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100 Facts - Early Years

100 Facts

  1. Before Main Building opened, it was decided that degree-conferring ceremonies of the University of Wales should be held in the new building. The first of these ceremonies was held in November 1909 in the Drapers’ Library.
  2. The first honorary graduates of the University of Wales to receive degrees in Main Building were Mr John Ballinger, the National Librarian of Wales, for services to Welsh literature; the Rev Evan Rees (Dyfed), the Archdruid, also for services to Welsh literature; Professor Kuno Meyer, Professor of German and Reader in Celtic at Liverpool University, for services to Celtic research; and the Solicitor-General, Sir ST Evans, KC, MP, for his achievements as a lawyer and statesman.
  3. S.O. Moffet, a graduate of the University of Manchester, was the first professional librarian in charge of the Drapers’ Librarian, a position he held for 32 years.
  4. During the early years of Main Building, only professors had their own rooms. Each room – on the appropriately named Professors’ corridor – had a coal fire in the corner and it was a primary duty of the portering staff to keep all these coal scuttles filled.
  5. By 1910, the professorial staff at the University included Millicent McKenzie, possibly the first woman to be addressed as Professor in Britain.
  6. The first official meeting held in Main Building was the annual meeting of the Court of Governors. This took place in the Drapers’ Library.
    7. 1912 Visit

    1912 Visit

  7. When it first opened, Main Building housed the Drapers’ Library, the Council Chamber, administrative offices, the arts block and common rooms.
  8. By the time Main Building opened, 6,922 students had passed through the College and the teaching staff had increased from 14 to 59 since foundation.
  9. On 26 June 1912 King George V and Queen Mary visited the College to declare open the Viriamu Jones Research Laboratory and to inspect the progress made in the new building since the laying of the Foundation Stone.
  10. The Viriamu Jones Research Laboratory was carefully designed to contain no iron or steel to make it suitable for magnetic and other studies.
  11. The Laboratory was opened as a memorial to John Viriamu Jones who, as was well as being the college’s first Principal, was also the first holder of its Chair of Physics.
  12. During the visit Their Majesties repaired to the Council Chamber and appeared on the balcony, when in the grounds below the assembled students sang two verses of the College song, and male students regaled them with the College “yell”.
  13. Reporting on the Royal visit to Wales, the London Daily Express observed that, following this performance, “the King and Queen shook with laughter”.
  14. The King and Queen’s memorable reaction to the College “yell” is understandable given the following description of the performance which appeared in the London Daily News Leader: “a very good imitation of the discharge of a rocket – a hiss, a whistle, and a Staccato roar of ‘Cardiff’, to represent the explosion of a firework.”