The following chronology covers the main elements of the history of Cardiff & the Vale of Glamorgan and some of the surrounding areas eg the Watford area of Caerphilly, Tongwynlais & Pentyrch mainly for the period up to 1960 with a few later events. It is intended to be of use to people researching their family history in the area, in order to provide a background to their research and maybe some pointers as to why their ancestors lived where they did or moved in or out of the area. It includes the dates of foundation of many of the main organisations in Cardiff, the opening of churches & chapels and some of the Cardiff "Institutions" eg David Morgan's & James Howells' shops, Cardiff Shipping Companies, Theatres, Cinemas, Old Inns & Hotels & Industrial Companies. I realise that it is not exhaustive and undoubtedly Cardiff residents will find that things that they might have included are not in my list. If anyone wants anything added I shall be pleased to consider it if they can give me the details. It is my hope that I will, in any case, be able to make additions in time.
This chronology really needs to be seen in the light of the wider Glamorgan, Wales & National scenes and it is intended shortly to provide a similar Chronology of Glamorgan which will include some of the Cardiff events listed here, but also an outline of the development of the South Wales Coalfield in Glamorgan, the development of Ironworking & Copper Smelting and the Industrial unrest of the 19th century surrounding the Rebecca Riots, Methyr Riots & Chartism.
A Wales timeline is already available via the Glamorgan Help pages and I have produced a Chronology of British History which is available on my website.
In order to find a specific event without reading through the whole list please use the "find" facility of your browser. In this way you should be able to find any references to a particular year or subject.
THE INDEX - PERIOD 1850 - 1960 +
By 1850 = 40% of Britain's iron output was being produced in South Wales
1850 = Poor Law Industrial Training School for Orphaned Children set up in Cardiff
1850 = Cardiff Water Company established to provide water to the town
1850 = Charles Street Wesley Chapel, Cardiff built
18 June 1850 = opening of South Wales Railway - first train from Cardiff to Swansea
1850s = Inn called Clwyd-y-Gurnos on top of Caerphilly Mountain becomes The Black Cock Inn
2 August 1850 = Last mail coach ran from Cardiff
1851 = Admiralty Report declared that South Wales stem coal was the most suitable for use by the Royal Navy. Start of rapid expansion of steam coal industry
1851 = Census of Religious Worship shows the growth of non-conformity in Wales
1851 = Death of George Insole, Coal Owner. Buried St.Margarets, Roath
1851 = Rail link via South Wales Railway between Gloucester, Newport,Cardiff and Swansea
1852 = re-opening of Bute Iron Mines, Llantrisant after long period of closure
1852 = opening of Wesleyan Methodist Chapel at Melingriffith, Whitchurch
1853 = opening of new Town Hall in Cardiff
1853 = St.Johns, Canton opened as chapel of Llandaff Cathedral
1853 = Walter Coffin retired from active control of his businesses to go into politics
1853 = Perforated postage stamps first used in Cardiff
1853 = Electric telegraph to Swansea established
1853 = extension of South Wales Railway to Milford Haven, Pembs.
1853 = completion of the River Taff diversion in Cardiff
1853 = Proposal for a second dock at Cardiff as the Bute West Dock was too small to accommodate the newer, larger ships
1854 = Spillers & Browne set up in Cardiff as corn and flour merchants
1854 = Whilst loading coal at Cardiff Docks Russian & Turkish ships nearly started attacking each other (effect of the Crimean War)
1854 = Wesleyan Day School established in Working Street, Cardiff - William Sanders, Master
1854 = Richard Scudamore, Richard Greaves & Nicholas Strong established a Methodist Meeting Room in Patrick Street, Cardiff Docks
1854 = Rhymney Railway Company incorporated to develop the mineral traffic of the Rhymney Valley
By 1855 = Jacquier set up in business in Cardiff as a photographer using the Daguerrotype system
By 1855 = Danks, Venn & Sanders operating sloops between Cardiff and Newport, Swansea, Bristol, Gloucester Worcester, Bewdley and Stourport
By 1855 = Morgan & Sanders set up a rope-making factory at Cardiff West Dock
By 1855 = British School opened in Millicent Street, Cardiff (Rees Lewis & Miss Jones)
By 1855 = the Queens Hotel in operation in Cardiff
Abt 1855 = Adamsdown House (Nicholl Family home) became Miss Vaughan's Ladies Boarding School.
1855 = First train of Rhondda steam coal sent from Treherbert to Cardiff. Beginning of the Rhondda as the major coal mining area of South Wales
1855 = start of replacement of individual coal ownership by Limited Liability Companies
1855 = Revival of the National Eisteddfod
1855 = re-opening of Mwyndy Iron Mines, Llantrisant after long period of closure
1855 = Charles Street English Congregational Chapel, Cardiff opened
1855 = Ely Racecourse, Cardiff established
1855 = Taff Vale Railway operating from the Rhondda Valley to Cardiff
1855 = opening of Bute East Dock, Cardiff
1855 = Horse buses in operation in Cardiff to a regular half-hour schedule
1855 = Establishment of the Sailors Home in Stuart Street, Cardiff by the Marchioness of Bute
