One of the most remarkable transformations in Cardiff Bay has been that of The Coal Exchange in Mount Stuart Square, from commercial hub to arts and entertainment centre. Its imposing facade speaks of the days when Cardiff was growing fast to become the greatest coal-exporting port in the world - its wealth built on the Black Gold dug from the earth by the miners of the Rhondda and the neighbouring valleys.
The Coal Exchange was built between 1883 and 1886 to the designs of James, Seward and Thomas. It was here that Cardiff's leading businessmen-owners of shipping firms, coal mines and of allied businesses met to fix their deals, some with far distant countries. Cardiff, which half a century before had been a market town of 10,000 people with a small coastal trade, had become a commercial centre of importance on the world's stage.
