cardiff Bay Development Corporation]] was promoting the [[Urban renewal|redevelopment]] of south Cardiff; an evaluation of the regeneration of Cardiff Bay published in 2004 concluded that the project had "reinforced the competitive position of Cardiff" and "contributed to a massive improvement in the quality of the built environment, although it had "failed "to attract the major inward investors originally anticipated".<ref>Esys Consulting Ltd, Evaluation of Regeneration in Cardiff Bay. A report for the Welsh Assembly Government, December 2004.</ref>

In the [[1997 Welsh devolution referendum]], Cardiff voters rejected the establishment of the National Assembly for Wales by 55.4% to 44.2% on a 47% turnout, which Denis Balsom partly ascribed to a general preference in Cardiff and some other parts of Wales for a British rather than exclusively Welsh [[national identity|identity]].<ref>Denis Balsom, "The referendum result". James Barry Jones and Denis Balsom, eds: ''The Road to the National Assembly for Wales''. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2000.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.swansea.ac.uk/history/research/Wales%20the%20Postnation.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408201247/http://www.swansea.ac.uk/history/research/Wales%20the%20Postnation.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 April 2008 |title=Wales: The Post-Nation |access-date=20 May 2008}}</ref> The relative lack of local support for the Assembly and difficulties between the Welsh Office and Cardiff Council in acquiring the originally preferred venue, [[Cardiff City Hall]], encouraged other local authorities to bid to house the Assembly.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/34653.stm |title=Where To Now for the Welsh Assembly? |date=25 November 1997 |publisher=BBC Wales |access-date=20 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115093512/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/34653.stm |archive-date=15 January 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://ossw.wales.gov.uk/2006/foi/foi_20060920_15.pdf |title=Welsh Assembly Accommodation |date=2 October 1997 |access-date=20 May 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528025511/http://ossw.wales.gov.uk/2006/foi/foi_20060920_15.pdf |archive-date=28 May 2008}}</ref> However, the Assembly was eventually located at [[Tŷ Hywel]] in Cardiff Bay in 1999. In 2005, a new debating chamber on an adjacent site, designed by [[Richard Rogers]], was opened.