your comments
Ingrid Anderson, Norwich
My father's side of the family came from pretty humble stock but apparently the Marquis gave one a hand up the social ladder when he went to work for him as a gardener. The Marquis helped him to gain a pilot's training and subsequently the rest of the family prospered. My nan talked very fondly of the third Marquis as the families remained close.
Katrina Rohman, Cardiff
If it wasn't for the investment from the Bute's, building the Glamorganshire canal and investing their entire fortune in building the docks, coal would not have been exported to the extent it had been. It was very costly and the facilities were poor before-hand. Cardiff was the world's largest coal port, famous throughtout world. Shame it isn't so now! Also, the first EVER £1 million cheque was signed in the Coal Exchange, this would not have happened without the development. From what I've researched the the 2nd Marquis was very arrogant, who cares look what he did for this AMAZING city!
Andrew Hoskins, West Midlands
My great grandfather Peter Gibbs was a master mariner who moved from Beer in Devon to Cardiff when he became a Dock Pilot in the Bute Docks in their heyday in the late 19th century. My father said he could remember him saying that often you could cross the dock just by stepping from ship gunwhale to gunwhale - there were so many! Photos of the time would seem to confirm this.
Terry Shorten, Petersfield
Cardiff Castle and Castell Coch are part of a great legacy left to the people of Cardiff. The law of economics dictates that somebody has to pay for the upkeep of these treasures, so why not the Cardiffians whose heritage means so much to them?
Viv Head, Cardiff
The Cardiff Bay of today is certainly a different land from the Cardiff Docks. But the docks were never given to the people of Cardiff. The Bute Dock Company, or rather the Cardiff Railway Company as it became known, sold the docks to the Great Western Railway for £5 in 1922. GWR also acquired Newport, Penarth and Barry Docks at the same time, making them the largest dock owning company in the world.
Andy Evans from Fairwater, Cardiff
I think he made Cardiff what it is today. He is/was a great man. He helped Cardiff a lot.
Julia Dean Cornwall
The Marquis of Bute bought the land in the Rhondda from my ggggrandfather William Davies so that he could exploit the coal. Ok both his family and mine profited from the deal but what now? The schools, Chapels and Alms houses which William set up to help people in the Rhondda are all gone. Many thousands of people moved to the Rhondda because of the mining industry and now they have nothing. I personally cannot do any more than I am already doing but I think the Bute family should give back something from the profit they made out of the valley to the people of the valley.
Paul from Cardiff
The Bute family gave the docks and surrounding areas to the people for the people to use as they wish. But why has the council claimed it for themselves? We cannot fish there any more - we got to pay for our boats to be there. It was given to the people free.
Ellie Richardson, Creigiau, Cardiff
We are learning about the Marquis of Bute at school (Creigiau Primary) and think we have a lot to thank him for in making Cardiff what it is today.
We still have links with the Isle of Bute - Pentyrch RFC and the Isle of Bute RFC have been 'twinned' for over 20 years and many close friendships have been formed.
Turned Cardiff into a prosperous port