1856 = Loudon Square English Wesleyan Methodist Church,Cardiff built
1856 = Penarth Harbour, Docks & Railway Co. incorporated
17 September 1856 = Loudon Square English Wesleyan Methodist Church, Cardiff opened.
December 1856 = All Saints Church, Tyndall Street, Cardiff opened (Anglican Welsh Church)
1857 = Cardiff Times Newspaper first published
1857 = William Cory & John Nixon bought the steamer "William Cory" for use specifically for the Cardiff Coal Trade. Start of Cory Stemship Co., Cardiff
1857 = Llandaff Cathedral re-opened
1857 = Cardiff, Penarth & Barry Junction Railway opened
1857 = South Wales Instute of Engineers founded with offices in Cardiff
1857 = Llandaff Probate Registry, Cardiff Road, Llandaff built
4 January 1857 = last public execution at Cardiff (John Lewis of Merthyr Tydfil for murdering his wife)
By 1858 = Machen Forge established at Blackweir, Llandaff
1858 = Trustees of the Bute Estate donated Sophia Gardens to the town
1858 = Establishment of Temperance Town in Cardiff
1858 = Rhymney Railway opened.
1858 = Thomas Willliam Booker-Blakemore died. Melin Griffith & Pentyrch Works inherited by his sons
1858 = Rhymney Railway extended to Cardiff
1858 = opening of Jewish Synagogue, East Terrace, Cardiff
1858 = Canton Market set up by private bill
1859 = Cardiff Bridge rebuilt
1859 = First Hansom Cab in Cardiff
1859 = Acquisition of land at Wedal Farm, Cathays for a cemetery. Cathays Cemetery opened.
1859 = Development of Howells School for Girls as a trust of the Drapers Company
1859 = Plymouth Estate began development of Grangetown, Cardiff & Penarth
14 September 1859 = full completion of Bute East Dock, Cardiff
1860 - 1890 = great expansion of Cardiff timber business
By 1860 = Some 50 collieries (mainly in the Aberdare & Merthyr Tydfil areas) had offices in the docks area of Cardiff
Bef 1860 = Crown Patent Fuel Company set up at Blackweir, Cardiff for manufacture of coal briquettes
1860 = Zoar Welsh Baptist Chapel, Cardiff opened
1860 = Principality Buildong Society, Cardiff founded by William Sanders
1860 = Offices of Taff Vale Railway opened in Crockerton, Cardiff
1860 = Cardiff Pilotage Board established under the Bristol Channel Pilotage Act
1861 = Eagle Foundry established in Llandaff
1861 = removal of the Gild Hall, Cardiff
1861 = All Saints Church, Adamsdown, Cardiff opened
1861 = Salem Welsh Baptist Chapel, Adamsdown, Cardiff opened
1861 = St.Peter's Catholic Church, Cardiff opened
1861 = Bute Warehouse, Bute East Dock built
By 1863 = Cardiff Rope Works set up in Grangetown by Verity & Coward
By 1863 = Gloucester Wagon Co works set up at Cardiff docks
By 1863 = John Bland & Co.set up its timber business in Cardiff
By 1863 = Royal Arcade, Cardiff (the first of several arcades in Cardiff) built
By 1863 = A second British School opened in Mountstuart Square, Cardiff
By 1863 = A Wesleyan School opened in Working Street, Cardiff (Mr.Sanders & Miss Lewis)
By 1863 = Catholic Schools set up in David Street & Plwcca Lane, Cardiff
1863 = St.Andrews Church, Cardiff built as a chapel of ease to St.John's
1863 = Llanharry Iron Mine operating
1863 = first Cardiff built steam ship (The Lady Bute) launched by the Bute Docks Steam Shipbuilding Co.
By 1864 = Latter Day Saints meeting room in Cardiff
1864 = Penarth Harbour, Dock & Railway leased to Taff Vale Railway Co.
4 November 1864 = Glamorgan County Asylum opened at Angleton, Bridgend
By 1865 = James Howell's shop set up in Cardiff (Department Store)
1865 = First Cardiff Registered, Cardiff owned ship "Llandaff" purchased by H.Vellacott from Tyneside builders.
1865 = Railway Hotel, Cardiff opened
1865 = Bethel Welsh Baptist Chapel, Mountstuart Square, Cardiff opened
1865 = Temperance Hall, Wood Street, Cardiff used as Music Hall
1865 = Science and Art School established in Cardiff
1865 = Marquis of Bute appointed William Burges as architect for the restoration of Cardiff Castle
1865 = Barry Railway incorporated but never built.
