Perhaps the best known landmark at Roath Park is the clock tower positioned by the promenade at the south end of the lake. The tower is a memorial to the heroic efforts of Captain Robert Falcon Scott who, with three of his team, died in Antarctica in 1912 on their return journey from the South Pole.
The links between the Scott expedition and Wales run deep. Scott’s team included two ‘Welshmen’. Petty Officer Edgar Evans was from Rhossili and one of the four man team that accompanied Scott to the South Pole. Edwards Evans, second in command of the expedition and captain of Scott’s ship, the Terra Nova, although born in London, was of Welsh descent and frequently described himself as a Welshman.
The expedition was almost completely reliant on donations and, no doubt, having Edgar and Edward Evans within the team was of enormous help with fundraising in Wales. So much so that Scott was at pains to acknowledge the magnificent contribution made by Welsh businesses and communities to meeting the costs of the expedition.
The pact with Wales and, in particular, Cardiff was probably sealed, however, with the decision that the Terra Nova, after leaving London, would call at Cardiff to refuel and undertake a last round of fund raising events. It was, therefore, from the Bute Dock in Cardiff, that the Terra Nova finally set sail, on 15 June 1910, for the Antarctic. It was only natural, therefore, that the people of Cardiff, felt a close connection with Scott and the Terra Nova.
What’s not so well known is that the clock tower was not the first memorial to Captain Scott at Roath Park. After the failure of Scott’s expedition, the Terra Nova returned to Cardiff in 1913 and was thrown open to visitors as part of a national campaign to raise money for the dependents of those who had died, and to erect a series of memorials.
During its stay, and to mark the special link with Wales, the figurehead of the Terra Nova was removed from the ship and presented to the City of Cardiff by Frederick Charles Bowring, one of the ship’s owners. It was unveiled in Roath Park on Monday 8 December 1913 and described in the local press as:
… the most inspiring of all the monuments that are being erected in many parts of the world in memory of Captain Scott.
It was at this ceremony that it was first suggested that a clock tower be constructed in the park as a further memorial to Captain Scott. Plans for the tower were submitted in March 1914 and building work began in the summer of that year. The tower, constructed to resemble a lighthouse, was completed by 1915, as indicated by the plaque that can be seen on the tower today. It is often thought that the weather vane on the top of the lighthouse is a model of the Terra Nova. In fact it is the Discovery, Scott’s ship from an earlier Antarctic expedition.
The Terra Nova’s figurehead, which was carved from oak, remained in the park for almost twenty years before being moved to the National Museum of Wales in 1932. In recent years it has been replaced by a new memorial garden sited towards the western end of the promenade. Created in 2010 to mark the centenary of Scott’s voyage, the design won an award at the Chelsea flower show before being given a permanent home in Roath Park in 2012. So next time that you visit Roath Park, in addition to admiring the recently refurbished Clock Tower, why not take a look at the Memorial Garden as well?
In the previous article we also promised to tell you a little more about the person who made the daring dive from the top of the clock tower. The woman in question was Mrs D Allen who, in August 1922, climbed the ladders that connect the three levels within the clock tower before emerging onto the balcony. She then astonished onlookers by diving from the balcony into the lake below and, as photographs in the local press confirm, lived to tell the tale.
The Roath Park Swimming Club, in this period, was one of the largest in South Wales. It boasted a number of Welsh and National champions and the club was often invited to give swimming displays at galas across South Wales. At the time of the dive, Mrs Allen was Secretary of the Ladies’ section. She was also a diving specialist and had won several diving competitions. No doubt the lake was deeper in those days and, with her experience, the decision to make the dive was by no means as rash as it may sound. Nevertheless, it was quite a feat. If anyone can help us find out more about Mrs Allen and her dive from the Scott Memorial Tower please let us know and we will include the information in a further article.
This is the fifth article in a series looking at the history of the park through the collection of photographs held at the Glamorgan Archives. The Glamorgan Archives holds several sets of photographs of the gardens and lake at Roath Park in this period. The pictures, above, were taken by Cardiff photographer Ernest T Bush and are held in the T F Holley collection at D332/18/23/1-13.
Tony Peters, Glamorgan Archives Volunteer
Glamorgan Archives 