Guildhall and market halls, Cardigan
This ornately decorated Victorian building housed two market halls, a Guildhall, council chamber, school and library. It’s said to be Britain’s first civic building in the Gothic style promoted by John Ruskin and his followers. Some aspects emulate Continental European architecture, and the archways facing Pendre have a Moorish form.
Previously there was a market and abattoir at Market Lane in Mwldan, the valley behind the buildings on this side of Pendre. By the 1850s a bigger market was needed. A sloping plot of land which Cardigan Grammar School had occupied since 1804 was chosen. The new building included rooms for the school. You can see the school’s name inscribed above the entrance in College Row.
The “Public Buildings” opened in 1860. The top photo was taken soon afterwards, and the middle photo in the 1940s. The tower and clock were added in 1892 at the expense of David Davies as a memento of his time as town mayor. He owned the ‘Ship and Bonded Stores’ (lowest photo) next door and imported wines and spirits. His memento was nicknamed “the whisky clock”!
The arched openings in the frontage were designed for air circulation in the upper market hall; this was important for hygiene in the era before meat could be refrigerated. Butter and cheese were sold at the other end of the upper market.
There’s another market hall in the undercroft, where you can see the many arches which hold up the building. Originally live animals were sold there, before being taken to a new abattoir in Upper Mwldan – now Theatr Mwldan.
The Guildhall is above the old Corn Exchange (corn market). Its Great Hall hosted the petty sessions (similar to today’s magistrates’ courts), previously held at the nearby Shire Hall. It was used for many political and commercial meetings. In 1877 civic leaders presented Captain Stephens of the SS Tivyside with a gold medal from the Greek government for rescuing sailors in the Mediterranean during a storm in 1875.
Public events there included lectures, concerts and balls. In 1905 operatic prima donna Lizzy Teify Davies gave a recital at the Guildhall.
During the First World War, the County Appeal Tribunal sat at the Guildhall to decide on appeals against conscription into the armed forces.
The Guildhall was extensively refurbished and repurposed into a multi-use community venue and reopened by community regeneration company Menter Aberteifi in 2008. Markets are still held daily at the building, which reopened after a £3m refurbishment in 2024. It has been managed by Menter Aberteifi since 2014.
With thanks to Menter Aberteifi
Postcode: SA43 1JL View Location Map
More Guildhall history – Menter Aberteifi website