1865 = first meeting of Bethel English Baptist church, Whitchurch
1865 = Penarth Graving Dock set up by John Batchelor
1865 = Telegraphic communication became available in Cardiff
1865 = The Ham, Llantwit Major built for the Nicholl family
1866 = Establishment of Cardiff and County Club, Westgate Street, Cardiff
1866 = opening of new St.Augustine's Church, Penarth
1866 = Hamadryad Hospital for Seamen established at Cardiff
1866 = opening of Tabernacle Calvanistic Methodist chapel in Whitchurch
1866 = first General Post Office building in Cardiff built in St.Mary Street
1866 = Cardiff Chamber of Commerce established
1867 = Ely Paper Mill (Brown & Evans) started production
1867 = W.Frank (from Malton, Yorks) set up in business as a sweet manufacturer in Cardiff andgradually opened shops and stalls all over Cardiff
1867 = Parliamentary Reform Act lead to working-class householders in towns having the right to vote
1867 = Hannah Street Congregational Chapel, Docks, Cardiff built
1867 = All Saints Church, Adamsdown, Cardiff became separate parish church
1867 = Cardiff Cricket Club formed at a meeting at the Angel Hotel with Cardiff Arms Park as its ground (given at a peppercorn rent by the Marquis of Bute)
1868 = Charles Stalleybrass bought the "Leckwith" and founded his shipping company based at Cardiff
1868 = Radical Nonconformist Liberals won many Parliamentary seats in Wales. Beginning of Liberal domination of Welsh politics
8 December 1868 = John Stuart, 3rd Marquis of Bute, Lord Cardiff converted to Roman Catholicism
1868 = Cardiff Union Poor House built in Canton Road, Cardiff
1869 = See of Llandaff obtained Llandaff Court for use as the Bishop's Palace (Llys Esgob)
1869 = amagamation of Bristol Steam Navigation Co and Cardiff Steam Navigation Co to operate daily passenger and cargo service betwen Cardiff and Bristol
1869 = Completion of restoration of Llandaff Cathedral by John Prichard & Seddon
March 1869 = Meeting at Neath to start a Glamorganshire Cricket XI
1 May 1869 = Western Mail first published
1869 - 71 = St.Margaret's Church, Roath re-built at a cost of £6.000 (Designed by John Pritchard)
1870 - Methodist School established in Guildford Street, Cardiff
1870 = Education Act. Primary education started to become available to most children
1870 = Atlas Engineering Works established in Canton, Cardiff
1870 = Education Act established State Education system. Appointment of Cardiff School Board.
July 1870 = Re-built St.Margaret's Church, Roath consecrated
1870s = Iron Mining started at Trecastle, Llanharry
1870s = Hilary Blondel Marquand arrived in Cardiff from Guernsey and went into Cardiff shipping (later Care & Marquand)
1872 = John Cory arrived in Cardiff from Padstow, Cornwall to found his shipping company -(Cory Bros.)
1872 = St.Peters Catholic School, Roath built
1872 = Completion of Cardiff Castle Clock Tower
1873 = Plymouth Bretheren meeting room in Cardiff
By 1873 = The Institution for the Blind established in Newport Road, Cardiff
2 October 1873 = The Atlantic Steamship Co. Of Cardiff launched the S S Glamorgan as a mail packet ship carrying passengers and cargo to New York. Later joined by the Pembroke and the Carmarthen
1873 = Formation of South Wales Coalowners Association
1873 = St.Pauls Church, Grangetown opened as chapel of St.Johns, Canton, Cardiff
1874 = Remodelling of Castell Coch, Tongwynlais commenced
1874 = opening of the Roath Basin at Cardiff
1874/5 = Private Act of Parliament to bring Canton within the Borough of Cardiff
By 1875 = Edward Lee set up in business in Cardiff taking colour photographs
By 1875 = Two further Catholic Schools set up in Wyndham Crescent and Grangetown, Cardiff
By 1875 = Further National Schools set up in Cathays, Maindy, Canton & Grangetown, Cardiff
By 1875 = Baptist School set up in the Parade, Cardiff
By 1875 = Llandaff Engineering Works established at Gwaun Treoda, Whitchurch
1875 = Quaker Meeting House established in Charles Street, Cardiff
1875 = ironworks established in Grangetown, Cardiff
1876 = Philip & Thomas Morel, from Jersey, acquired their first stamship and set up Morel Bros., Shipping Company, Cardiff
1876 = Founding of Cardiff Rugby Football Club
1876 = Great Western Railway & Rhymney Railway jointly built the Taff- Bargoed line
1877 = Philip & Lewis Turnbull of Whitby, Yorks. Came to Cardiff to look after the Cardiff branch of their father's shipping company - Thomas Turnbull & Co., Whitby
1877 = Ely Paper Mill, Cardiff taken over by Thomas Owen as Thomas Owen & Co.
