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Cathays ( ; standardised ; sometimes Y Waun Ddyfal, 'the constant meadow') is a district and community in the centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is an old suburb of Cardiff established in 1875. It is densely populated and contains many Victorian era . The area falls into the Cathays ward. It is the third most populous community in Cardiff, having a population of 18,002 in 2011.
The name Cathays first appeared in 1699 as Catt Hays and originally denoted a tract of common land north-east of Cardiff, now represented by Cathays Park. The second element is a derivative of Old English haga, meaning 'park or enclosure', while the first element has been variously traced to the Welsh word cad, meaning 'battle', and the Old English word catt, meaning 'wildcat'.
After John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute, married Charlotte Hickman-Windsor (daughter of Herbert Windsor, 2nd Viscount Windsor) on 12 November 1766, he inherited great further lands, including in Cathays to the north of his existing estate which he had partially developed. He then bought other properties and farms to the north and east, including what became Cathays Park. There he built Cathays House at a cost of £40,000 and at further cost landscaped Cathays Park. After his son took over the title he preferred to live in Cardiff Castle, so demolished the house in 1815, and turned Cathays Park into purely enclosed parkland for grazing.
Maindy Barracks opened in 1871. With United States Army troops temporarily stationed in transit in Cardiff during both World War I and World War II, the footpath between Gelligaer Street and New Zealand Road became known as " Road" (from the phrase "Be Undressed and Ready My Angel"), as they came to meet .
The electoral ward of Cathays includes both the Cathays and Castle communities and elects four councillors to Cardiff Council.
In 1875, Nazareth House was opened to provide accommodation for orphans and the elderly. A popular local charity, one of its many benefactors was the boxer Jim Driscoll, who, since his burial in Cathays cemetery in 1925, has had his grave tended by the nuns of Nazareth House.
In 1898, John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute sold a large piece of land to Cardiff Council for the building of a new City Hall, imposing strict conditions regarding its purpose and where development could take place. As a result, City Hall was built as far south in the purchased block of land as possible, and the residual area to its north used for civic, cultural and educational purposes only. City Hall cost £129,000 to build, and was completed in 1905 when Cardiff was awarded city status.
The land purchased by the council to the north of the city hall now houses:
Maindy Pool was a clay pit that had gradually filled with water. After the death by drowning of ten children and adults, it was filled in by using it as a rubbish tip. In 1948 the building of Maindy Stadium began on the same site, completed in 1951, which held cycling races in the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. When the stadium was closed and replaced with a leisure centre, part of the site became a swimming pool.
Cathays Library is a Carnegie library built in 1906 and refurbished in 2009–10.
Companies House, which holds the registration records of all companies registered in England or Wales, has its headquarters in Cathays.
Cathays High School is an 11–18 mixed comprehensive school that started as a boys' grammar school in 1903 and became a comprehensive high school in 1973.
Despite the urbanisation of Cathays, there is extensive parkland around the civic centre, including Gorsedd Gardens, Queen Alexandra Gardens, Bute Park and Blackweir.
Data Downloads or - Query - KS106EW: Households with Adults in "Employment" in wards in England and Wales
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The area is close to the busy Gabalfa Interchange, connecting it with the A48 and the M4 motorway.
| NW | Heath | Roath |
| Pontcanna | Cathays | Roath |
| Riverside | City centre | Adamsdown |
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