Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/489

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.
479

CAECEOFT. 479 CAEDIFF. The living is a vie.* in the dioc. of Lincoln, val. 203, in the patron, of the Eev. J. C. Girardot, incumbent. The church is dedicated to St. Mary. The Wcslcyim Methodists have a chapel, and there are charitable bequests for the poor, producing about 18 a year. CAECEOFT, a hmlt. in the par. of Owston, wap. of Upper Osgoldcross, in the West Eiding of the co. of York, 5 miles to the N. of Doncaster. It is near the Great Northern railway. CAEDEN, a tnshp. in the par. of Tilston, hund. of Broxton, in the co. palatine of Chester, 4 miles to thoN. of Malpas. It is situated near the Broxton Hills. Car- den Hall, an old mansion, the seat of the Lechc family, 'ked and pillaged by the parliamentary troops in 1643. CAKDESTOX. See CAKMSTON, Salop. CAEDIFF, a seaport, market town, municipal and parliamentary borough, in the co. of Glamorgan, South Wales, 170 miles to thoW. of London. It was formerly the county town, a distinction now shared with Swansea. It is a principal station on the South Wales railway, and is the terminus of the Taff Vale and Aberdare and Bhymney railways. Tho town is situated on a level spot near the coast of the Bristol Channel, on the E. bank of the river Taff, or Taf, 2 miles above its open- common with the Ely, under tho headland isiiad of I'enarth, and is a place of consider- tiquity. Its name is derived either from Caer-

<.h signifies tho "fort on the Taff;" or from

. signifying the "fortress of Didius." The Welsh form of its name is Caerdydd, which is supposed l<> lend support to the conjecture that a fort was erected hero by Aulus Didius, the Eoman general. The native princes of Morganwg had their seat here from the time of their leaving Caerleon till after the Norman Conquest, when Robert Fitzhamon made himself master of the dis- trict, and built the castle, portions of which still remain, forming part of the mansion of the Marquis of Bute. Two monasteries were founded here by the earls of Clare in the 13th century. Cardiff derives its present im- portance from its port, and its proximity to the rich coal and mineral districts of Aberdaro and tho Taff Valley, and the great iron-works of Merthyr Tydvil. The construction of the Glamorganshire canal, tho Taff Vale and Aberdare railway, and tho Bute Dock, with tho ship canal, have very greatly promoted the trade and prosperity of tho town. Its population in- creased eighteenfold" during the first half of the present ' Milury from 1,018 in 1801 to 18,351 in 1851 ; and has nearly doubled in the last decennial period, from 1851 lo 1861. The canal, 25 miles long, extending from Merthyr Tydvil to the sea, was formed about 1795. The Taff Vale railway, of the same length, was com- pleted in 1840, and runs in a parallel course with the r;ui;il. Tim liutn Docks, projected by tho Marquis of Bute, were formed at a cost of above 1,000,000 ; and though opened in 1839, were not completed till 1859. The West Dock, that first opened, has sea-gates of 45ft. upening ; depth on tho sill at springs, 28 ft. 8J in. ; at neaps, 18 ft. 7j in., and a lock 152 ft. long by 36 ft. broad ; the aiva <>f the basin is upwards of 20 acres, and the length of quays 8,000 ft. The East Dock has gates "f 5o ft. opening; depths on sill, 31 ft. Si in. and 21 ft. 7 in. ; witb an outer lock 220 ft. by 55 ft., and an inner lock 200 ft. by 50 ft. The area of this basin is 46