1877 = first public telephone service in Cardiff
1877 = Old Cemetery, Adamsdown, Cardiff closed
1877 = Empire Theatre opened in Queen St., Cardiff
1877 = Opening of the Philharmonic Hall, Cardiff
1877 = Cardiff Bridge widened
1877 = Theatre Royal, Cardiff destroyed by fire
1878 = New Theatre Royal opened in Wood Street, Cardiff
1878 = Opening of first local authority elementary school in Cardiff
1878 = Cardiff Arms Hotel demolished
1879 = David Morgan's shop set up in Cardiff (Department Store)
1879 = Melingriffith Works went into liquidation
By 1880 = Glamorgan Wagon Works set up at East Moors, Cardiff
By 1880 = Bristol Wagon Works set up a branch at East Moors, Cardiff
Abt 1880 = Hope Baptist Church, Cowbridge Road, Canton opened
1880 = Royal Hotel, Cardiff established
1880 = Windsor Gardens, Penarth opened
1880 = Grand Theatre, Westgate Street, Cardiff opened
1880 = Foundation stone laid for new Cardiff Free Library
1880 = Initial opening of Cardiff Arms Park
1880 = 14 shipowners operating in Cardiff
1880 = Cardiff Shipowners Association formed
1880 = Broadway Methodist Church, Roath opened
1880s = Melingriffith Works taken over by Cardiff Iron & Tinplate Co. Pentyrch Iron Works closed down
By 1881 = opening of the Cardiff Junction Dry Dock
1881 = Solomon Andrews started his furniture removal business in Cardiff (eventually became part of Pickfords)
1881 = Establishment of Penarth Yacht Club
1881 = Welsh Sunday Closing Act. Public Houses closed on Sundays
28 June 1881 = birth of John Crichton-Stuart, eldest son of the 3rd Marquis of Bute, Lord Cardiff by Gwendolen Mary (Howard)
1882 = Philip & Lewis Turnbull founded their own shipping company (later Turnbull Bros.) in Cardiff
1882 = Morel Bros. took over Bute Shipbuilding, Engineering & Dry Dock Co., Cardiff
1882 = Roath Harriers formed (Wales' oldest athletics club until it became part of Cardiff Athletic Club in 1968)
1882 = old Angel Inn, Castle Street, Cardiff converted to Bute Estate Office
1882 = Park Hotel, Cardiff built
1882 = Roath Harriers (Running Club) formed
May 1882 = opening of new Cardiff Free Library
1883 = St.Germans Church opened in Splott, Cardiff
1883 = Llantrisant & Cowbridge lost their Borough status
1883 = New Cardiff Royal Infirmary opened
1883 = Founding of the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire in Newport Rd., Cardiff
1883 = North Transept of St.Margaret's Church, Roath converted into a mausoleum by the Marquis of Bute for his family.
1884 = Mwyndy Iron Mine, Llantrisant closed
1884 = Cadiff Market Hall re-built by Solomon Andrews
1884 = Office of Town Clerk of Cardiff became full-time appointment
1884 = first public electricity supply made available in Cardiff by Anglo-American Brush Co.
1884 = Founding of William Hancock's Brewery, Crawshay Street, Cardiff
1884 = St.Andrews Church, Cardiff became a separate parish church
1884 = St.Catherines Church opened as chapel of St.Johns, Cardiff
1884 = First Rugby International played at Cardiff Arms Park (Wales v Ireland)
14 August 1884 = Barry Dock & Railways Act received Royal Assent to build a railway from Barry Dock to the Rhondda Valley
1885 = Cardiff Market Hall destroyed by fire
1885 = Joshua John Neale & Henry West started a fishmongery business in Custom House Street, Cardiff
1885 = Bute Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. incorporated in Cardiff
1885 = Park Hall, Cardiff built
1885 = first local authority High School opened in Cardiff
1885 = Canton, Ely & Waungron commons sold to Corporation of Cardiff
1886 = Severn Tunnel opened to allow direct rail connection between Cardiff/Newport/.Swansea and Bristol
1885 = Ephraim Turner (from Merthyr Tydfil) founded E.Turner & Sons, Builders in Cardiff
1886 = Establishment of The Exchange Club, Cardiff
1886 = New Cardiff Market opened by Solomon Andrews
1886 = Founding of William Lewis & Sons, Coach Builders, Cardiff
1886 = Cardiff Exchange opened for stockbroking business
1886 = St.Davids Catholic Church re-built in Charles Street, Cardiff
1886 = Cardiff Waxworks established
1886 = Bute Docks Railway incorporated (later Cardiff Railway)
1887 = Cardiff Iron & Tinplate Co. went into liquidation
1887 = opening of the Esplanade Hotel, Penarth
1887 = Levino's Hall, Queen St., Cardiff opened (later The Empire)
1887 = Turner House Gallery, Penarth built to house the art collection of Major James Pyke Thompson
1887 = Roath Dock, Cardiff opened
1887 = new Taff Vale Railway station opened in Queen Street, Cardiff
1887 = Penarth Harbour, docks & Railway Co. opened from Penarth to Lavernock
1888 = Joshua John Neale & Henry West set up Neale & West Trawler Co.
1888 = Melingriffith Works, Whitchurch bought by Richard Thomas. The Melingriffith Co.Ltd formed
1888 = Dowlais Iron Works set up at East Moors, Cardiff
1888 = Royal Hotel, Barry opened
1888 = St.Saviours Church opened as a chapel of St.Germans, Cardiff
6 July 1888 = Glamorgan County Cricket Club formed at the Angel Hotel, Cardiff
1888/9 = Llanedeyrn Church renovated.
