Cathays ( ; Welsh: officially Cathays but also , 'the constant meadow') is a district and community in the centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is an old suburb of Cardiff established in 1875. It is densely populated and contains many Victorian terraced houses. The area falls into the Cathays ward. It is the third most populous community in Cardiff, having a population of 18,002 in 2011. Etymology The area that is now Cathays was formerly known in Welsh as and in English as Little Heath (to distinguish it from Great Heath). Although the modern English name is a homograph of Cathays (an antiquated name Europeans used for China), its meaning and pronunciation are unrelated. The modern English name derives from two elements. The first, denotes a battleground in Welsh toponymy and is common throughout the country. The meaning of the second element is far less certain. A derivation from Old English or Middle English has been suggested from either which means an open area, or }, the plural form of , which means an enclosed area. The uncertainty of this second element has led to a number of suggestions on the meaning and origin of the name. One suggestion derives the first element from , in its Old English meaning of 'wildcat', and from the plural form of , meaning 'enclosure', giving a meaning of 'enclosures where wildcats can be viewed'. History By the medieval period farmland outside the old Cardiff Castle, Cathays takes in the northern limit of medieval Cardiff — marked by the crossroads of Fairoak Road and Crwys Road. After John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute, married Charlotte Hickman-Windsor (daughter of Lord Windsor) on 12 November 1766, he inherited great further lands, including in Cathays to the north of his existing estate which he had partially developed. He then bought other properties and farms to the north and east, including what became Cathays Park. There he built Cathays House at a cost of £40,000 and at further cost landscaped Cathays Park. After his son took over the title he preferred to live in Cardiff Castle, so demolished the house in 1815, and turned Cathays Park into purely enclosed parkland for grazing. Suburb of Cardiff Following the 2nd Marquis' development of Cardiff Docks, and the resultant number of new workers flocking to Cardiff, in 1875 the then rural Cathays became a suburb of Cardiff. At that