WRTH DDWR A THAN

Terracotta at its very best on the exterior of the Grade One listed Pierhead Building in Cardiff, built in 1897 for the Bute Docks Company. The terracotta was supplied by Ruabon based brickmakers JC Edwards & Co. The Bute Docks Company was renamed the Cardiff Railway Company in 1897 and this coat of arms on the building's façade bears the company's motto "wrth ddŵr a thân" (by fire and water) encapsulating the elements creating the steam power which transformed Wales.