1889 = St.Dyfrigs Church built as a chapel of St.Mary's, Cardiff
1889 = New Trinity English Congregational Church, Cowbridge Road, Canton opened to replace the old Trinity Chapel which had been in Womanby Street, Cardiff
1889 = Welsh Intermediate Education Act. Start of secondary education in Wales
1889 = Barry Railway Station opened for passengers
1889 = Stoll Theatre Group took over Levino's Hall, Queen St. and renamed it the Empire Palace of Varieties
18 July 1889 = Official opening of Barry Dock
By 1890 = Industrial & Ragged School set up on HMS Havannah moored in Penarth Roads, off Cardiff
By 1890 = Mountstuart Shipbuilding, Graving Dock and Engineering Co, Cardiff. established
1890 = opening of Clarence Bridge to connect the docks with Grangetown, Cardiff
1890 = National Bank of Wales established in Cardiff
1890 = Empire Music Hall, Cardiff opened
1890 = Barry Hotel built
1890 = Dock & Railway Strike
1890 = Establishment of Cardiff Technical School
1890 = Spillers & Co. amalgamated with William Baker & Son of Bristol to become Spillers & Bakers Ltd., Flour Mills
1890 = 90 shipowners operating in Cardiff
1890 = The Mackintosh of Mackintosh presented Plasnewydd, Roath (House) to the tenants of his estate for social-leisure use (later became the Mackintosh Institute)
By 1891 = Barry Island started to be used as a holiday resort
1891 = Dowlais Works opened two furnaces at its Cardiff works for production of steel and plate
1891 = The Grove, West Grove, Cardiff built for James Howell (owner of the Department Store) (later the Mansion House)
1891 = Welsh Church of St.David's opened in Cardiff
1891 = St.James Church, Roath opened as chapel of St.Johns, Cardiff
1891 = Barry Dock (Culleys) Hotel opened
1891 = First visit of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show to Cardiff
1891= Closure of Trecastle Iron Mine, Llanharry
1891 = Cardiff Market Hall re-built
1891 = Charles Thompson opened Thomson Park, Canton to the public (free)
1891 = New Beulah Chapel opened in Rhiwbina
1891 = opening of the Seamans Church & Institute, Docks, Cardiff
1892 = Philharmonic Hall became Stoll's Panopticon
1892 = The Vale of Glamorgan Agricultural Society replaced the Glamorgan Agricultural Society
1893 = Marine Hotel, Barry opened
1893 = St.Saviours Church, Cardiff became a separate parish church
1893 = Dyffryn House, St.Nicholas built for Cory family
1893 = Commercial Graving Dock, Barry opened
1893 = P & A Campbell Ltd set up in Bristol to run passenger steamers in the Bristol Channel, operating for many years from Bristol, Cardiff, Barry, Penarth, Newport & Swansea to Ilfracombe, Weston-super-Mare, Minehead, Clevedon, Lundy Island & the Holmes.
By 1894 = Salvation Army established at Stuart Hall, Cardiff
By 1894 = establishment, in Cardiff, of a branch of Glass, Elliott & Co. Wire Rope Makers
1894 = first Council owned electricity generating station set up in Cardiff
1894 = Vale of Glamorgan Railway from Barry to Bridgend commenced
1894 = Barry Council appointed first inspector of bathing and pleasure boats.
1894 = St.Pauls Church, Grangetown, Cardiff became a separate parish church
1894 = St.Catherines Church, Cardiff became a separate parish church
1894 = Roath Park acquired by the City from the Bute Estate
1895 = Waterloo Gardens givn to the City by Lord Tredegar
1895 = J.T.Duncan set up in business in Cardif as a shipowner
1895 = Penarth Pier opened
1895 = H J Cridland started their road haulage business in Cardiff(later running Coaches & Hire Cars as well)
1895 = Cardiff Eye & Ear Hospital established
1895 = First running of Welsh Grand National (horse race) at Ely, Cardiff
1895 = proposal to build a further dock at Cardiff (the Queen Alexandra Dock)
1895 = St.Dyfrigs Church, Cardiff became a separate parish church
1896 = Cardiff Fine Art, Industrial and Maritime Exhibition
1896 = Spillers Nephews Biscuit Factory established in Moorland Road, Splott, Cardiff
1896 = Barry Island Railway Station opened
1896 = Empire Palace of Varieties , Queen St., Cardiff re-built
1897 = opening of Victoria Park, Canton, Cardiff
1897 = W.J.Tatem (from Appledore, Devon) set up Lady Lewis Steamship Co., Cardiff
1897 = Glamorgan CCC admitted to the English Minor County Cricket Championships
1897 = City purchased Llandaff Fields
1897 = Bute Docks Railway changed its name to Cardiff Railway
1897 = New General Post Office built in Westgate Street, Cardiff
January 1897 = W.Duncan of Barry was the first casualty of a car accident in Wales when his foot was run over !
14 December 1897 = Cardiff City Council bought Cathays Park from Marquis of Bute to establish the new Civic Centre
1898 = Cardiff Tramway commenced operation
1898 = Canton Male Choir (later Cardiff Male Choir) formed at Barley Mow pub, Canton
1898 = Formation of Grangetown Baseball Club marked the beginnin of the popularity of Baseball in Cardiff
1898 = Romilly Park, Barry acquired for a nominal rent from the Romilly Estate and opened to the public by Barry Council
May 1898 = Lance Corporal Samuel Vickery of Canton, Cardiff awarded the Victoria Cross for conspicuous bravery in the Sudan
1899 = St.Martins Church, Roath opened
1899 = Barry Pier Railway Station opened
1899 = Riverside Association Football Club formed in Cardiff
August 1899 = death of 3rd Marquis of Bute
31 October 1899 = Empire Theatre, Cardiff burned down (subsequently rebuilt)
1899 = The Grange Farm, Cathays demolished - Gladstone Rd. School built on site
1899 = National Eisteddfod of Wales held in Cathays Park, Cardiff. The Gorsedd Circle erectedfor the Eisteddfod still remains in the area, although on a different site.
