Roath Recreation Ground

Roath Park Recreation Ground in 2012- A most valuable local asset, extensively used for ball games and general keep-fit. (Photo Credit: © Copyright John Bristow on Geograph.org.uk)

Roath Park was created on land owned by the Tredegar and Bute estates. . It was reported by the Cardiff Corporation at its meeting of 14 March 1887 that:

Sir William Lewis writes that the correspondence between the Town Clerk and Mr J.S. Corbett has been submitted to Lord Bute.  Provided Lord Tredegar and the other owners of land in the Roath Valley are prepared to give their land free of cost, the Marquis will arrange to purchase from his Trustees about 80 acres there and present the same to the public for a park.  Enclosed is a plan showing the proposed recreation ground and lake, the roads around which would form a drive 3¼ miles long, continued along the public highway to Llanishen. The Corporation would of course have to provide the whole of the roads, fences and other necessary works.

Resolved. That the best thanks for the Roath Park Committee be presented to Lord Bute for his valuable and munificent gift of a Park for the use of the inhabitants of this Borough.

A 1892 plan of the Recreation Ground. The stream ended up being diverted to the north of the Rec rather than the south.

Roath Park was officially opened on 20 June 1894 by the Earl of Dumfries, the eldest son of the third Marquess of Bute.

Roath Park was officially opened on June 20th 1894 with a ceremony in what we now know as the Recreation Ground. The people at the bottom are standing outside the railings on Ninian Road
Cycle track at Roath Recreation Ground in 1897. It could be argued that the work on the Rec in 2024 to install a cycle track was just returning it to what it was like when it was opened when it used to have a cycle track around it, presumably a cinder track.
Roath Recreation Ground ~1905
A view across the Recreation Ground from Alder Road ~1900
Billy Brian prforming his balancing acts at Roath Park in 1905. Learn more about Billy Brian in our blog post: Trick Cycling on the Rec.
Roath Recreation Ground in WWII with St Andrew’s Church in background and a barrage ballloon flying above.
An aerial shot ~1940s, when the western part of the rec was turned over to growing food.
The main summer pastime on the Rec used to be baseball rather than bar-b-queing. Lovely pic of Penylan vs Grange Albion in 1953 in front of an estimated 6000 spectators.
August 1981. Scaffolding goes up on Roath Park Rec. The scaffolding tower would, when completed, house TV cameras to film a baseball match for broadcast. (Photo credit: Peter Ellis)
Roath Recreation Ground – July 1998. West end of the park, near Alder Road.
Winter in Roath Park Recreation Ground – Dec 2010 (photo credit: © Copyright Gareth James on geograph.co.uk)
In 2012 a tree was planted and a plaque laid in the NE corner to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and dedicate Roath Park Rec as a Queen Elizabeth Field. The initiative was part of the work of the charity Fields in Trust. (pics taken Dec 2024)
March 2020 – Play Area closed due to Coronavirus
Sun setting behind the trees over the Rec. (Photo credit: Terry Parker).
March 2024. The rubble cleared from an excavation pit as part of the cycle and pedestrian path development on Roath Recreation Ground near Pen-y-lan Library looks to have uncovered interesting glass bottles. They are probably 100 years old when the Recreation Ground was raised by 3 foot.
The partial opening of the new cycle and pedestrian path on Roath Recreational ground – Nov 30th 2024.
Storm Darragh (Dec 7th-8th, 2024) tree damage. These trees would have seen a lot of history over the years, sadly no more. Top left: Lime – NE of Roath Rec. Top Right: Chestnut (?) – NW of Roath Rec. Bottom left: Eucalyptus – SW Roath Botanic Gardens. Bottom Right: Silver Birch – Cathays New Cemetery, Section EL.