Cardiff Athletic Club

For several generations, Cardiff Athletic Club has been the powerhouse of amateur sporting activity within the city of Cardiff , with the Athletic Club helping to preserve the use of the Arms Park for the benefit of so many Cardiffians, as well as overseeing the operation of the city`s premier cricket, rugby, hockey, lawn tennis and bowls club.

The Club was formed in 1922 through the amalgamation of the city`s rugby and cricket clubs who, for the previous half century, had been granted the use of the Arms Park at a peppercorn rate, by its owner, the Marquis of Bute. There had been previous attempts to merge the clubs, starting in November 1892, whilst between 1902 and 1904 the two clubs worked closely to finance the erection of a spacious pavilion to serve the needs of both the burly rugby players and the gentlemen cricketers.

However, the merger did not take place until 1922 . a time when the Marquis was starting to dispose of his property in South Wales. Eager to preserve their hallowed turf, the cricket and rugby clubs joined forces, and through the help of leading solicitor and sportsman Hugh Ingledew, the newly-created Athletic Club purchased the Arms Park - except for a strip of land adjoining Westgate Street . for the sum of £30,000 on the understanding that it should be preserved for recreational purposes.

© Glamorgan Cricket Archives

Shortly afterwards, a limited company was formed after discussions by the Athletic Club with the Arms Park (Cardiff) Greyhound Racing Company and the Welsh Rugby Union. Until the early 1930s the Athletic Club was operated under licence, revocable at short notice, from the limited company, but the situation changed in 1933 as they secured a 99-year lease from the limited company at a rental of £200 per annum.

This arrangement gave the Athletic Club greater security but, even so, several changes took place, starting in 1935 when the Marquis of Bute decided to build a large block of flats on his land adjoining Westgate Street. The three grass tennis courts were lost, and the cricket ground was slightly reduced in size. However, greater changes took place in the 1960s with the creation of the National Stadium.

As a result, the cricket and hockey sections of the Athletic Club moved, initially to Sophia Gardens in 1967, and then in 1995 to the Diamond Ground in Whitchurch. The Club may have become fragmented in terms of location, but its influence amongst the corridors of civic power has remained undiminished.

© Glamorgan Cricket Archives

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