It's no secret among Cardiff folk that walking down St Mary Street at night can be an experience no like other.
There's joy and laughter as people pile out of clubs and bars, but action too, with the gentle thud of bass from within providing the soundtrack to your mission as you dodge and weave through the crowds, avoiding the dancers, the staggerers and the crying-down-the-phoners. There can be tragedy as well, with at least one of every huddle emerging from the arterial Caroline Street tripping and sending their cheesy chips crashing to the pavement.
On nights like these, St Mary Street can resemble a Renaissance masterpiece. But what most of the thousands who walk down it every day don't know is that the street actually has a remarkable history of its own.
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While today it is known as being the liveliest street in Wales, it was once the site of gruesome executions, huge floods and even an alien invasion. You can get the latest Cardiff news sent straight to your inbox for free by signing up to our newsletters.
There are remnants of the street's past still visible there today, in the form of memorial plaques and stunning architecture. However, many of the notable events that happened there are still largely unknown to many Cardiffians. Here are some of the most remarkable parts of St Mary Street's past, as well as a look at its bright future.
The doomed church that lent its name
While the name St Mary Street is known across Cardiff and beyond, you may not be so familiar with where it originates. It's hardly cryptic, however, with the street named after the 11th-century church of St Mary's., which stood near to where the Prince of Wales pub is today.
However, while the church stood for hundreds of years as the largest in Cardiff, it was left in ruin in January 1607, when a huge wave swept up the Bristol Channel, leaving many miles of South Wales under water and killing around 2,000 people. The Great Flood caused significant damage to the church, with walls collapsing and reports of corpses that were buried in the graveyard being washed away.
In the mid-1800s, a replacement church was built on nearby Bute Street. On St Mary Street today, there is no church in sight, but you can see where it once stood, with an outline of where the church used to be visible on the side of the Wetherspoons pub.
The street beside the sea
It is perhaps unsurprising that the church was practically washed away given that the sea used to reach the end of St Mary Street. While it may seem hard to believe now, Cardiff used to be a small town, which was surrounded by a wall.
The wall's south gate was close to the Church of St Mary, with the low-lying marshland outside the gate and along the Taff estuary known as the Dumballs. Where the street is today was subject to regular tidal flooding, with fatalities at high tide fairly common.
The flooding affected other parts of the city too, however. As late as 1763, a woman walking at Leckwith near the River Ely was surrounded by the rising tide and drowned. You can read more about that along with more mind-blowing facts about Cardiff's history by clicking here.
People were hanged and burnt at the stake
Today, you may see some gruesome things walking down St Mary Street at 3am, but it's nothing compared to the horrific events that happened around there hundreds of years ago. It's quite possible that you will have walked past the large plaque on the wall of House of Fraser without giving it any thought, but it remembers Rawlins White, who was burnt at the stake in 1555.
During the reign of Queen Mary I, Catholicism was on the rise, Rawlins, a fisherman, made enemies in high places by being proud of his Protestant ways. Historian and author Brian Lee said he "became very obnoxious toward the bishop of Llandaff" and was subsequently jailed for 12 months at Cardiff Castle.
However, after the authorities tried and failed to get him to recant his beliefs, however, he was set to be burnt at the stake in the centre of Cardiff. While the precise site of the execution is not known, it may have been near the market on St Mary Street.
Three centuries later, there were to be more grizzly scenes on the street, with historians describing a public hanging that happened there as the most "ferocious and bloody event in the history of industrial Britain". In 1831, in what became known as the Merthyr Rising revolt, coal miners and those who worked for the Cyfartha Ironworks and its owner William Crawshay protested over the lowering of their wages and unemployment levels, with 26 people arrested.
Several were imprisoned, others were sent to Australia and two were sentenced to death by hanging. Lewsyn yr Heliwr's sentence was downgraded to a life sentence but Dic Penderyn, a 23-year-old miner also known as Richard Lewis, was hanged at Cardiff market on August 13, 1831.
The street has welcomed some VIP guests (even those from other worlds)
There have been a lot of changes
It's safe to say that St Mary Street and adjoining High Street have both changed a fair bit over the years. In the period between 1880 and the early 1900’s the area underwent extensive rebuilding including the building of large commercial schemes such as the market buildings, James Howell’s Department Store and the Royal Hotel, all of which can still be seen today.
The road has been transformed beyond recognition, with many favourite pubs and bars being lost. While some venues, such as the Philharmonic, have stood for decades, others such as The Bodega, The Bank and the Cornish Mount have all gone. In more recent years, popular nightclubs Missoula and Karma have also left the street. Flicking through the archives, you can see just how much St Mary Street has changed from what it was decades ago.
A bright future
The coronavirus pandemic marked a traumatic eighteen months for the hospitality industry, with the street that was once so full of noise and life practically deserted for weeks at a time. However, many of St Mary Street's most popular venues have persevered through lockdown and are glad to finally be approaching business as usual once again, while some other big names are wanting to get in on the act.
Gareth Bale's new venture Par 59 opened on the street earlier this year, with the mini golf bar taking over the huge 23,000 sq ft site of the former Liquid/Life nightclub. The swish venue comprises two mini-golf courses, as well as a bar and restaurant, and was developed by the footballer in partnership with the team behind DEPOT, one of Cardiff's most successful business ventures.
It is soon to be joined by social darts bar Flight Club, which is set to open on the site formerly occupied by Beanfreaks health food store and Creams dessert bar this autumn. The venue's unique concept sees the classic pub game given a "supercharged" modern makeover and combined with food and free-flowing cocktails, with customers promised a "spectacular bar, electric atmosphere and mind-blowing experience".
Another popular arrivals in recent years include Mrs Pott's Chocolate House, a choc-lover's dream, and The Queer Emporium. While it certainly has had a remarkable past, it seems sure that St Mary Street also has a very bright future.
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