Temple of Peace, Cardiff
Encyclopedia
Building
In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:...
in the civic centre
Cathays Park
In addition to the large lawn in front of the City Hall, Cathays Park includes three formal gardens. All of the spaces are within conservation areas and many of the surrounding buildings are listed. The open spaces are very important to the image of the city. Several important buildings overlook...
of Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. It was designed by the architect Sir Percy Thomas
Percy Thomas
Sir Percy Edward Thomas OBE , was an award-winning British architect based in Wales for the majority of his life. He was twice RIBA president ....
.
Location
The building is situated within the city’s civic centre, near the National Museum of Wales and Alexandra Gardens. In 1998 the Temple of Peace was one of the main venues for the European Council’s Summit Meeting.Facilities
The centre's conference and seminar facilities include the 200 capacity marble Main Hall, the 50 capacity wood-panelled Council Chamber and the smaller 20 capacity meeting room. The venue has parking nearby and is within walking distance of the northern city centre. It can also be reached by rail transport from Cathays railway stationCathays railway station
Cathays railway station is a railway station lying on the Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda lines in the Cathays district of Cardiff, Wales. The station is 2 kilometres north of Cardiff Central....
.
History
The Temple of Peace was opened on 23 November 1938. It was a gift from Lord DaviesDavid Davies, 1st Baron Davies
David Davies, 1st Baron Davies , was a politician and public benefactor, the grandson of the famous industrialist, David Davies "Llandinam"....
to the Welsh people. He wanted it to be “a memorial to those gallant men from all nations who gave their lives in the war that was to end war” and so it was dedicated to the memory of the loss of life as a result of the 1914 - 1918 War.
Davies had fought in the trenches during this war, and was actively involved in the search for stable international order through the League of Nations and the League of Nations Union. He wanted to see the establishment of a strong International Police force so that international agreement and peace could be obtained. Born in 1880, he died on 16 June 1944, before the Second World War ended, but was continually stressing, as in a letter of 1943, “the vital importance of arousing our people to the need for an International Authority”, posing the question “what doth it profit a nation if it gains the whole world and loses its own soul?”
In founding this public building, Lord Davies hoped to combine the ideals of peace and health. He wanted these two great humanitarian causes to be expressed in the architectural design of the building. The architect of the Temple of Peace and Health was Sir Percy Thomas, who was awarded the Bronze medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects for its design. The foundation stone was laid by Viscount Halifax in 1937, the building as a whole is made from materials from various countries, to emphasise the international nature of the work carried on inside the building.
The Temple's Layout
The building, built in the form of the letter ‘T’, has two wings. Made out of Portland stone, the roofs of the wings are dark red Italian pattern tiles. It is in these wings that offices and committee rooms, on three levels, are situated. The Temple of Peace and Health, because of its location, has both the busy centre of Cardiff and the rather quieter park close at hand. The main entrance of the building faces King Edward VII Avenue, and at the rear of the building is the Garden of Peace, with North Road behind it.Entrance Hall / Vestibule:
One is hardly able to miss the large pillars facing you as you enter. Behind these columns of portico are three large windows, above which are panels depicting figures representing Health, Justice and Peace. The arms of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales can also be seen.
Temple Hall:
The central portion of the building, being deliberately higher than the wings, houses the spacious Temple Hall. Situated on the ground floor and facing anyone who enters the main entrance, it is lined with dove-grey marble to symbolise the emblem of Peace. It serves as a meeting place of numerous cultural and social organisations, with lectures and conferences on international issues being held here (featuring speakers from all over the world), as well as it being a venue for campaigning groups and social events and one of the examination venues for Cardiff University
Cardiff University
Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
.
The Crypt and the Welsh National Book of Remembrance:
Situated immediately below the Temple Hall, the Crypt houses the first Book of Remembrance. 1,100 pages long, it bears the names of 35,000 men and women of Welsh birth and parentage, and the men who served in Welsh regiments who lost their lives in the first World War. As most died on Belgian or French soil, the bronze used on the glass casing of the Book of Remembrance is French, and the marble pedestal on which it rests is from Belgium. Concealed lighting illuminates the book from the roof of the Crypt.
Council Chamber:
This is used as a meeting place, and is also a library, housing many books with international themes. Wood panelled, it is to be found on the first floor of the building. Lord Davies’ own book collection can be found there, in part.
Since its inception, the Temple of Peace and Health has been divided, in terms of its occupancy, into two sections. The first two occupants of the building were the League of Nations Union Welsh National Council, and the King Edward VII National Memorial Association. Now it is the Welsh Centre for International Affairs and the Velindre Health Trust who occupy the building.
Use in Doctor Who
Much of the 2005 Doctor WhoDoctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
episode The End of the World
The End of the World (Doctor Who)
"The End of the World" is the second episode of Series One of the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by show runner Russell T Davies and directed by Euros Lyn, the episode was first broadcast on 2 April 2005....
was filmed in the Temple Hall and other parts of the building. The location was used to represent a space station
Space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
five billion years in the future. Temple Hall was also used in the 2007 episode Gridlock
Gridlock (Doctor Who)
"Gridlock" is the third episode from the third series of the revived British science fiction television series Doctor Who which aired on 14 April 2007. The Doctor returns to a much grittier New Earth with Martha Jones and meets the Face of Boe one final time. But as New New York becomes a deadly...
and the 2008 episode The Fires of Pompeii
The Fires of Pompeii
"The Fires of Pompeii" is the second episode of the fourth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 12 April 2008....
. It was used again in the 2010 episode Cold Blood
Cold Blood (Doctor Who)
"Cold Blood" is the ninth episode in the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was broadcast on Saturday 29 May 2010...
, and again in the 2011 episode Let's Kill Hitler
Let's Kill Hitler
"Let's Kill Hitler" is the eighth episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was first broadcast on BBC One, Space and BBC America on 27 August 2011. It is the second episode of a two-part story, continuing stories from "A Good Man Goes to War"...
.
Miscellaneous notes
The Temple of Peace was bombed in July 1968 by Welsh nationalistsWelsh nationalism
Welsh nationalism emphasises the distinctiveness of Welsh language, culture, and history, and calls for more self-determination for Wales, which may include more Devolved powers for the Welsh Assembly or full independence from the United Kingdom.-Conquest:...
in protest at the approaching investiture of Prince Charles
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
as Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
.
Among those participating in the opening ceremony was a Mrs. John of Cardiff Wales, who lost five of her six sons to WWII.