Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales Genealogy

Guide to Cardiff, Glamorgan ancestry, family history, and genealogy: civil registration, census records, and parish register transcripts.

History
Cardiff (Welsh: Caerdydd) is the capital city of Wales.

Archaeological evidence from sites in and around Cardiff: the St Lythans burial chamber, near Wenvoe (about four miles (6.4 km) west, south west of Cardiff city center); the Tinkinswood burial chamber, near St Nicholas (about six miles (10 km) west of Cardiff city center, the Cae'rarfau Chambered Tomb, Creigiau (about six miles (10 km) north west of Cardiff city center, and the Gwern y Cleppa Long Barrow, near Coedkernew, Newport (about eight and a quarter miles (13.5 km) north east of Cardiff city center, demonstrates that people had settled in the area by at least around 6,000 years ago.

Until the Roman conquest of Britain, Cardiff was part of the territory of the Silures – a Celtic British tribe that flourished in the Iron Age – whose territory included the areas that would become known as Breconshire, Monmouthshire and Glamorgan.

Little is known about the fort and civilian settlement in the period between the Roman departure from Britain and the Norman Conquest. The settlement probably shrank in size and may even have been abandoned.

In 1081 William I, King of England, began work on the castle keep within the walls of the old Roman fort. Cardiff Castle has been at the heart of the city ever since.

In 1536, the Act of Union between England and Wales led to the creation of the shire of Glamorgan, and Cardiff was made the county town. It also became part of Kibbor hundred.

In 1793, John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute was born. He would spend his life building the Cardiff docks and would later be called "the creator of modern Cardiff".

King Edward VII granted Cardiff city status on 28 October 1905, and the city acquired a Roman Catholic Cathedral in 1916.

The city was proclaimed capital city of Wales on 20 December 1955, by a written reply by the Home Secretary Gwilym Lloyd George. Caernarfon had also vied for this title.

Parish Chest
Vestry minutes (DATES) are at the [URL ARCHIVE].

Church warden accounts (DATES) are at the [URL ARCHIVE].

Tithe Records
The tithe agreement date for Cardiff was DATE.

Nonconformist Chapel Records
XXXX-XXXX denotes that the information has not been compiled yet.

Civil Registration
The Civil Registration District for Cardiff is DATES AND NAMES CIV REG.

Poor Law Unions
Visit the England and Wales Poor Law Records page for more information.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Cardiff at GENUKI
 * Cardiff at Vision of Britain

Websites

 * Cardiff Genealogy at FamilySearch