The cemetery was opened in 1859 and originally had two chapels: one Anglican and the other non-conformist,[2] and each including its own porte-cochère. The cemetery has a Roman Catholic section, where a Roman Catholic chapel was built later.[2]
In the Second World War, air raids damaged Cathays Cemetery with a number of bombs and an aerial mine.[3] During the early/mid 1970s the cemetery was split into two sections to allow the building of the A48 Eastern Avenue which was a continuation of the A48(M). In the 20th century all three chapels were neglected and in the 1980s the Roman Catholic one was demolished.[2] Since 2008 the Anglican and non-conformist chapels have been undergoing restoration.[2] One of the most imposing memorials is that of Frank Baselow, thought to be a result of Baselow's European heritage (his actual name was Franz) and the taste on the Continent for grand memorials.[1]
The war graves section includes a number of graves of Australian and Canadian servicemen, one New Zealander who died while serving in the Royal Defence Corps, and one soldier of the Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment. Also present is the grave of Jacques Vaillant de Guélis, a Special Operations Executive agent.[8] The cemetery includes the graves of 21 French Navy sailors from the First World War, mostly in the Roman Catholic section,[3] and a similar number of Norwegian sailors from the Second.[9] Elsewhere in the cemetery are numerous Commonwealth War Graves from both the First and Second World Wars. The cemetery contains the graves of 685 service personnel which are registered and maintained by the CWGC.[9] Victims of the Cardiff Blitz who are buried in the cemetery are commemorated by a memorial erected in 1993.
