Norwegian Church

Visiting the bay in the sun today, lovely day so far and the church looking good in this light !
In the 19th century, Cardiff was one of Britain's three major ports, along with London and Liverpool. The Norwegian merchant fleet at the time was the third largest in the world, and Cardiff became one of the major centres of its operations.

Sjømannskirken – the Norwegian Church Abroad organization, which is part of the Church of Norway – followed in its footsteps. Under Carl Herman Lund from Oslo, a Church was built in 1868 in Cardiff Bay between the East and West Docks on land donated by the Marquis of Bute, to serve the religious needs of Norwegian sailors and expatriates.

Consecrated in December 1868, the church was clad in iron sheets on the instruction of the Harbour Master, to allow it to be moved if necessary. However, the construction form allowed it to be extended many times
1883: Reading room enlarged
1885: Gallery and bell-tower added
1894: Reading room enlarged, reclad in wood

Known until this point as the Norwegian Iron Church, it now became known as the Little White Church, and became a well known navigation and welcome home point for sailors. Resultantly, and open to all sailors as a mission offering food and shelter, between 1867 and 1915 the number of visiting sailors to the church rose from 7,572 to 73,580 seamen per annum.