University of Wales Registry

University headquarters in Wales

51°29′10″N 3°10′55″W﻿ / ﻿51.486°N 3.182°W﻿ / 51.486; -3.182

University of Wales Registry

General information
Architectural style| English Renaissance
Town or city| Cardiff
Wales
Construction started| 1903
Completed| 1904
Client| University of Wales
Design and construction
Architect(s)| H.W. Wills

The University of Wales Registry (Welsh: Cofrestrfa Prifysgol Cymru) is the administrative headquarters of the University of Wales, located in Cathays Park, Cardiff, Wales.[1]

The University of Wales was a confederal University founded in 1893. It functioned as the degree-awarding authority for its member institutions and existed to support their academic activities. Following a series of controversies, it was decided in 2011 to merge the university with the University of Wales Trinity Saint David.[2] As of August 2017, the two universities were fully integrated but the merger had not been legally finalised.[3]

The Registry is located on King Edward VII Avenue in Cathays Park, Cardiff's Civic Centre. It became a Grade II listed building on 25 January 1966.[2][4]

## The Building

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In 1902 the Cardiff Corporation reached an agreement with the University of Wales to locate their main administrative office in Cathays Park, and gifted the land to the university, along with £6,000 for the erection of a building whose designs met their approval.[5] Designs were invited, and that by Glamorgan architect H.W. Wills was selected. The foundation stone was laid in 1903 and the building was completed in the next year.[6] It was the first building to open in Cathays Park, and remains the smallest.[5]

The building is in an English Renaissance style, and dressed in portland stone, in common with the other buildings of Cathays Park. It is composed of three bays on each side of a central portion, and is a single storey.[6] In front of the building there are a series of iron posts, capped with dragon sculptures by Welsh sculptor Goscombe John.[7]

In 1933 an extension was added to the rear of the building, designed by Thomas Alwyn Lloyd.[5][6]

## References

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1. ^ "Contact us". University of Wales. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
2. ^ a b "The University of Wales". University of Wales. Retrieved 1 September 2008.
3. ^ "Developments – Merger and Reconfiguration". University of Wales. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
4. ^ "Cardiff Council – Welcome to the Online Mapping Portal". Cardiff Council. Archived from the original on 23 February 2008. Retrieved 1 September 2008.
5. ^ a b c Hilling, John (2016). The History and Architecture of Cardiff Civic Centre: Black Gold, White City. University of Wales Press. ISBN 9781783168446.
6. ^ a b c Newman, John; Hughes, Stephen (1995). The Buildings of Glamorgan: (Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan and West Glamorgan). Yale University Press. pp. 229–230\. ISBN 0140710566.
7. ^ "University of Wales Registry, including forecourt walls and Dragon posts A Grade II Listed Building in Castle (Castell), Cardiff". British Listed Buildings. British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 17 May 2018.

## External links

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* University of Wales, Registry official site
* Media related to University of Wales Registry at Wikimedia Commons