1900 = Glamorgan CCC first won the English Minor County Cricket Championship
1900 = St.Stephens Church opened as chapel of St.Mary's, Cardiff
1900 = New site at Cathays Park assigned to the University College
1900 = Amalgamation of Dowlais Iron Co. with Keen & Co. of Birmingham as Guest, Keen & Co.
1900 = Empire Theatre, Queen St, Cardiff re-built
1901 = Trinity Wesleyan Methodist Church, Penarth opned
1901 = Site of Splott Park donated to the City by Lord Tredegar
1901 = Foundations laid for new Cardiff Town Hall in Cathays Park
1901 = Roath Electric Power Station, Cardiff built
1901 = John Cory's Sailors' & Soldiers' Rest opened in Bute Street, Cardiff
29 July 1901 = Barry's first lifeboat the "John Wesley" presented to the RNLI by the Wesleyan Methodist Connexion
1902 = St.Johns Church, Canton became separate parish church
1902 = Alexandra Park, Penarth opened
1902 = Amagamation of Guest, Keen & Co. with Nettlefolds Ltd to form Guest, Keen & Nettlefolds (GKN)
1 May 1902 = Official opening of Cardiff Electric Tramways
1903 = Edward Nicholl (from Redruth, Cornwall) set up the Hall Line, Shipping Company, Cardiff
1903 = First Taff Vale Railway railcar used on Cowbridge-Aberthaw & Cardiff - Cadoxton-juxta-Barry lines
1903 = First use of railcars by Barry Railway on Vale of Glamorgan line
1903 = Whitchurch Mental Hospital opened
1903 = First Barry Island bathing pool built at Whitmore Bay
1904 = W.H.Seager of Cardiff set up W.H.Seager Steamship Co.Ltd, Cardiff
1904/5 = spread of Religious Revival in Wales
1905 = William Reardon Smith (from Appledore, Devon) set up in business as Reardon Smith Line, Shipping Co, Cardiff
1905 = The Seamen's Instiute, Dock View Rd., Barry opened
1905 = Opening of The General Post Office, Barry
1905 = Wales defeated New Zealand All Blacks in rugby international in Cardiff
1905 = Barry Customs & Mercantile Marine offices opened
1905 = Joseph Rank's Atlantic Flour Mill, No 2 Dock, Barry commenced production
1905 = Cardiff declared a City and Cardiff City Hall opened in Cathays Park
1905 = RiversideAssociation Football Club and Riverside Albions Football Club amalgamated to form Cardiff City Association Football Club
1905 = Victoria Park, Cardiff opened
1906 = The Law Courts in Cathays Park, Cardiff opened
1906 = Albert Road Methodist Church, Penarth opened
10 December 1906 = opening of the New Theatre, Cardiff
1907 = Founding of the National Museum of Wales
1907 = Frederick Jones of Adamsdown, Cardiff started the Melrose Abbey SteamshipCo., Cardiff
1907 = St.Michael's Theological Ciollege transferred from Aberdare to Llandaff
1907 = Office of Prior of Wales of the Order of the Hospital of St.John created
1907 = King Edward VII Avenue in Cathays Park, Cardiff opened by the King
July 1907 = opening of the Queen Alexandra Dock, Cardiff by King Edward VII & Queen Alexandra
1908 = New purpose built Barry Council Offices, Holton Rd. opened
1908 = opening of J.R.Freeman cigar factory in Cardiff
1908 = Grangetown Baseball Club became Grange Albion Baseball Club
1908 = First Baseball International match played in Cardiff
1908 = American Roller Rink (Roller Skating) opened in Westgate Street, Cardiff (demolished 1922 and re-erected in Ely)
1908 = Opening of Whitchurch Mental Hospital
1909 = spread of Independent Working Class Education Movement in South Wales
1909 = Opening of University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire building in Cathays Park, Cardiff
1909 = Wyndham Park (or Glyn Cory Garden Village), Peterston-super-Ely established by John & Reginald Cory
20 November 1909 = Unveiling of the South African War Memorial in Cathays Park, Cardiff by General Sir John French
1910 = W.J.Tatem set up Tatem Steam Navigation Co.Ltd, Cardiff
1910 = "Peerless" Jim Driscoll of Cardiff won his first boxing Lonsdale Belt
1910 = Gorsedd Gardens, Cathays Park, Cardiff opened (containing the Gorsedd Circle originally erected for the National Eisteddfod of 1899)
1910 = Llanishen Baptist Church, Melbourne Rd., Llanishen opened
15 June 1910 = Captain Scott set out from Cardiff in the "Terra Nova" in his attempt to reach the South Pole
July 1910 = Theatre Royal, Barry opened
1 September 1910 =Opening football match at Ninian Park Football Ground between Cardiff City and Aston Villa
1911 = St.Lukes Church, Cardiff became a separate parish church
1911 = Clifton Picture House, Clifton St., Cardiff opened
1911 - The Carlton Restaurant opened in Queen Street, Cardiff on the site of the Masons Arms Hotel
1911 = Central Cinema, Cardiff opened at The Hayes
1912 = Cardiff Coal & Shipping Exchange opened in Mountstuart Square, Cardiff
1912 = Commencement of building of Rhiwbina Garden Village by Cardiff Workers' Co-operative Garden Village Society Ltd.
