ARCADES PROJECT

The Royal Arcade in Cardiff dates from either 1859 or 1870, depending on sources. It’s a long, relatively-narrow arcade running over 100m from St Mary Street to The Hayes, but very light due to the glass ceiling running virtually the full length and across the whole width of the arcade.

It has a mix of the types of independent businesses found in many arcades in the UK: jewellers, barbers, vintage clothes, cafes, a florist, shoe shop, hair salon etc.

But also some rather unique, niche ideas, which give it real character: the Queer Emporium is a bookshop, cafe and gift shop for the Queer community of Cardiff; the self-care hub ‘Keep the Faith’ focuses on diversity and inclusivity in all its hair, beauty and tattoo services; the Vietnamese cafe is run by a real Vietnamese family, making Vietnamese coffee and home-made pho; the Austrian deli was opened over 40 years ago by Wally Salomon, who has sadly passed now, but the shop is run by his son and is doing very well by the look and size of it…..

Then look more closely at some of the other shops for some nice décor touches: the cafe at No 32 has a magnificent spiral staircase, still used – a lot – on the morning I dropped in; two or three of the shops’ original tenants had entrance floor tiling with the company name in fine lettering to welcome you: look out for the names Crouch, Halewoods, Thornton.

The original David Morgan department store once took up The Hayes end of the Royal Arcade, and left behind a few signs so we don’t forget: the name above the archway at that end of the passage; a letter-box in the wall – now with a poem on the lid – and the initials DM dotted around the walls.

The lamps hanging down from the glass ceiling have a vintage look – I’m terrible for distinguishing 1980s from 1880s, sadly – but they got me thinking about the controversy here over whether to instal electricity 130 years ago (most shopkeepers then wanted to stick with gas…)

There was a steady flow of people walking past as I sipped my drink at the coffee roastery in the arcade, though no sign of old-fashioned promenading – or loitering, and most people looked purposeful as they walked through. This is a busy arcade, well and truly alive, though.

My pick of the arcade’s past

Among early tenants of the ‘New Arcade,’ as it was initially known, were the offices of a newspaper called ‘The Star of Gwent,’ a recruitment agency, offering jobs mainly for domestic servants and shop assistants, and a free library run by volunteers.

In July 1862, two bullocks charged into the arcade escaping from their minder who was steering them towards the abattoir. They careered into a basket-weaving shop, forcing the couple who ran that business to escape up the stairs at the back of the shop. They were eventually caught, but not before they had smashed at least ten panes of glass in their panic and fury.

The Royal Arcade itself only opened in January 1870 with 50 shop units. Early tenants in the new building were a jeweller at No 13, a watchmaker at No 24, a ‘naturalist’ at No 10, who would deal with animal skins, either creating garments, rugs or stuffing your favourite animal’s hide; the Bodega Dining Rooms, where a ‘first-class dinner’ could be had for a shilling – speciality chops and steaks.

A palm reader in the Royal Arcade was convicted of forging letters in one of her client’s names in 1904. A Swiss governess in Cardiff had been to see Mme Marriott for several readings, and had often mentioned a local rector who had befriended her. Mme Marriott proceeded to write threatening letters to the rector in the Swiss woman’s name, threatening to shoot them both if he did not agree to marry her. The forgery was discovered by a hand-writing expert, who was headmaster at Cardiff Boarding School, but not before the governess had spent six months in custody.

During World War 2, the Ministry of Supply had a depot at No 34 Royal Arcade, and in 1941 put out a plea for individuals who owned binoculars to bring them in and lend them to the authorities for the duration of the war (there were also options to donate or sell as well). The Ministry’s line was that rather than lying unused in family cupboards they might save lives for”observers keeping vigil for enemy planes, soldiers pushing on through Libya (or) merchantmen dodging U-boats at sea.” There were no subsequent reports on how successful this campaign was, or on whether the binoculars lent were ever returned, as promised.

Sources for the above stories: 1) www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk 2) Cardiff & Merthyr Guardian – National Library of Wales; 3) Same as (2) 22 January 1870; 4) The Herald, Melbourne 26 February 1904 – Trove – National Library of Australia; 5) Porthcawl Guardian, 24 January 1941 – British Library Board

What memories do you have of visits in years gone by?

Have you got any good stories to add on the past of this arcade?

What’s your favourite shop in the arcade today?

Have you seen this arcade in any films or books?

My favourite shop in the arcade

So many to choose from in Cardiff’s Royal Arcade: Wally’s delicatessen for its magnificence and ist family history; the inclusive self-care salon just for its inclusive concept; and the Queer Emporium for just being there in such a prominent position.

Is there a website for this arcade?

Not specifically, though the Cardiff City of Arcades have a great page on the variety of businesses operating in this arcade. They have an excellent website, linked to here.