This fascinating look at Cardiff begins in the late 1840s, at the very dawn of photography, when the very earliest images of the town were captured. The lecture illustrates the changing scene with the help of photographs taken by professionals, as well as by a group of amateur photographers, who caught all aspects of the life of the town.  New buildings, new bridges and docks, old and new Churches, great events and humble happenings – nothing escaped the camera lens, providing us with a fascinating insight into the past.

Some images reflect the town’s increasing prosperity; fuelled by the coal, iron, tinplate and shipping industries, but these contrast sharply with the plight of the poor who lived in the town slums.