A hugely significant but poorly understood religious site in the heart of Cardiff has been brought back to life through the installation of a new commissioned piece of art. The Blackfriars Friary site in Bute Park is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a scaled model showing it in its medieval heyday has been installed on site this week.
Artist Rubin Eynon has crafted the impressive sculpture which is a tactile interpretative model depicting how the fascinating site would have originally appeared.
Cabinet Member for Sport, Leisure and Culture, Cllr Ramesh Patel, said: “This unique installation is part of the renovation of the Blackfriars Friary site, and an extremely exciting climax to the Bute Park Restoration Project.
“The model will act as an interpretation tool, illustrating how the site looked in days long past and brings an incredible and captivating element of the city’s history back to life.
“As the restoration project comes to an end, we can look back at how it has hugely benefitted Bute Park, providing additional opportunities and attractions for visitors and transforming this much-loved park into a must-see city attraction.”
The Blackfriars Friary recently underwent restoration as part of the £5.6m Bute Park restoration project, supported by a £3.1m grant from Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). Final weather-dependant works within what used to be the church will be completed by summer 2014.
The site, which is situated in the south of Bute Park near the main flower boarders, dates back to the 12th Century and is acknowledged by experts to be one of the most important friary sites in Wales.
After it was handed over to the crown in 1538 and dissolved along with all other monasteries, the site was plundered and the foundations were not discovered until the 19th Century when the Marquess of Bute was renovating his gardens.
He instructed archaeological excavation of the site which was followed by a scheme of work to depict the plan of the original buildings and make the site into an ornamental garden feature.
The recent restoration project partially restored the Marquess’ scheme and also provides permanent information about the site’s interesting past.
Rubin Eynon is based in South Wales and creates artworks representing Welsh history. Some of his other sculptures on permanent display include Conwy Castle and Caerphilly Castle.
Dr Amelia Pannett from Archaeology Wales said: “The archaeological work carried out on the site has revealed interesting details about both the medieval priory and the construction of the Victorian garden feature, adding to our understanding of this significant medieval religious centre and informed the modern artistic reconstruction.
“The work has also unearthed exciting and important details about this nationally significant site which is a unique example of the Victorian interpretation of a medieval religious house.”