1912 = Charles Thompson gave the freehold of Thompson Park, Canton to the City.
1912 = St.Stephens Church, Cardiff became a separate parish church
1912 = Glamorgan County Hall opened in Cathays Park, Cardiff
1912 = Thompson's Switchback Railway Co.Ltd. opened the "Figure 8" at Barry Island which later became the centre piece of the Barry Fairground
1912 = Foundation stone laid for the National Museum of Wales Building in Cathays Park, Cardiff
By 1913 = 10.5 million tons of steam coal per year being exported from Cardiff which had become the largest coal exporting port in the world
1913 = opening of Treforest School of Mines. The first mining management training school in Wales
1913 = 11 million tons of coal exported from Barry
1913 = Splott Cinema, Cardiff opened
1913 = The Grand Theatre, Cardiff became the Hippodrome Picture Palace
1913 = over 15000 sailings by ships from Cardiff, Barry & Penarth
1914 = Foundation stone laid for new Ararat Baptist Chapel, Whitchurch
1914 = Glamorgan Residential Training College for Women Students opened at Buttrills Hill, Barry
1914 = Penylan Cinema, Cardiff opened (later renamed the Globe)
1914 to 1918 = First World War - Cardiff dry docks used extensively for the maintenance of the country's shipping
1915 = Sir Sven Hansen started the Hansen Shipping Co., Cardiff
1916 = Establishment of Cardiff Technical College
1916 = Completion of the new Cardiff Technical College in Cathays Park
1917 = Sir Sven Hansen took over Edward Nicholl's Hall Line Shipping Co.of Cardiff
1918 = Stoll's Panopticon re-opened after the War as the Pavilion Picture Theatre
1918 = W.J.Tatem created Baron Glanely of St.Fagans
1918 = E.T.Willows of Cardiff set up in business manufacturing Balloon Airships
1919 = Charles Leigh Clay (from Chepstow, Mon.) started the Claymore Shipping Co., Cardiff
1919 = Liberty Motors Ltd, Canton (Bus Company) started in business
1919 = Idwal Williams of Cardiff set up the Graig Shipping Co., Cardiff
1920 = Theatre Royal, Cardiff renamed the Playhouse
By 1920 = 120 Cardiff Shipping companies in operation owning 1.5million gross tons of shipping. Cardiff became the greatest steamship owning centre in the World
1920 = William Rardon Smith created a Baronet
1920 = first Cardiff Motor Bus
1920 = Foundation of South Wales Commercial Motors (Bus Company)
1921 = World's first Radio concert broadcast from Cardiff Wireless College
1921 = Glamorgan CCC admitted to the English County Cricket Championships
1921 = opening of the Capitol Theatre, Queen St., Cardiff
1922 = Caerphilly Miners Hospital established at Watford, Caerphilly
1922 = North Gateway of Cardiff Castle rebuilt
1922 = Taff Vale Railway, Barry Railway, Penarth Harbour Railway & Rhymney Railway absorbed by the Great Western Railway
1922 = Llandaff, Llanishen & Lisvane brought within the boundaries of Cardiff
1923 = Properties on North side of Duke Street, Cardiff demolished in order to reduce traffic congestion.
1923 = Parade Gardens, Barry laid out.
1923 = Completion of Rhiwbina Garden Village, Cardiff
1924 = Opening of the Western Shelter & Shops, Barry Island
1924 = Start of Barry Island Fairground by White Bros.
1924 = Turnbull Coal & Shipping Co., Cardiff established by Cyril & Bernard Turnbull, sons of Lewis Turnbull of the Turnbull Bros. Shipping Co., Cardiff
1926 = Captain George Buchanen Bailey (son of C.H.Bailey, owner of C.H.Baileys Dry Dock Co.) set up the St.Quentin Shipping Co. at Newport, Mon
1926 = Barry Central Housing Estate built around Alexandra Gardens under influence of the Garden City Movement
1926 = Barry Shipping Co., Cardiff set up with Richard George Meredith Street (of Penarth) as Managing Director
1926 = Italian Gardens, Penarth opened
May 1926 = Cold Knapp (Barry) Marine Bathing Pool opened
21 April 1927 = Opening of the National Museum of Wales, Cathays Park, Cardiff by King George V.
23 April 1927 = Cardiff City Football Club won the FA Cup (Beat Arsenal 1 - 0)
1927 = First hunger march from South Wales
1927 = Establishment of Glamorgan Wanderers Club, Wyndham Arcade, Cardiff
1928 = Opening of the Esplanade, Barry Island
1928 = Opening of Cardiff Speedway and Geyhound Track in Sloper Rd., Cardiff
1928 = Plaza Cinema, North Road, Cardiff opened 1928 = Welsh National War Memorial, Alexandra Gardens, Cardiff opened by Prince of Wales
1928 = Bindles Dance Hall and Restaurant, Cold Knapp, Barry opened
1929 = South Wales Commercial Motors took over the bus services operatedby the Great Western Railway to form Western Welsh Omnibus Co. Ltd.
