Every day thousands of people wander through Cardiff's Bute Park.

The 130 acres of landscaped gardens and parkland once formed the grounds of Cardiff Castle but is now open for everyone in Wales to enjoy, whether on sunny bank holidays, snowy winter days, or crisp autumn mornings.

If you've ever stopped for a coffee or a cup of tea at the Secret Garden Cafe you might have noticed the beautiful wooden door with a peculiar knocker that leads to the cafe's interior and the park's Visitor Centre.

Read more: The incredible secret street that lies behind an unsuspecting door in Cardiff's Royal Arcade

With striking carvings and a curious door knob, shaped like a friar's hood, the People's Door, as it is known, is hard to miss. The oak door, hanging on heavy iron hinges, is made up of several works of art that tell stories of the park's history

In 2011, wood carvers - both amateurs and professionals - were invited to submit designs reflecting the park's history as part of a competition. In February 2011, those whose designs had been shortlisted had just one month to collect a piece of oak and complete their work.

The winning panels were fabricated into the door by a local blacksmith and joiner, and it was lifted into position in August 2011. With each panel, including the unusual door knocker, representing a different part of the park's rich history, the wood carvers have brought some of the lesser-known stories of Bute Park back to life - including some darker periods.

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Ducking Stool

The ducking stool in the park was used as a punishment for "obnoxious" women

A carving entitled 'Ducking Stool' sits on the bottom row of the door's panels. Carved by Betsan Dunn, it depicts a strange feature that was located on the east bank of the Taff, just north of the old Cardiff Bridge.

Known as a ducking stool, the town accounts mention its construction in 1739. It was used as a punishment for "obnoxious" women. A plaque stored in the Sneade Room at Cardiff Castle says that the stool was used to punish women "whose violent tongues or outrageous conduct rendered them specially obnoxious to their neighbours".

The stool was erected by the orders of the keeper of the County Gaol, Thomas Williams. Constructed by carpenter Thomas Brewer, it consisted of a movable beam with a chair attached. The victims were tied to the chair and ducked under the water several times, with records showing that, in 1739, an Elizabeth Jones was ducked using the stool.

Hermit

The existence of a hermitage on the east end of Cardiff Bridge is mentioned in 1492

Other panels, however, show that the history of the use of Bute Park dates back even further. The first panel of the first row of carvings is called 'Hermit,' and was carved by Will Power, a long-standing member of the park grounds maintenance team.

The existence of a hermitage on the east end of Cardiff Bridge is mentioned in 1492. Hermits lived in solitude or religious discipline and the hermit who occupied the hermitage in Bute Park relied on the pious alms of the people and grants to get by. It is possible that the hermit who lived in the park was an Anchorite (a religious recluse), who withdrew to the countryside to live a life of religious solitude.

A Blackfriar

A friary was occupied in the park for 288 years, before it was dissolved in 1536

The hermitage wasn't the only evidence of religious settlements in the park. Visitors are still able to visit the site of Blackfriar's Friary, an ancient Grade II listed building that dates back to the 13th century. The peculiar door knob was designed to commemorate the friary, entitled 'A Blackfriar.' Dominican monks were known as 'black friars' because of their dark hoods, as the door knocker depicts.

It was designed by Michael Davies, an architect employed by the Bute Park Restoration Project to restore the Animal Wall, West Lodge, and to build the Education Centre.

Blackfriar's Friary was founded in 1256 by Richard de Clare, son of King Henry I. But, in 1536, Parliament ordered the closure of monasteries, abbeys and other religious houses in Wales and England. The friary, which had been occupied for 288 years, was dissolved and the buildings were demolished two years later in 1538, the foundations disappearing under the earth. However, the site was excavated in 1887, with its floor being covered with reproduction tiles based on the original designs, and gifted to the people in 1947. The Victorian floor tiles were laid in the floor of Pettigrew Tea Rooms during the restoration of West Lodge.

Roman coins

The People's Door also depicts evidence that the park was populated well before the friary existed. The final panel on the bottom row of the door was inspired by Roman coins that have been unearthed in the park, revealing the occupation of the land surrounding Cardiff Castle. A 1985 article from Archaeology in Wales reports that, at an excavation site immediately west of the tennis courts, two Roman coins dating from the period AD 87 were found.

The door's other panels also depict features and histories of the park that have long since disappeared. The centre panel of the door's top row, carved by Arthur Welsby, shows a 'Swiss Bridge,' which was built abutting Cardiff Castle between 1875 and 1878. The bridge allowed access from the apartments in the house to the gardens in the park.

Another panel, carved by Sharon Littley, commemorates Andrew Pettigrew, who was head gardener at the Castle from 1873 to 1907, while a panel carved by Robert Innes depicts the coracles - small fishing boats - that were used for fishing by a family that lived in the Blackweir farmhouse during the 1830s.

Park Ranger Edmundo Ferreira-Rocha was tasked with representing the different industries that existed in the park during the 18th and 19th centuries, which included an ironworks, copperworks, tanyard (for treating animal skins to make leather) and a rope walk, where ropes were made.

"You've got the plots in front of, what is today, the changing rooms, and when you take a look there, you're going to see that there is a farmhouse, and the cottage on the right as well," Edmundo, who now lives in Porth, explained.

Edmundo, who moved to Cardiff in 1998, said that he tried to capture different aspects of the park within his panel, including a dairy, which he says used to exist within the cottage, Welsh sheep, and the park's beech trees.

"I carve, but I can't draw, so that was a real headache. I'm so childish when it comes to drawing - I can't do it - so I spent two months going to that cottage, taking photos, trying to learn how to put a perspective in place, because I needed to draw something in order to tell them what I was going to carve," he said.

Edmundo Ferreira-Rocha carved this panel representing the different cottage industries that existed in the park during
This panel carved by Robert Innes depicts coracles that were used for fishing in the Taff
A mill leat took water from the Taff to power the mills

Edmundo, an amateur carver, then transferred his design to his piece of wood. He says that he learnt how to carve while being in Wales, picking up skills until he became a "confident carver."

Edmundo started carving when he wanted to give a set of keys to his house to his girlfriend at the time - but rather than just wanting to give her the keys, he wanted to give her a love spoon as well.

"I decided I was going to make a love spoon myself. Then I went to the city market and bought a set of carving tools. I'd never used the set of tools before in my life. I cut myself, it was awful - but I made something."

From there, Edmundo started to increase his skills to make love spoons and letter openers.

"I think the environment of being in Wales gave me that initiative to make something.

"I love [this carving], because I was invited as part of the People's Door to give my perspective on the park."

Andrew Pettigrew was head gardener at Cardiff Castle from 1873 to 1907
A 'Swiss Bridge' allowed access from the apartments in Cardiff Castle to the gardens in the park

Edmundo's carving includes a carved frame of ropes to represent one of the park's industries that has since been lost.

"Where you have that new bridge by Servini's Cafe and you go to the west gate where you've got a flower bed, that used to be the rope walk. One of the industries was rope making because of the naval and maritime industries in Cardiff.

"A rope walk, as it was called, was where you stretched the ropes, and is today where the herbaceous border is along the Taff river."

Edmundo, who is learning Welsh, is now looking to present his carvings at the Eisteddfod, by mixing wood carving with poetry.

While some evidence of Bute Park's rich and diverse history might have all but disappeared throughout time, the People's Door ensures that it will not be forgotten.

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