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Sophia Gardens

Park in Cardiff, Wales

Summary

Park in Cardiff, Wales

Field	Value
name	Sophia Gardens
native_name	Gerddi Sophia
native_name_lang	cy
photo	Cardiff- Taff Trail (geograph 5400320).jpg
photo_caption	The Taff Trail long-distance cycle path in Sophia Gardens
type	Public park
location	Cardiff, Wales
map	Wales Cardiff
map_caption	Location within Cardiff
coords
area	44 acre
created
operator	Cardiff Council
status	Open year round
website
embedded	{{Infobox designation list
embed	yes
designation1	Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales
designation1_free1name	Listing
designation1_free1value	Grade II
designation1_offname	Sophia Gardens
designation1_date
designation1_number	PGW(Gm)21(CDF)

[[Sophia Crichton-Stuart, Marchioness of Bute]], after whom the park is named

Sophia Gardens ( ; ) is a public park in Riverside, Cardiff, Wales, on the west bank of the River Taff. International test cricket matches and county cricket matches are held in the Sophia Gardens cricket ground, the home of Glamorgan County Cricket Club. The gardens are listed on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.

Sophia Gardens is located close to Cardiff city centre and is adjacent to Bute Park and Pontcanna Fields. It is linked to Bute Park by the Millennium footbridge over the River Taff (1999). In addition to the Glamorgan County Cricket Ground, the park contains the Sport Wales National Centre, Brewhouse & Kitchen public house, an exhibition area and a car and coach park, and the former warden's house.

History

The park is named after Sophia Crichton-Stuart, Marchioness of Bute (1809–1859), the widow of the second Marquess of Bute. Lady Sophia was concerned to provide open space for recreation in the rapidly expanding town in the late 19th century, in which her husband was heavily involved. The gardens were laid out in 1854 on the site of Plasturton Farm by the architect Alexander Roos. They were opened to the public by Lady Sophia in 1858, to compensate for the closure of Cardiff Castle grounds. The park was extended northwards by 28 acres in about 1879. The park was acquired by Cardiff City Council, then the Cardiff Corporation, from the 5th Marquess of Bute in 1947.

In the late 19th and early 20th century the Cardiff Horse Show was held in the park. In 1891 the park was home to Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show during his tour of British provincial towns.

Sophia Gardens Pavilion was built in 1951 for the Festival of Britain, and was used as a concert venue until it collapsed under heavy snowfall in 1982.

Following the closure of Cardiff Central bus station in 2015, National Express long-distance coach services depart and arrive at Sophia Gardens.

The gardens are designated Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.

References

"The first publicly accessible park in Wales, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff".
[https://www.cardiff.gov.uk/ENG/Your-Council/Pages/default.aspx Cardiff Council]
"The grand derelict buildings currently for sale in Wales".
"Sophia Gardens". Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales.
"Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Wales".
"Bute Park".
Western Mail, 14 September 1891, p.1
"Buffalo Bill Museum & Grave – Golden, Colorado".
"Sophia Gardens – Pavilion". Cardiffparks.org.uk.
"Wales weather: Before St Jude Storm see some of the worst weather to hit country". Media Wales.
"Cardiff Bus Station Closure, from 1st August 2015".
"Cardiff Coach Station".
{{NHAW

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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