It consisted mainly of two farms, called the Upper and Lower Splott, situated between Roath Village and the sea."

In 1880 the whole area between Cardiff and the Bristol Channel (known as East Moors) was marshland, apart from the farms of Pengam and Splott.

Residential development started in the 1880s, constructing streets, houses, shops, taverns and Board Schools; subsequently, Churches were built by various denominations.

Splott University Settlement was one of the most successful British baseball teams, winning the Welsh League title several times.

To meet the religious needs of these Welsh-speaking workers, Welsh-language chapels were opened in the area, including Ainon, Walker Road (1894, Welsh Baptists);[14] Bethlehem, Eyre Stree (1895, Welsh Independents);[15] and Jerusalem, Manon Street/Walker Road (1892, Calvinistic Methodists).

[17] Splott is featured in the third episode ("Ghost Machine") of the BBC science fiction drama and Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood, which is set in Cardiff.

Because the morning BBC Radio 2 traffic reports are read by the Splott-born Lynn Bowles, many listener contributions to the Terry Wogan and Ken Bruce shows feature (primarily fictitious) anecdotes humorously referring to the district.

On 14 December 2009, Wogan was made Lord of Splott live on his radio programme in its final week, by resident and broadcaster Noreen Bray.

The ward has generally returned Labour party candidates, including Jack Brooks, who served two terms as Leader of South Glamorgan County Council.

Since May 2017, the ward has been represented by Welsh Labour Councillors Jane Henshaw, Ed Stubbs, and Huw Thomas.

In the Welsh Senedd, Splott is part of the constituency of Cardiff South and Penarth, whose current MS is Labour's Vaughan Gething, first elected in 2011.

It is hoped that the Railway Street site can be used to help improve the local community and support other green projects in the area.

[25] According to the project website, plans could include a sustainable community hub building for workshops and events as well as affordable shipping containers for small businesses.

Food growing and composting areas, bee hives and other wildlife habitats could also be created on the land to support local biodiversity and outdoor play and learning.

The latter was re-located to the Cardiff Royal Infirmary after the previous branch library building on Newport Road was closed due to prohibitive renovation costs.