Our history

The history of Cardiff Institute for the Blind / Sight Life dates back to 1865 when Frances Batty Shand, an early charitable activist in Cardiff, and the less well-known Frederick Hallett founded the organisation.

Frances Batty Shand (1815-1885) was the daughter of John Shand, a Scottish plantation owner and an enslaved woman named Frances Brown. She was born in Jamaica and educated in Scotland. In the mid-19th century, Frances moved to Cardiff from Scotland with her brother (also John).

Initially, Frances’ main concern was the “ragged” children she saw in Cardiff. At some point, Frances met Frederick Hallett, who would also play a key role in CIB’s development. He was born in Hampshire in 1841 and was involved with the Blind Bible Society. Fredericks was CIB’s first manager, a post he held from 1865 until 1898, and oversaw the opening of the CIB’s first basket making workshop in the Canton area of Cardiff.

The workshop was a great success. Within a year, the Institute had moved to Byron Street in Roath and in 1868 to a long-term home in Longcross Street off Newport Road.

This was the start of The Association for Improving the Social and Working Conditions of the Blind, later renamed Cardiff Institute for the Blind and then Sight Life.

Frances left Cardiff after her brother’s death in 1977 and little is known of her until she died in 1885 in Montreux, Switzerland. However, Frances stayed in contact with the Association. Her body was brought back to Cardiff and lay in the Longcross Street building the night before she was buried alongside her brother in Allensbank Cemetery.

CIB continued to grow after Frances’ death, but was facing problems by the late 1890s and a new manager, Mr D.A.R. Jeffrey, was appointed in 1898.

By 1900, the Institute employed 100 blind men (and some women as well), sewing and making baskets, mats, brushes and ships fenders. The first decade of the 20th century saw the purchase of a horse-drawn van to deliver goods around Cardiff.

In 1936, CIB was still a sizeable employer with 86 staff in Longcross Street. However, in March 1941, a German air raid destroyed the Longcross Street building.

After the Second World War the Institute was given a plot of land on the junction of Newport Road and Fitzalan Place. It was here that Shand House, named in honour of Frances, opened in 1953.

At that time the Institute’s work remained centred on employing blind and disabled people. However, times were changing, and the workshop closed in 2006.

In the late 1980s CIB recruited its first welfare officer (later revised to services manager) to provide services beyond employment. These included benefits advice, befriending and clubs and activities. HRH Diana, Princess of Wales, visited the Shand House Resource Centre on 3rd October 1991. By the early 2000s, CIB was also enabling people who have low vision to use computers, the Internet and more recently smart phones.

In 2009 CIB became part of the RNIB Group, with the remit to spread our services across South Wales. We were soon helping blind and partially sighted people in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Swansea and Neath Port Talbot as well as Cardiff. In 2013 the two charities moved to Jones Court on Womanby Street, using funds from the sale of Shand House

The geographical expansion increasingly called into question the charity’s name – our activities were no longer limited to Cardiff. So, in 2019 we became Sight Life.

In 2020, following a strategic review, the RNIB offered us the chance to return to being an independent organisation. On April 1st, 2022, CIB completed its demerger from the RNIB and returned to independence.

As we approach our 160th anniversary in 2025, despite the recent organisational changes, Sight Life’s focus stays firmly on supporting individuals with limited or no sight. So, despite many changes, we stay true to the ambition of Frances Shand and Frederick Hallett: to improve the lives of blind and partially sighted people.