Splott () is a district and community in the south of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales, just east of the city centre. It was built up in the late 19th century on the land of two farms of the same name: Upper Splott and Lower Splott Farms. Splott is characterised by its once vast steelworks and rows of tightly knit terraced houses. The suburb of Splott falls into the Splott electoral ward. Fanciful suggestions for the origin of the name have included a truncation of God's Plot, as the land belonged to the Bishop of Llandaff in medieval times, and a derivation of plat, meaning a grassy area of land. The name of the original farm would seem to be Middle English , from Old English ('speck, blot, patch of land') and the word is to be found in other English place names in the Vale of Glamorgan, Gower, and Pembrokeshire, as well as in Somerset and Devon, in the West Country of England, from where it was presumably introduced by English settlers. It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names. The population of Splott in the United Kingdom Census 2001 was 12,074, in 5,101 households, of which only 183 are detached homes. Of the 8,221 adults in the area, only 1,000 have the lowest category of qualifications (Level 1 or below). In 2011 the population had increased to 13,261. History Splott is a traditional part of the City of Cardiff. Most of the housing stock is Victorian in origin built during the expansion of the city's iron and steel industry to house workers in these factories. The early history of Splott is given in the Cardiff Records. This says that "Splott was anciently held by the Bawdrips of Penmark. It consisted mainly of two farms, called the Upper and Lower Splott, situated between Roath Village and the sea." 1440 – the Splott is mentioned as bounding certain lands of Isabel le Despenser, Countess of Worcester and Warwick. 1596 – William Bawdrip of Penmark built a fair house at the Splott and made it his chief residence. 1626 – William Bawdrip of Splott was Member of Parliament for Cardiff. He sold Penmark and Splott to Sir Edward Lewis of the Van. 1638 – Sir Edward Lewis of the Van died. 1740 – the Llandaff Survey of this year mentions a chief rent of four shillings