Cardigan

When the town of Cardigan was established in 1110 it became an important trading point. Woollen cloth was exported to Arras in France for use in the weaving of tapestries and commodities such as corn and limestone were imported. As early as the 14th Century, consignments of wine were recorded. By Elizabethan times, Cardigan had grown into one of the most important ports in Wales, second only to Milford Haven, with authority over an area extending from Fishguard to Aberaeron. During the following century the shipbuilding industry became established and the port of Cardigan grew larger still dealing in commodities ranging from salt to prunes and from corn to tar. A customs house was built in St Mary Street to cope with the increased trade and the building is still standing today. By the early 1800s, over 300 vessels were registered at the port of Cardigan and more than 1,000 men were employed here. The port bustled with rope makers, gas works, foundries, lime kilns, timber yards, saw mills, brick works, ship builders, smithies, warehouses, tanneries, malthouses and much more. Passengers landed and departed at Teifi Quay, indeed Cardigan became one of the country’s largest ports for transatlantic emigration, sending ships like Active and Albion to New Brunswick in Canada and the Triton to New York. Goods from all around the world sailed into Cambrian Quay, Lloyd’s Wharf dealt mostly with coal and local coastal trade, timber from the Baltic and North America was imported at Mercantile Quay, and ships carrying lime for building and agriculture landed at Mercantile Breakwater. Outstripping all British ports, except Bristol, Liverpool and London, Cardigan’s international trade links and ideal location brought unprecedented prosperity to the area. The ship building industry was concentrated at Netpool (now a park) and further downstream at St Dogmaels. Hundreds of ships were built on the Teifi – some of these up to 400 tonnes. When the Teifi estuary began to silt up making access difficult for larger ships, and the railway came to Cardigan in 1886 the port began to decline and within just 20 years there was little left of the trade that had once been greater than most British ports. By the turn of the 20th century the Netpool, where hundreds of ships had been built, had already become a recreational area. Today the quays are in the process of renovation and provide a seating and performance area, a pontoon for boat trips, and pleasant walks along the riverside. The river is used regularly for leisure pursuits such as fishing, kayaking and sailing. Cardigan’s Guildhall and Market Hall were commissioned in 1856. This was the first civic building in Britain in the ‘modern Gothic’ style advocated by John Ruskin and is still noted as an exceptional rarity in the context of Gothic public buildings by experts in Victorian architecture. An Arabic influence can be seen in the arch decoration in both buildings. The design attracted national interest, an illustration being featured in The Building News of 1859. The buildings are constructed from slate quarried at nearby Cilgerran and Bathstone. The site chosen for the new public buildings and markets in 1855 was known as Free School Bank, a slope just beyond the site of the North Gate of the mediaeval town. At the time the site was occupied by the grammar school and a coach house with open ground behind. The foundation stone was laid by the Mayor R D Jenkins amongst many celebrations. The bells were rung in St Mary’s church, three rounds were shot from the cannon, a cask of porter was distributed among the workmen, the streets were decorated and there was a procession around the town. The site comprised a meat market, corn exchange and store, grammar school, community meeting room, library, council meeting room, reading room and public hall, far more than the usual ‘hall over a market’, which was common at the time. Cannon The Russian cannon, given to the town in 1857 in memory of Cardi