Cardiff Institute For The Blind - History of CIB

History of CIB

Cardiff Institute for the Blind was founded in 1865 by Frances Batty Shand, the daughter of a Jamaican plantation owner.

After moving to Cardiff, Shand set up a small workshop employing four blind men to make baskets for coal ships. After employing ten more men, the workshop was relocated to Byron Street in Roath, later moving to Longcross Road - near the Institute's current home on Newport Road.

By 1900, around 100 blind men and women were employed making baskets, brushes and mats.

The Longcross Street building was destroyed during WWII and made way for Shand House - a plot of land situated on Newport Road and donated to the charity in 1949 - completed and opened in 1953.

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