Our Home: Wales’ Temple of Peace and Health
Wales’ iconic Temple of Peace & Health was founded as the nation’s memorial to the fallen of WW1 by David Davies, who having served in the trenches had been so horrified by the carnage of war, that he committed his life (and fortune) to building international cooperation. Opened in 1938 – the eve of WW2 – by war-bereaved mothers led by Minnie James from Merthyr, the Temple has played an instrumental role in the founding of the United Nations, Human Rights frameworks and international institutions of justice and cooperation.
To this day, the Temple continues its founding mission through Cymru Global and our work on Climate & Nature, Global Learning, Heritage, Peace & Peacebuilding and Volunteering.
Our work is financially supported through our venue hire and community roots. The Temple of Peace can be a deeply symbolic and memorable city centre venue for your own events – from meetings or conferences to weddings and even film or photo shoots. Explore this iconic venue in the heart of the Welsh capital.
Short film produced to mark the Temple’s 80th Anniversary
Quick Links
- Architect of Peace: Percy Thomas and his ‘Peace Building’
- Minnie James, War Mother of Wales and the World
- The Minnie James Collections: Box of Treasures, Mementoes of Remembrance
- Father of the Temple: The Legacy of David Davies of Llandinam
- Opening of Wales’ Temple of Peace & Health: ‘The Great and the Good’
- ‘A New Mecca’ – The Temple in the Welsh Public Mind
- Dr Who to Mr Burton – the Temple as a Star of Screen and SciFi
- Temple Stars in Richard Burton Biopic, 2025
Peace Building: exploring the Temple’s Spaces
from dr who to mr burton
A Sci-Fi Lovers Dream: the Temple on Screen
The Temple’s iconic, art deco, neoclassical architecture has been used for the filming of many popular fantasy adaptations for stage and screen, from Doctor Who and Sherlock to series like His Dark Materials and the 2025 biopic dramatisation of Welsh actor Richard Burton’s childhood, “Mr Burton”
Peace in our Times: Archives & Collections
Peace Makers: Historic Figures from the Temple’s Story
Archives Spotlight: 23 November 1938
Opening of the Temple of Peace
On 23 November 1938, ‘the great and the good’ gathered to witness the opening of Wales’ Temple of Peace & Health. This blog post excavates from the archives, the surviving programme from the opening day, who was involved and the reaction of the press and public to the building’s launch – at a time of great uncertainty in European and world affairs.
a gift between the generations
“A New Mecca”
The Temple of Peace was built to inspire hope and bring people together to learn, connect, and take action for a better world. British Academy Fellow Dr Emma West of Birmingham University revisits the visions of the founders in this feature for ‘Welsh Agenda’, the journal of IWA (Institute for Welsh Affairs); and the short film captures the community production staged to mark the Temple’s 80th Anniversary, in partnership with Gentle/Radical and the UK ‘Being Human’ Festival.
