Lake

A lake with a small island towards its northern end was shown on Ordnance Survey maps for 1880 and 1901. The island was tree-covered and it had a boathouse at its south end. In 1880 a sluice to the Taff was shown at the north east end of the lake but it was not shown in 1901 or subsequently.

In 1871 the Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian reported: The lake at the lower end of Sophia Gardens is too full of reeds to render skating there pleasant, and the only other large piece of water is on the Penarth-road, some distance from the town.[1] Generally the lake was popular for skating when frozen over in winter and there were reports of this in the Western Mail in December 1890, January 1891 and February 1895.

The original concept of an ornamental bridge over the lake seems not to have been carried out - on the Ordnance Survey maps the main walk from the southern end of Sophia Gardens ended at the lake. At this point there was circular walk around the lake. A path from the north-east side of the lake then extended northwards along the river bank towards Pontcanna.

The lake was filled in early in the twentieth century, and on the 1920 Ordnance Survey map the footpaths had been extended across the grassed-over former lake.

Sources of Information

  1. Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian Saturday, December 9, 1871 page 5