Cardiff (kärˈdĭf) [key], Welsh Caerdydd, city and county (1998
est. pop. 320,900), S Wales, on the Taff River near its mouth on
the Bristol Channel. Cardiff is the capital of Wales and an
important port. Until the early 20th cent. it was one of the
greatest coal-shipping ports in the world. Modern industries
include retailing, services, engineering, oil and gasoline
distribution, and food processing. Studios of the British
Broadcasting Corp. are located in Cardiff, which is also the
center of the Welsh-language broadcasting industry. The
construction of docks by the 5th marquess of Bute in 1839
stimulated the city's growth. The port includes the docks at
Penarth and Barry. There is also a canal to Merthyr Tydfil
(opened 1794), with a branch to Aberdare. Cardiff Castle, the
residence of the marquess of Bute until 1947, was first built in
1090 on the site of a Roman fort. Robert, duke of Normandy, was
imprisoned (1126–34) in the castle. Owen Glendower partly
destroyed it in 1404. In Cathays Park the group of pu