Contact the Convenor – Stuart Swinburne
This group meets on the third Friday of the month in the morning at Eglwys Dewi Sant in St Andrew’s Crescent, Cardiff. Sometimes we will go on short “walk and talk” tours or meet at a place of interest. But you will always get good notice of activities on the web-site and from regular e-mail updates.
Local history is such a potentially diverse subject there are many new areas that can be explored together, from the archaeological history of the area to very recent times. The people, the politics, architecture, industry, culture, fashions, sport etc. all have their history. Through taking information from external sources and sharing the knowledge our group members have we will investigate our local history through a series of themes:
Cardiff Districts
Iconic Cardiff
Influential families in Cardiff
Origin & lives of ethnic groups in Cardiff
Cardiff characters
Cardiff transport
My view is that history is not ours to re-write (as many try to do) but to learn from. The group will tease out the lessons that local history teaches us so that we might share those with our own individual circles and thus contribute in a more informed way to wider debates.
May 2024
Friday 17th May
- 10:30 – 12:00
-
Local History
Cardiff Districts Part 4: Rhiwbina Garden Village
Dr Llion Wigley will open up what in some respects is a hidden world. Rhiwbina Garden Village has a fascinating history and is very much preserved as it was first envisaged. Come along to Eglwys Dewi Sant and find out more
June 2024
Friday 21st June
- 10:30 – 12:00
-
Local History
Cardiff Transport Part 1: The Glamorganshire Canal and the Development of North Cardiff
The Glamorganshire is often thought of as the canal that connected the Iron Works at Merthyr and mines in the surrounding areas to Cardiff Bay and beyond. Which, of course, it was. But there’s far more to it than that. In this meeting we’ll look at the major impact the canal had on the then village areas of Radyr, Whitchurch, Llandaff, Gabalfa & Maindy before they became the Cardiff suburbs of today. And even more so, how the canal contributed to their growth into the Cardiff suburbs of today
July 2024
Friday 19th July
- 10:30 – 12:00
-
Local History
Iconic Cardiff(ish:-)) Part 5:Nantgarw China Works & Museum
The China Works at Nantgarw is a first class heritage site that speaks of how valuable the Glamorganshire canal was to the functioning of this industry in Victorian times. But Nantgarw was not just any China Works – it was the site of manufacture of some of the world’s finest China, many examples of which can still be seen in the museum today. And if that’s not enough… they make a jolly good cup of tea there too 🙂
September 2024
Friday 20th September
- 10:30 – 12:00
-
Local History
Cardiff Transport Part 2: Trams & Trolleybus Services
Our very own Brian Neale will take a look at this fundamentally important aspect of Cardiff’s development. Most people think that the history of transport development in a city reflects the growth of that city.. which it does. But have you ever thought how the transport development drives the growth of the city? Brian will not only look at the evolution of the (often beautiful) vehicles but how the services impacted daily lives
October 2024
Friday 18th October
- 10:30 – 12:00
-
Local History
Cardiff Characters Part 3: EM Bruce Vaughan
Ever wonder how Cardiff became blessed with so many distinctive and beautiful church buildings? Well, the Roath Local History Society’s Gareth Brown will tell us about EM Bruce Vaughan and his visionary designs of some of Cardiff’s most iconic churches
November 2024
Friday 15th November
- 10:30 – 12:00
-
Local History
Iconic Cardiff Part 6: History of Cardiff Fire Service and the Old Fire Station in particular.
Some of you may have seen the interview with Derek Carder, a long serving fireman at the the old Cardiff Fire Station on Westgate Street, on TV recently. Well, that was just a snippet, a taster if you like, of the wealth of knowledge and memorabilia that Derek has. So don’t smoulder at home, come along and hear Derek’s story about life in and of the old Fire Station. You’re promised a heart-warming blaze of fascinating Cardiff history on a cold November day 🙂