Fairwater House stood towards the western end of Fairwater Road, Cardiff, roughly opposite the present-day Ski and Snowboard Centre.
Designed by David Vaughan, it was erected in 1844 for Evan David, a significant landowner both in Glamorgan and elsewhere. As originally built, the two storey house had two main living rooms, dining room and parlour, both on the south-facing side of the ground floor. Upstairs were nine bedrooms of various sizes, and a ‘closet’. No bathroom appears on the plan. Outbuildings included a coach house and a stable with 4 stalls.
Evan David died in 1862 and his wife, Anne, in 1867. Their son, Evan Williams David then moved into Fairwater House, which he is said to have enlarged and improved at considerable expense, though he was able to enjoy the house only for a relatively short period before his own death in 1872.
Evan Williams David had three children, including twins Evan Edgar and Jessie Anne, born in 1853. Jessie married George Frederick Insole in 1878 and they lived in Fairwater House for some years. However, the property subsequently passed to Evan Edgar’s son, Major Evan John Carne David, who served as High Sheriff of Glamorgan in 1930. After the Second World War, Major David moved out and Fairwater House became a local authority hostel for aged men. It closed in the 1980s and was later demolished. The site is now occupied by a modern housing development.
David Webb, Glamorgan Archives Volunteer
Sources consulted:
- Mary Traynor Collection (ref.: D1093/1/5)
- David Vaughan, Architect of Bonvilston Papers, Llandaff Fairwater House: plan and elevation for Mr. E. David, 1844 (ref.: DV/31/1-3)
- Family history of the David family of Fairwater (ref.: DDAV/1)
- Various Cardiff Directories
- Who’s Who in Wales 1933
- Williams, George: A List of the Names and Residences of the High Sheriffs of the County of Glamorgan from 1541 to 1966
- 1851 – 1891 Censuses
- England & Wales National Probate Calendars 1863, 1868, 1872 & 1927
- Cambridge University Alumni, 1261-1900
Glamorgan Archives 