St Edward King & Confessor
Roath, City of Cardiff
The current building was designed as a War Memorial Church by Mr E Willmott, and built in two stages: the chancel and vestry in 1921, and the nave in 1968.
The population was increasing rapidly, and by 1893, the Presbyterian Church in Windsor Place (now City URC) was full. The only way for Presbyterianism to grow in Cardiff was felt to be by starting a new congregation.
From its modest beginning, as an offshoot from an existing church in Roath Park, the church grew quickly. On 12 April 1899, the memorial stones were laid for a much larger building adjacent to the existing church, capable of accommodating 800-900 people.
The church was opened on 20 June 1900, with a packed congregation, and many people turned away at the door. The congregation continued to grow rapidly. Sixty members in 1898 became 150 in 1900, this grew to 296 in 1905 and 367 members by 1913. Before the start of the First World War, Scouting and Guiding had also begun at Roath Park Church.
The First World War saw Roath Park Church and its Scout Group lose many members. Their names are still remembered every year at the annual Remembrance Day Parade Service. Following the War, numbers declined from their 1913 peak to around two hundred members, which was maintained until the Second World War. Roath Park Church was very fortunate during the Second World War, the buildings escaped damage and few members' lives were lost.
The post War period saw great change in the life of the church. Service patterns changed, there is no longer a choir and the weekly evening service has been lost. The church changed its name. In the 1970s, the Congregational Church merged with the Presbyterian Church of England to form the United Reformed Church. Roath Park Presbyterian Church became St Andrew's United Reformed Church.