iores ; depth, 25 ft. ; breadth, 300 ft. to 500 ft. ; and

length of quays, 9,100 ft. The dock-gates open upon a broad and deep channel cut in the mud, and flooded by the Taff. Fostered by the success of the Bute Docks, a i ompany has undertaken tho improvement of Pcnarth llarbour, and tho construction of rival docks at tho mouth of the Ely, which are near completion. These works are connected with tho Taff Vale railway near Pentyrch by a short branch line. The harbour is one of the best on the coast, and steamers ply daily to Bristol, according to tides ; also to Burnham, on the opposite coast, and to Cork in alternation with Newport. Abertlian and Larry arc subports to Cardiff. The ton- nage of the port in 1857 was 6,839 vessels, with a register of 1,081,080 tons. Besides the coasting trade there is a considerable colonial and foreign traffic. During the month of February, 1863, 331 ships cleared for foreign ports, carrying 115,890 tons of coals, chiefly the produce of tho collieries of Aberdare, 632 tons of coke, 1,911 tons of patent fuel, and 12,609 tons of iron from the great works at Merthyr Tydvil. Corn and provisions are also exported. Cardiff received its fir.- 1 charter of incorporation from Edward III., in 1338. Tho borough is divided into two wards, and is governed by a mayor, 6 aldermen, and 18 councillors, bearing the style of the "bailiffs, aldermen, and burgesses of the town of Cardiff." The revenue of the corporation is about 2,450, and the limits of the municipal borough include 4,666 houses, inhabited, according to the census of 1801, by a population of 32,421, against 18,351, in 1851, show- ing an increase of no less than 14,070, in tho decennial period. The town, part of which is of modern erection, has several spacious streets. Tho principal one is that in the line of the great road from London, which is crossed by another good street at right angles. The streets are paved and lighted with gas. The principal public buildings are the guildhall, which stands in one of the chief streets, and in which the Eistedvodd, or " Con- gress of Bards," was held in 1850; the market-house, erected in 1835 ; the county gaol and house of correc- tion, the theatre, the custom-house, the infirmary (founded by Daniel Jones, Esq.), and the Union poorhouse, W. of the town. The suburbs are now almost as extensive as the town itself, consisting of large masses of buildings around the docks and railway stations, and scattered villas and lines of houses towards Eoath and Maindy, at Penarth, Canton, and along the road to Llandaff. The manage- ment of the local affairs is entrusted to a numerous body of commissioners appointed under an Act passed in 1837. The town first received the elective fran- chise in the reign of Henry VIII., since which time it has returned, with Cowbridge and Llantrissent (its contributory boroughs), one member to the imperial par- liament. The sanitary interests of the town are provided for by a Local Board of Health. The assizes and quar- ter sessions are held at Cardiff, and polling for the county elections also takes place here. Cardiff is the head of a Poor-law Union, and of County Court and excise dis- tricts. It is tho headquarters of the county militia. A weekly newspaper, called the Cardiff Guardian, is pub- lished in tho town. Cardiff comprises the two pars, of St. John the Baptist and St. Mary. The living of St. John is a vie.* in the dioc. of Llandaff, val. 260, in the patron, of the Dean and Chapter of Gloucester. The church is a large and handsome edifice, partly in the early English and partly in tho perpendicular style, with a fine embattled tower surmounted by pinnacles. It contains two altar-tombs, with effigies and canopies, in memory of Sir William and Sir John Herbert ; the ruins of whose seat are still seen in the castle garden. The riving of St. Mary is a vie. in the same dioc., val. 200, in the patron, of the Marquis of Bute. The church was erected about 1845. The old church of St. Mary was destroyed by a flood at the beginning of the 17th century. The Wesleyans, Eoman Catholics, Independents, and Bap- tists have chapels in the town. The charitable endow- ments, which include a bequest by Cradock Wells for educational purposes, producing about 70 a year, and the income (25) of the free school founded and endowed by the Herberts, amount altogether to about 140 per annum. There arc several large schools in the town, a dispensary, and other charitable institutions. The castle, which stands on the W. side of the town, consists of a spacious quadrangular court, enclosed on three sides by a lofty earthwork, erected by the exterior wall and buttress towers. The fourth side, towards the river, is defended by a lofty wall, and includes the inhabited buildings, which constitute but a small portion of this ancient fortress. A fine tower flanks the western front, which is new. On a mound are still standing ruins of the keep, 75 feet high, commanding an extensive view over the fiat neighbourhood. It was in this castle that Robert Duke of Normandy, surnamed Curthose,