Loudoun Square Gardens Ornamental Fountain

Loudoun Square in Butetown was built in the 1850s and took its name from the family of Sophia, the second wife of the second Marquis of Bute.[1] A garden was placed at its centre, one of several "town square gardens" created by the Bute Estate at the same time as housing development.

A fountain was shown at the centre of the Gardens on Ordnance Survey maps from the 1880s to the 1920s inclusive. This fountain probably originated in the 1860s, in that a design for a fountain in Loudoun Square was approved by the Cardiff Board of Health in February 1862.[2]

Loudoun Square Gardens, along with the other "town square gardens", was conveyed to the Cardiff Corporation on December 28th 1889,[3] and opened to the public the following spring. In 1890, the Parks Committee agreed to provide fencing and a rockery around the fountain, to make it safe for children.[4]

Sources of Information

  1. John Davies, Cardiff and the Marquesses of Bute. University of Wales Press, 1981. pages 186, 189
  2. Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian, Saturday 8th February 1862 page 8
  3. Meeting of the Parks, Open Spaces, Footpaths and Allotments Committee 21st January 1890
  4. Meeting of the Parks, Open Spaces, Footpaths and Allotments Committee 15th April 1890