1929 = Constant Bros (South Wales) Ltd, shipping company set up in Cardiff (subsidiary of Kent Company)
1929 = openin of the Pavilion at Penarth pier
1929 = Foundation of St.Patrick's Catholic Church, Grangetown, Cardiff
1929 = Establishment of Charles M. Willie & Co., Cardiff - shipowners (Celtic Line)
1930 = Amagamation of GKN with Baldwins Ltd to form Guest, Keen & Baldwins Iron & Steel Co.
1930 = Establishment of Cardiff Airport at Pengam Moors.(closed 1954)
1930 = Pat Collins of Walsall, Staffs. took over Barry Island Fairground from White Bros. And developed it into Barry Island Amusement Park
1931 = Cardiff Bridge widened
1932 = Opening of Reardon Smith Lecture Theatre in Cathays Park, Cardiff
1932 = Opening of Barry Memorial Hall in memory of the 700 Barrians who had been killed in the First World War
1932 = Jack Peterson of Cardiff won the British Heavyweight Boxing Championship
28 January 1933 = Founding of B & S Shipping Co., Cardiff from amalgamation of Barry Shipping Co. & St.Quentin Shipping Co.
1933 = Empire Theatre became a cinema
1933 = Barry Yacht Club opened
1933 = Barry Island seafront illuminated for the first time
1934 = Opening of Llandough Hospital at Llandough-juxta-Penarth
1935 = The Playhouse, Cardiff renamed The Prince of Wales Theatre
1935 = GKN transferred rolling mills and finishing dept. from Rogerstone, Newport, Mon to Cardiff
1936 = B & S Shipping Co., Cardiff took delivery of three modern passenger carrying steamers which formed the nucleus of the South American Saint Line, Cardiff
1936 = opening of the Odeon Cinema, Queen St., Cardiff
1936 = opening of Sully Hospital
1936 = Spillers Flour Mill, Roath Dock, Cardiff erected
1937 = Rumney became part of Cardiff
1938 = Opening of the Temple of Peace and Health in Cathays Park, Cardiff
1938 = Opening of the Welsh Board of Health Office in Cathays Park, Cardiff
1939 = Horse Racing ended at Ely Racecourse, Cardiff
1939 = Barry Island Scenic Railway opened at the Barry Amusement Park
1941 = Llandaff Cathedral destroyed by enemy bomb
1942 = First Trolley Buses ran in Cardiff
1946 = St.Fagans Castle given to the National Museum of Wales by the Earl of Plymouth
25 April 1947 = death of 4th Marquis of Bute
September 1947 = 5th Marquis of Bute gave Cardiff Castle and its estate to the city.
1948 = Opening of Welsh Folk Museum at St.Fagans Castle
1948 = Trolley Buses replaced Tramcars in Cardiff
1948 = Glamorgan CCC first won the English County Cricket Championship
1950 = Establishment by GKN of new wire rod mill at Tremorfa, Cardiff
1950 = Part of St.Melons incorporated within Cardiff
20 February 1950 = Last Tramcar in Cardiff
1953 = Trelai Park, Ely, Cardiff opened
1954 - Empire Cinema renamed the Gaumont
1954 = Cardiff (Rhoose) Airport opened (later Cardiff International Airport)
1955 = Cardiff became, by Royal Decree, Capital City of Wales
1955 = Colchester Avenue Industial Estate, Cardiff started
14 August 1956 = death of 5th Marquis of Bute
1957 = Closure of the Prince of Wales Theatre, Cardiff
1957 = closure of Melingriffith Works, Whitchurch
1957 = Llandaff Cathedral re-opened
1958 = Llandaff Court became the new home for Llandaff Cathedral School
1958 = Empire Pool (swimming pool) opened in Cardiff in preparation for Empire Games
July 1958 = British Empire & Commonwealth Games held at Cardiff
July 1958 = HM The Queen announced that Prince Charles had been created Prince of Wales
1959 = P & A Campbell's White Funnel Fleet of pleasure paddle steamers went into receivership
1959 = Airoplane crashed in North Road, Cardiff killing four people
1960 = P & A Campbell resumed operation of pleasure steamers in the Bristol Channel
4 December 1960 = Disastrous flooding in Cardiff, particularly Canton & Gabalfa
1961 = Opening of Cardiff College of Advanced Technology in Cathays Park
1962 = Gaumont Cinema closed
1962 = New wire nail manufacturing unit added to GKN's Tremorfa Works, Cardiff
1963 = Severe snow storms in Cardiff & other parts of Glamorgan
September 1968 = old St.Mark's Church, Gabalfa demolished to make way for the buildingof Gabalfa Flyover road
1976 = James Callaghan MP for Cardiff became Prime Minister of Great Britain
1979 = final demise of P & A Campbell's pleasure steamers in the Bristol Channel
1980 = old Broadway Methodist Church became a Mosque