Cardiff Castle of Crossed Destinies

Cathays Gardens

Cathays Gardens provides accommodation for Cardiff Civic Centre, said by Nikolaus Pevsner to be the 'finest in the British Isles'. It's centre piece is Alexandra Gardens. This with the monument to the South African War at the bottom of Edward Vll Avenue is a testament to the the desire of the British Government to wage war and sell arms and the willingness of Welsh people to die for them. This contrasts with the Temple of Peace designed by Sir Percy Thomas, he was awarded a gold medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects for his troubles. The Temple of Peace and Health was commissioned by David Davies, brother to Gwendolne and Margaret who donated many paintings to the National Museum Wales. 1st Baron Davies had fought in the First World War and had dedicated himself to promoting world peace as a result of his experiences: he was a supporter of the League of Nations and his ideas had an impact on the writing of the UN Charter. The Temple of Peace was bombed in 1968 in protest at the approaching investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales. Presumably it was easier to place a bomb there than the Welsh Office buildings opposite. Perhaps this was a riposte to the question posed at the Eisteddfod "A oes Heddwch?" (Is there peace?").

Amongst the other buildings are The Glamorgan Building, built in 1911 as the home of Glamorgan County Council. This was before the population was such that the county was divided up into a number of city states and rustic constituencies. It was designed by Vincent Harris and Thomas Moodie. The statues at the front depict navigation and mining. It houses the School of City and Regional Planning and the School of Social Sciences. There are several other Cardiff University buildings here. In lonely opposition stands University of Wales Registry, apparently this looks like the library in Hove. Bute Building was also designed by Sir Percy Thomas and Ivor Jones. It is home to the Welsh School of Architecture, School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies. Percy Thomas was born to a shipping family from Narbeth. He, Percy Thomas, jumped ship from his job as a shipping clerk to board the vessel architecture after having his head read by a phrenologist. National Museum Wales was opened in 1927. In front of it are the Gorsedd Gardens apparently the most used park in Cardiff. City Hall  was planned as a town hall but was City Hall by the the time it was built. The Crown Courts are nearby.