Statue of John Batchelor, The Hayes, Cardiff

A Radical Figure in Bronze

This life‑size bronze statue, set on a tall stone plinth in The Hayes, honours John Batchelor, a Victorian-era businessman and Liberal politician who became a symbol of resistance against Cardiff’s entrenched elite. Born in Newport in 1820, Batchelor moved to Cardiff in his twenties and built a timber and shipbuilding business with his brother. He later served as a town councillor, mayor in 1854, and chairman of the Cardiff School Board, using his influence to expand education and challenge the political dominance of the powerful Bute family, whose interests centred on Cardiff Castle and the docks.

Champion of the People

The inscription on the plinth – 'John Batchelor, The Friend of Freedom' – captures how many ordinary Cardiff residents viewed him. Batchelor was a fierce advocate for the working class, a campaigner against slavery, and a key figure in breaking the Tory 'Castle party' grip on Cardiff politics. In 1852 he helped elect Liberal-Nonconformist Walter Coffin as MP, ending decades of Conservative control. He also promoted public education, co‑founding a British School for poorer children and later leading the city’s School Board, ensuring that education remained a priority even as industrial interests shaped the city.

A Statue Born of Controversy

The statue itself, sculpted by Welsh artist James Milo Griffith, was unveiled in October 1886 before a crowd of around 5,000 people, just three years after Batchelor’s death. Its placement in The Hayes, opposite the Free Library that Batchelor had campaigned for, was a deliberate political statement. The monument quickly became a flashpoint: opponents, including Conservative councillors and local figures, petitioned for its removal and repeatedly defaced it with paint and tar, reflecting the deep divisions of the time. Despite this, the statue remained, a testament to the enduring legacy of a man who dared to challenge the status quo.

Industrial Vision and Civic Legacy

Beyond politics, Batchelor was a forward‑thinking industrialist. He played a crucial role in developing Cardiff’s docks, including promoting the Penarth Dock to break the Bute family’s monopoly on coal exports. In the 1870s he proposed an ambitious plan to build an embankment across the Taff and Ely estuaries, vastly expanding Cardiff’s wharf space – a vision that would only be realised more than a century later with the Cardiff Bay Barrage. Though his business ultimately failed in the financial panic of 1866, his civic contributions, particularly in education and local governance, left a lasting mark on the city’s development.

Encountering the Monument Today

Today, the statue stands in a busy pedestrian zone near St David’s Hall and the main shopping centre, where it is easily overlooked by shoppers and commuters. Yet it offers a rare, tangible link to Cardiff’s 19th‑century struggles over power, freedom, and progress. Visitors can read the plinth’s inscription, admire the Victorian craftsmanship of the bronze figure, and reflect on the complex story of a man who was both a successful entrepreneur and a polarising political reformer. It’s a modest but meaningful stop for anyone interested in Cardiff’s social history and the forces that shaped modern Wales.