Monthly Archives: June 2021

Star Street Congregational Church, Copper Street, Cardiff

As Cardiff grew eastwards during the mid-19th century, Charles Street Congregational Church set up a branch Sunday School in Comet Street, Adamsdown, during the 1860s.  In due course, this led to a decision to establish a new church to serve the area.  Star Street Congregational Church which, despite its name, has always been located in Copper Street, was opened in May 1871.

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In 1972, the Congregationalists merged with the English Presbyterians and Star Street chapel became part of the United Reformed Church.  It closed in 1985 and Mary Traynor’s sketch dates from around this time.  The building subsequently re-opened in 1988, as the Gurdwara Nanak Darbar Sikh Temple.

David Webb, Glamorgan Archives Volunteer

Sources consulted:

  • Mary Traynor Collection (ref.: D1093/1/3)
  • Williamson, John: History of Congregationalism in Cardiff and District
  • Childs, Jeff: Roath, Splott and Adamsdown – One thousand Years of History

St. Peter’s School, Cardiff

Prior to the 1840s, Cardiff’s Roman Catholic population was quite sparse.  Numbers then increased substantially with the growth in immigration from Ireland.  St David’s (predecessor of the present cathedral) was the first Catholic church in the town.  Built in 1842, it occupied a site which now lies under the Motorpoint Arena.  By 1861, there were more than 10,000 Catholics in Cardiff – a third of the total population – and the need had arisen for a second church.  A site was acquired from the Homfray Estate and St Peter’s Church, Roath opened on 24 September 1862.

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The local priest, Father Fortunatus Signini, established the first St Peter’s School in 1868.  It was housed in a former Wesleyan chapel, close to the church in what is now Bedford Place.  However, larger premises were needed.  With the Marquess of Bute’s help, a site was obtained in St Peter’s Street, across the road from, and slightly west of the church.  Plans were drawn up by Cardiff Architect, W. P James, and approved by the Local Board of Health on 27 October 1871.  Initially having a single schoolroom, 60 feet (18 metres) long and 30 feet (9 metres) wide, the new school opened on 1 August 1872.  It was extended in 1902, to provide additional classrooms; girls were now taught on the ground floor and boys upstairs.  A further extension in 1928 doubled the size of the school while the layout of rooms in the older building was also re-ordered.  In 1977, St Peter’s School moved to the former Cardiff High School premises in Southey Street.  The St Peter’s Street building was demolished and its site is now occupied by a development of flats, named Richmond Court.

Mary Traynor’s sketch illustrates the original 1871 building, as it appeared in 1982.

David Webb, Glamorgan Archives Volunteer

Sources consulted:

  • Mary Traynor Collection (ref.: D1093/1/2)
  • Cardiff Borough Records, plans for proposed Catholic School, St Peter’s Catholic School, St. Peter’s Street, 1871 (ref.: BC/S/1/90594)
  • Cardiff Borough Records, plans for additions to St. Peter’s School, St. Peter’s R.C. School, St. Peter’s Street, 1902 (ref.: BC/S/1/14822)
  • Cardiff Borough Records, plans for alterations & additions to school, St. Peter’s R.C. School, St. Peter’s Street, 1928 (ref.: BC/S/1/25801)
  • Archdiocese of Cardiff: A History of St Peter’s Parish, Roath, Cardiff 1854-2001

St Mary’s Church, Caerau, Cardiff

Situated within the remains of an Iron Age hill fort, St Mary’s Church is believed to date from the second half of the 13th century – when it might have replaced an earlier building.  In 1801, it served a population of 65; by 1959 its parish included the whole of Ely – more than 27,000 people.

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As Ely developed, new churches were built – initially as chapels of ease – in more accessible places.  Its infrequent use and relatively remote location meant that St Mary’s suffered considerable vandalism.  By the late 1950s, it was virtually a ruin, but re-building work instigated by the curate, Rev Victor Jones, brought it back into use in 1961.  In the 1970s, though, St Mary’s ceased to be used for worship and ownership passed to the local authority.

Since Mary Traynor sketched it in 1987, the building has again become a roofless ruin.  In 2016, the chancel arch was still standing, along with the partially collapsed tower, but all other walls had been reduced to no more than waist height.

David Webb, Glamorgan Archives Volunteer

Sources consulted: