CARDIFF POST OFFICE
Westgate Street
Old postcard view
Western Mail 16 Jan 1893, p. 6
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Architect: Henry Tanner
Year: 1897 (enlarged c.1909, c.1924?) Listed building status: Grade II Archive sources British Postal Museum& Archive: POST 30/1694A, 118/6262 National Archives: WORK 13/269,900, 30/6021-6043 RIBA British Architectural Library Photographs Collection: A354/30 Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales: C2696, C23187-226, C45532-533 C425811-812, C487560-564, C487878-992, C512354-360, C520054; DI12008_0132/_0146 Selected bibliographical references Builder 1 Jun 1907, p. 670 (enlargement commenced) Builders' Journal 27 Aug 1895, p. 38 Building News 21 Sep 1894, p. 391 + illustration; 28 Sep 1894, p. 427 + illustration; 26 Oct 1894, p. 571 + illustration South Wales Daily News 25 Nov 1897, p. 6 (illustrated); 11 Dec 1897, p. 5 Western Mail 16 Jan 1893, p. 6 History Opened: 12 Dec 1897 Closed: 1983 Current use: Office accommodation |
Building description
From: Western Mail 16 January 1893, p. 6
We are able to publish to-day a sketch of the new post-office which is shortly to be erected on the corner of Westgate-street and Park-street Cardiff, a site formerly occupied by Messrs. Hutchlinson aud Tayleure's Circus. As will be seen, the building will have an imposing appearance, and will add in no small degree to the architectural as well as commercial development of the town. The style is that known as the Renaissance, and the design does infinite credit to the architect, Mr. Henry Tanner, of her Majesty's Office of Works, London. The principal facade is, of course, in Westgate - street, with a main entrance for the public near the centre of the building. There are separate entrances to the postmaster's offices and for telegraph clerks, messengers, engineers, &c., to the right of the principal doorway. The fronts will be of Portland stone, and the whole of the offices are to be constructed on the fire-proof principle, that is, with concrete floors, &c. Some idea of the size of the building may be gathered from the fact that the site is 4,000 square yards, or four-fifths of an acre, in extent. There will be a basement; ground, first, second, and third floors, and the ornamental roof will harmonise well with the style adopted by the proprietors of the Royal Hotel on the other side of Westgate-street. The basement will be used principally for stores, healing- chambers, &c. As far as the public are concerned, the ground floor is the most important. On entering the building the visitor will find himself in a hall about 20ft. square, with counters on three sides. Near the centre are two commodious writing-tables, circular in form. The telephone-boxes will be on the right of the main entrance. A large portion of this floor is taken up by the letter and parcel sorting-rooms, which are on the Park-street side of the building. There are also offices for the postmaster, clerks' waiting-rooms, &c. At the back there is a loading shed, with platform, alongside which the mail carts will be placed for loading and discharging letter bags and parcels. The entrance to this shed is from Park-street. The front portion of the first floor will be utilised for a telephone-room, engineers' offices, telegraph clerks' dining-rooms, kitchens, lavatories, &c., while at the back there are retiring-rooms for sorting clerks and postmen. The instrument-room, the dimensions of which are 176ft. by 46ft., will be on the second floor, and the battery-room in the centre of the third floor. It is evident from the size of the building that the Post Office authorities are determined to provide for the future growth of Cardiff. For many years the work of the office in St. Mary- street has been rendered irksome and difficult of performance by the want of accommodation.When the new buildings are erected, however, Cardiff will be able to boast of as fine a post-office as can be found in any provincial town. Provision has also been made for future extension when that shall become necessary ...
We are able to publish to-day a sketch of the new post-office which is shortly to be erected on the corner of Westgate-street and Park-street Cardiff, a site formerly occupied by Messrs. Hutchlinson aud Tayleure's Circus. As will be seen, the building will have an imposing appearance, and will add in no small degree to the architectural as well as commercial development of the town. The style is that known as the Renaissance, and the design does infinite credit to the architect, Mr. Henry Tanner, of her Majesty's Office of Works, London. The principal facade is, of course, in Westgate - street, with a main entrance for the public near the centre of the building. There are separate entrances to the postmaster's offices and for telegraph clerks, messengers, engineers, &c., to the right of the principal doorway. The fronts will be of Portland stone, and the whole of the offices are to be constructed on the fire-proof principle, that is, with concrete floors, &c. Some idea of the size of the building may be gathered from the fact that the site is 4,000 square yards, or four-fifths of an acre, in extent. There will be a basement; ground, first, second, and third floors, and the ornamental roof will harmonise well with the style adopted by the proprietors of the Royal Hotel on the other side of Westgate-street. The basement will be used principally for stores, healing- chambers, &c. As far as the public are concerned, the ground floor is the most important. On entering the building the visitor will find himself in a hall about 20ft. square, with counters on three sides. Near the centre are two commodious writing-tables, circular in form. The telephone-boxes will be on the right of the main entrance. A large portion of this floor is taken up by the letter and parcel sorting-rooms, which are on the Park-street side of the building. There are also offices for the postmaster, clerks' waiting-rooms, &c. At the back there is a loading shed, with platform, alongside which the mail carts will be placed for loading and discharging letter bags and parcels. The entrance to this shed is from Park-street. The front portion of the first floor will be utilised for a telephone-room, engineers' offices, telegraph clerks' dining-rooms, kitchens, lavatories, &c., while at the back there are retiring-rooms for sorting clerks and postmen. The instrument-room, the dimensions of which are 176ft. by 46ft., will be on the second floor, and the battery-room in the centre of the third floor. It is evident from the size of the building that the Post Office authorities are determined to provide for the future growth of Cardiff. For many years the work of the office in St. Mary- street has been rendered irksome and difficult of performance by the want of accommodation.When the new buildings are erected, however, Cardiff will be able to boast of as fine a post-office as can be found in any provincial town. Provision has also been made for future extension when that shall become necessary ...
From: South Wales Daily News 25 November 1897, p. 6
Within a month from the present time the entire postal staff at the St. Mary-street office, Cardiff, will have removed into the handsome and extensive new building which has been erected in Westgate-street, and which is now receiving the finishing touches at the hands of the contractors ... Some months ago we described in detail the general plan of the new post office. We now deal with the interior, as it has come from the hands of the architect and the builder ... The total length of frontage is 215 feet, height from pavement to parapet 61 feet 6 inches, with central tower rising to nearly double this elevation. There are four floors. The basement is 8 feet in height, the ground floor 24 feet, the first floor 14 feet, and the second floor 16 feet. Still higher, forming the base of the central tower, is the battery-room. Entrance by the central porch leads to the public office, a spacious rectangular room of imposing proportions, with a broad mahogany counter upon three sides. It is the intention of the authorities to dispense with, to a large extent, the arrangement of metal open-work with which the counter at the St. Mary-street office is surrounded. As a consequence the employees behind the counter may be expected in future look less like caged animals, and the susceptible honest folk will have less cause to feel the insults which bars round a counter invariably suggest ... These notes, which do not pretend to deal exhaustively with the subject ... will afford some idea to the public of a truly magnificent building, which will not be among the least of the public monuments in Cardiff that will serve to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee year.
