Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral of St David (RC)
Peter Paul Pugin (1851-1904)
1884-87; rebuilt and restored in the 1950s after heavy war damage
Pennant sandstone with red sandstone dressings
Charles Street, Cardiff
Other Views
Photographs (2009), caption and commentary by Jacqueline Banerjee.
[You may use the images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL or cite it in a print one.]
The thriving coal-port of Cardiff was a haven for Irish immigrants fleeing the potato famine of the 1840s, and others followed in their wake: "There is a numerous Roman Catholic population in Cardiff," says the 1897 Western Mail Illustrated Guide (84). The first St David's Church, built with the support of Catholics in Ireland, soon became inadequate, and a larger site was acquired. The commission for the new building went to Pugin & Pugin, the firm responsible for so many late Victorian Catholic churches (see "The Churches of E. W. and P. P. Pugin").
Edward Pugin had died in 1875, and Cuthbert Pugin was more concerned with the furniture side of the enterprise, so Pugin's youngest son Peter Paul would have been responsible for the design. In fact, St David's is typical of his work at this time. Having moved gradually away from his father and brother's influence, he now demonstrated "a very recognisable curvilinear Gothic style, usually in red sandstone with elaborate altarpieces in coloured marbles" ("Peter Paul Pugin"). The interior of this church had to be reconstructed after the war, but the building was "externally very little altered" (Newman 192). It has a striking presence, rising sheer from the street with delicate window tracery and a text just under the west window reading: "Domus mea domus orationis vocabitur" (My house shall be called a house of prayer).
According to the Cathedral's own website, "It was a matter of great joy for everyone at St. David's that it was declared as the Cathedral Church of the new Archdiocese of Cardiff on 12 th March 1920" ("History").
References
History (St David's own website). Web. 12 April 2011.
"The Churches of E. W. and P. P. Pugin." Pugin Society site. Web. 12 April 2011.
The Illustrated Guide to Cardiff and Its Neighbourhood. Cardiff & London: Western Mail Ltd, 1897. Internet Archives. Web. 4 April 2011
Newman, John. Glamorgan (The Buildings of Wales series). London: Penguin, 1995.
"Peter Paul Pugin." DSA (Dictionary of Scottish Architects) . Web. 12 April 2011.
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Last modified 12 April 2011.