PGW(Gm)24(CDF)

Roath Park  

I  

01/02/2022  

Designated  

Cardiff  

Roath  

318677  

179248  

Gardens, Parks and Urban Spaces  

Urban public park;  

1887-94  

Registered for its historic interest as a fine example of a late Victorian public park retaining much of its original framework although layout and planting have seen some alteration and built structures have been replaced. Also important for its historical associations with the Pettigrew family and for its group value with the listed park structures. Roath Park was the first publicly owned park in Cardiff and was ambitiously conceived to provide a wide range of recreational, sporting and educational facilities. The popular park continues to provide the opportunity for fresh air and recreation for which it was originally intended. The large lake is an outstanding feature. The park was designed and laid out by William Harpur, borough engineer, and William Wallace Pettigrew, Head Gardener and later Chief Parks Officer, on land donated by the Marquis of Bute and other landowners. The park was formally opened to the public by the Earl of Dumfries, son of the Marquess of Bute, on 20 June 1894. The Wild Garden, an area to the north of the lake, was originally intended as a second lake, and was developed slightly later. It was ceremonially opened on 27 May 1896. The northernmost section, originally called ‘The Oval’, then Llandennis Gardens, was laid out and planted in the winter of 1897-98. It was not open to the public until 1 May 1923, after the 1922 extension of the borough boundaries. Roath Park occupies a long strip of land around the Nant Fawr and Roath Brook. The park can be divided into six main areas: Llandennis Oval; the Wild Garden; the Lake; the Arboretum and Botanic Garden; the Pleasure Garden; and the Recreation Ground. LLandennis Oval is separate to the rest of the park and is located to the north of it on Llandennis Road. It takes its name from the spring-fed pool, Ffynnon LLandennis, associated with St Denis. The pool still exists, as does the main north-south path and the mound planted with a tree on the west side of the Oval. Originally there were several paths running through the park, as shown on early Ordnance Survey maps (1901 and 1920) but these paths no longer exist. Trees are mostly deciduous including beech, sweet chestnut and oak, including a shingle oak. The Wild Garden is a triangular area, lying at the northern end of the park and separated from it by Wild Gardens Road. This area was left more or less untouched when the park was made, with only some winding paths, two bridges, trout hatchery ponds and underplanting of the native tree canopy being added. The canopy is of oak, pines and sycamores, with beech and evergreen oak on the west side and conifers at the northern end near the road. Beneath the trees is scrubby undergrowth. The layout is shown on early Ordnance Survey maps (1920) which also shows a shelter, now gone. The Nant Fawr winds through the area and is crossed by a concrete bridge on the site of one of the original rustic bridges. The other bridge has gone. The large, elongated lake, created between 1889 and 1893, is located to the south of Wild Gardens Road. It is surrounded by a perimeter footpath. At its northern end are five small islands intended to provide a home for waterfowl. The 29 acre lake was created from an area of marshland by damming the Nant Fawr. The stone-revetted dam is orientated E-W at the south end of the lake (Cadw LB 25944). A promenade runs along the top of the dam. A spillway at the west end of the dam allows water from the lake to flow into a channel and into the Nant Fawr to the south. Since its construction the lake has been used for boating. Bathing in the lake was also popular, with the first dressing boxes added in 1908, but ceased during the mid-twentieth century. At the south end of the lake, close to the promenade, is a clock tower lighthouse, the Scott Memorial (Cadw LB 25942) a memorial to Captain Scott and his companions, who died during their Antarctic expedition of 1910-12, having sailed from the port of Cardiff. A children’s playground is located to the south of the dam embankment. The lawn below the embankment was originally the location of the bandstand (from 1903) and in a dry summer its former location can still be seen as parchmarks. A memorial drinking fountain, presented by the Samuel family, also once stood in this area and another was located on the recreation ground. Both have now gone. The area below the lake is the former Botanic Garden. These are formally laid out on the west side, and informal flanking the winding Roath Brook in the centre and on the east. The formal part of the former Botanic Gardens occupies a roughly rectangular area along the west side of the park. Since the 1950s this area has been laid out as a formal rose garden but was originally an educational area, known as the Students' Garden, because of its special interest to horticulturalists and students of botany. It was laid out with formal beds planted with many different kinds of shrubs, herbaceous plants, medicinal plants and alpines. Pettigrew is known to have obtained many plants for Roath Park from Kew Gardens. In 1923 the area of the Botanic Gardens was said to be 15 acres, and the list of plants within it took up 43 pages of the guide to the park. A fish hatchery and aquarium also once stood in the Botanic Garden. The current conservatory stands on the site of two former glasshouses, one large and one small. Three listed bridges (Cadw LB 14765; 14766; 14767) span the Nant Fawr between the west and east areas of the Botanic Garden. The east area is laid out informally planted with trees including several species of pine. The rockery, although once more extensive, is located along the east of the park along the top of the bank adjacent to Lake Road East. To the south east, between Fairoak Road and Alder Road, is the Pleasure Garden. The Roath Brook winds through this area of the park and is spanned by an early example of a reinforced concrete footbridge retaining intricate Celtic detail (Cadw LB 14764). Most of the park is laid out with informal specimen tree and shrub planting. The former Park Superintendent’s house is located near the north west entrance of the Pleasure Garden. Close to the north east corner of the Pleasure Gardens stood the Fair Oak, after which the adjacent road is named. The 1st edition Ordnance Survey map shows Fairoak Farm before the park was constructed, whilst the 2nd edition Ordnance Survey map (1901) shows the location of the oak - Dderwen deg. A plaque now marks its former location. The Pleasure Gardens are also home to the bowling greens and tennis courts, which have existed since the early twentieth century and are still popular park facilities. Beyond the Pleasure Gardens is the wide open space of Roath Park Recreation Ground. The Roath Brook runs along the northeast side of the recreation ground, having been diverted and the land drained and levelled to make the playing field suitable for a wide range of sports. A bridge (Cadw LB 26662) crosses the Roath Brook at the northwest corner of the recreation ground. The field is tree-fringed and a footpath runs around the perimeter. The original railings around the recreation ground have gone and the field is no longer enclosed. Setting: The park retains its setting of surrounding villa residences, which were built to take advantage of the pleasant setting that the park, and in particular its large lake afforded. Significant View: view across the lake from the promenade and towards Craig Llysfaen. Sources: Cadw (2000) Register of Historic Parks and Gardens in Wales - Glamorgan pp71-73