Tŷ Krishna Cymru, a centre for wellness, community, and spirituality: a project by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. The centre is based in the mid-Victorian commercial building at Dock Chambers (see the listing description). A three-story glass extension is under constuction (2024) with glass panels by Henstaff.

This record was created by RCAHMW’s Welsh Asian Heritage Project (2023–24), funded by the Welsh Government’s Anti-racist Wales Action Plan.

Source: https://iskconnews.org/ty-krishna-cymru-project-in-cardiff-bay-wales-highlights-growth-and-future-expansion/

1. Probably built c.1860 by the Bute estate and therefore may have been designed by Alexander Roos, the estate architect, and they are said to have been the first purpose built group of offices in Butetown. From 1874 to 1927 the southern part was used as the Cardiff Docks Branch of the National Provincial Bank of England. In 1901 E W M Corbett designed alterations to No 3, and there are also later (perhaps inter-war) and modern alterations.

A 3-storey block of varied design including Free Classical and French Renaissance influences, with Dutch gables. They are constructed of red brick with Bath stone facing on the ground floor, and Bathstone dressings including channelled pilaster strips and gable parapets. The ground floor has thin cement stacks with cornices to the front and rear.The front has a gently stepped facade composed of 5+5 bays, each defined by chanelled pilaster strips, repeated either side of an advanced central bay, which is crowned by an enormous, and steep, French style roof including an elaborate dormer. It is otherwise distinctive for its use of shaped gables to the centre bay of each group of five bays, which are flanked by a pierced parapet with urn finials, pendants (finials missing) and circular attic windows.

The windows are mostly 4-pane sashes, with tripartite windows to the central block. This block has a pedimented cornice to the 1st floor with flanking, 17th century style, blind ovals with draped festoons. The 2nd floor has bracket sills set into a stone band course and a stringcourse, while the first floor has vermiculated voussoirs and the ground floor a deep frieze band. The central window and entrance of each 5-bay section has enriched ornament over cornices, round-arched doorways with keystones, pilasters and panelled double doors.

There are alterations to the right hand end, with the addition of a grander bank frontage, extended 1-bay beyond the corner. This is single storey, and includes a pedimented Tuscan Doric entrance. This is channelled and decorated with pilasters, a modillion cornice and a high granite plinth. The left hand half has been more significantly altered with a garage door entry piercing the extreme left end, and with the scrolled ornament of the windows removed. However the inner 5-bay section on this side has been given Grecian Classical treatment, including the surrounds to one large shop-window, a vehicular entrance and the central entrance, which has an anthemion finial, egg and dart and fretwork ornament, and panelled doors with latticed overlight. There is similar but simpler detail to the rear with 4+5-window sections flanking the central projection. At the right hand end are twin-gables with a central chimney, behind which is a flat roof, open-plan extension which internally has iron Doric columns.

The interiors have openwell staircases with ironwork balustrades, bulbous newels and scrolled handrails. There are panelled doors and reveals, and round-arched and segmental architraves. The ground floor front room to No 4. has a plaster frieze and fluted columns to the chimneypiece and panelled shutters.
(Source; Cadw listing database) S Fielding RCAHMW 30/10/2006

2. To the north, in the same terrace, is a central elevation of three storeys with attic, with deep arched first-storey doors, a pedimented second-storey window, blind oval with draped festoons, and an ornate dormer in front of a pyramidal roof. On the other side of this elevation is a three-storey block of 5+5 bays (nos 54a-b), very similar in style to nos 4-5.
A.N. Coward, RCAHMW, 12.06.2018

Site Record

Tŷ Krishna Cymru; Dock Chambers, 4-5, Bute Street