This series was inspired by an article from John&Jane that explored the design of a modern flag for Cardiff. In the first part I looked into the history of Cardiff and found some examples of the “Cardiff Arms”.
In the second part I discovered some of the history of the arms and shared more examples of their use.
Since then, I’ve been scouring the newspaper archives for more references and finding examples around Cardiff.
The “Cardiff Arms”
The Cardiff Arms is a coat of arms featuring a shield, mural crown and slogan, “Villa Cardiff”.
A mural crown represents city walls in heraldry with the number of towers often representing the size or importance of the town or city.
The “charge” on the shield features three chevrons and the slogan may represent Cardiff’s Roman origins. (The thinner chevrons are called chevronels in heraldry but I’ll keep referring to them as chevrons.)
I’ll refer to the coat of arms as the “Cardiff Arms” for the rest of this article.
Around Cardiff
Plasturton Gardens
Plasturton Gardens were created by the Bute Estate. They were conveyed to the Cardiff Corporation on December 28th 1889 and opened the following year. The Cardiff Arms are still visible on the caretaker’s shelter.
Cardiff Market, St Mary Street
The Cardiff Arms are prominently displayed at the entrance to Cardiff Market on St Mary Street. This design incorporates the Tudor rose above the shield rather than the mural crown. The same design can be seen above the entrance in the green metalwork.
Grange Gardens
This is another example of the Cardiff Arms on the caretaker’s shelter in Grange Gardens, Grangetown. The land for these gardens were donated by Lord Windsor and Lord Bute. They were opened on 19th June 1895.
Cardiff Market
This plaque can be found at the bottom of the stairs in Cardiff Market.
The new market was opened on the 8th of May 1891 by the Mayoress of Cardiff, Lady Bute. The Mayoress was presented with a ceremonial gold key.
In the middle of the bar of the key is a shield bearing the Cardiff Arms, surmounted by the marquis’s coronet. On an enamel ribbon encircling the shaft there are the words “Villa Cardiff”.
Examples
I’ve been scouring the internet to find more examples of the Cardiff Arms from over the years.
1936
The Angel Hotel displayed the Cardiff Arms above its entrance for many years.
It appears to have been removed sometime before 1970.
1901
This floral emblem was sent to Windsor for Queen Victoria’s Funeral.
It’s a Welsh harp with the Cardiff Arms in the centre. The arms are made up of daffodils and scarlet geraniums. The letters in “Villa Cardiff” are white geraniums.
1900
Roath Library’s foundation stone featuring the Cardiff Arms was laid in July 1900 by councillor S A Brain, owner of the Brains brewery.
The library opened in 1901.
1896
Prince Edward, his wife Alexandra, and his daughters Maud and Victoria, visited the Cardiff Exhibition on the 27th of June 1896. This souvenir flyer includes a photo of the exhibition building and the prominent Cardiff Arms.
Film of the royal visit was taken by Birt Acres. It is considered the first film recording of the British Royal Family, one of the first British news films and the first recording set in Cardiff.
1896
The Cardiff Fine Art, Industrial, and Maritime Exhibition took place over 6 months in 1896. The Cardiff Arms were used in the promotion of the event and can be seen prominently on the exhibition building.
There are more examples in part 2 of this series.
1892
This ceremonial silver key was used to open the new Cardiff Waterworks in the Taff Fawr Valley on the 14th September 1892.
Cardiff Corporation Alderman and waterworks committee chairman David Jones inspected the works and then officially opened them.
Part 4
I have many more examples of the Cardiff Arms from my own collection to share.
In part 4 I’m going to investigate the modern coat of arms that were granted in 1906.
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If you have any information about the Cardiff Arms, I’d love to hear from you. Do you agree with Gareth Strange from John&Jane, would you like to see a modern flag for Cardiff?
