Cardiff Arms Park, 1997

A photographic survey of Cardiff Arms Park (the Welsh national rugby ground) undertaken in April 1997, just prior to demolition. There are 40 photographs in total, comprising both exterior and interior views.

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These photographs of Cardiff Arms Park, the national rugby stadium, were taken by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales in April 1997 immediately before the final game. The stadium was demolished shortly afterwards (along with the adjacent Empire Pool) in order to make way for the new millennium 'national stadium'; indeed, some demolition work was already in progress when these photographs were taken.

The construction of the stadium had begun exactly thirty years before, in 1967, and was a resolutely Welsh affair. It was designed by a Cardiff firm of architects (Osborne V. Webb and Partners) and was built by Welsh engineers and contractors (including G. A. Williamson & Associates, Porthcawl and Andrew Scott & Company Ltd, Port Talbot) using materials largely made in Wales. The overall cost was £9 million and the stadium capacity was 56,000.

It is rare for a concrete-framed building to become a much-loved 'monument' but this 'temple of rugby' was hallowed by the 'golden era' of Welsh rugby during the 1970s.

Source: Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales