Lisvane
Encyclopedia
Lisvane is an affluent community
in the north of Cardiff
, the capital of Wales
, located 5 miles (8 km) north of the city centre. Lisvane is one of the most desirable areas of both Cardiff and Wales, and as of 2011, has an average house price £410,000 with many properties worth in excess of £1 million. Lisvane has 3,319 residents, and comprises approximately 1,700 dwellings, a local village shop, a primary school, a community cabin library, a park, a nursery, a parish church
, a public house, a war memorial
, a Scout
hall and community or village hall
.
name Llysfaen, or Llys Faen means ‘Stone Court’ (llys – court and faen/maen – stone). There have been several alternative spellings in the English language
over the centuries such as: Lysvayen, Lucyvene, Llisuine, Lyssefayn, Lysfayn, Lucyvine, Lucyvenye, Lucyveny, Leysvayen, Les Ffayne, Lliffeni. The village probably settled on the present name from around 1630.
Each early Welsh kingdom was divided into lesser administrative units, Cantrefs, which were further subdivided into Cymydau (commote
s). In each commote the royal taxation house was a large building made almost certainly of stone because it had to be permanent, weather proof and thief proof. The commote of Cibbwr/Kibbor was on land between Cefn Onn ridge and the coast and most historians agree that Llysfaen was its administrative centre, however Roath
has also staked a claim. There is now no indication of the actual whereabouts of the Llys Faen or Stone Court, although various theories have been advanced.
The earthworks at Graig Llwyn is held to be the oldest man-made feature in Lisvane, proposed by several archeologists to be the remains of an Iron Age
stronghold. Unfortunately no definite date or purpose can yet be confirmed for this earthwork.
At the start of the 13th century the parish
lands of Llanishen and Lisvane had been divided into Norman manors
that were expected to provide food for the castle
garrisoned at Cardiff
. The southern facing slopes of the ridge above Lisvane with their rich agricultural land soon became the grain growing area for the supplies which were transported to Roath Mill for processing.
There is a persisting local oral legend that the Cromwell family once lived briefly in the Black Griffin Inn, and also that Oliver Cromwell
stayed there prior to the Battle of St Fagans in May 1648. There is no actual evidence to support this, and he must have lodged somewhere, but it is more likely that the Inn’s only Cromwellian association is with soldiers of Cromwell’s Model army
. Cromwell was, however, of Welsh ancestry (his real name was Williams) and his great-grandfather came from this area.
, taking the clubhouse with them. From just after the Second World War, the fox hounds of the local Lisvane Hunt were kennelled at Tŷ Mawr until it became a public house
in the 1960s.
The Llanishen and Lisvane Hunt had several homes over the years with the hunts most latterly setting off from Llan Farm on Graig Llwyn Road. The village hunt disbanded around 1997 on the death of the then hunt Master, thereby anticipating the ban on fox hunting by nearly a decade.
There is a local tradition that for a period during the 1800s, Erw-wen, on Rudry Road, was also a pub or beer house, possibly called the Red Cow, although no documentary proof has yet been found.
Chapel in Lisvane was built in 1789 on Chapel Road, now renamed Rudry Road, and only stood for less than thirty years until it had to be rebuilt during 1818. Less than forty years later the foundations of the second church were becoming unsafe and a third chapel was constructed, but by 1910 further renovations and repairs were necessary as it had become dilapidated. Just a hundred years later the Methodist congregation no longer supports a separate chapel building and now holds its weekly services in the Memorial Hall.
's triangulation point on the Graig stands Lisvane’s only cold war
nuclear bunker. During World War II
the Royal Observer Corps
(ROC) observation post stood on the Graig with its clear views over the village and the city of Cardiff. The volunteer ROC observers spotted many German Luftwaffe
raids approaching across the channel and activated the air raid warnings in the Cardiff area. In early 1966 a protected nuclear fallout shelter
(or bunker) was completed on the site for the ROC (OS Grid Ref: ST 1898 8508), who by the 1960s had switched from above ground aircraft spotting to underground operations with instruments to detect nuclear explosions and warn the public of approaching radioactive fallout in the event of nuclear war.
The only time post members had been mobilised and volunteers spent nearly ten days underground was during the Cuban Missile Crisis
as the government prepared the country for potential outbreak of war. The Lisvane nuclear bunker was abandoned by the ROC in 1991 when the Corps itself was disbanded with the end of the Cold War
and as a result of recommendations in the governments Options for Change
review of UK defence. The Lisvane nuclear bunker still exists but it was purchased by a mobile phone communications company who built a radio mast inside the fenced compound and sited some of their equipment in the underground facility.
with ten elected members.
It is represented by Conservatives on the city council.
.
- The current MP is Jonathan Evans (Conservatives).
The ward of Lisvane elects a single councillor to Cardiff Council
. Before 1999, Lisvane was, with Old St. Mellons and Pontprennau, part of the ward of Lisvane and Old St.Mellons, which elected a single councillor to Cardiff Council. In 1995, Lisvane and Old St. Mellons was the only ward in Cardiff to elect a Conservative councillor. By 1999, the growth of Pontprennau led to the establishment of a separate ward of Pontprennau and Old St. Mellons, which elects two councillors, and Lisvane became a ward on its own.
The ward is bounded by those of Caerphilly county borough
to the north; Pontprennau & Old St. Mellons
to the east; Pentwyn
to the southeast; Llanishen
and Cyncoed
to the south; and Rhiwbina
to the west.
s are mostly a strong, brown, dry earth, well adapted for arable farming and the growing of grains of all kinds that contributed to the area being a mostly farming community until the modern era. Soils were further enriched over the millennia by alluvial deposits
from the meandering River Taff and other smaller tributaries. The substratum under the whole area is a limestone
and lime shale that was likely laid down under a warm ocean at some stage in the distant past and subsequently ground down by glacier
s during the last ice age
around 18,000 years ago.
s are Llanishen
to the south, Thornhill to the west and Lisvane's effective northern border is the M4 motorway
. The M4 corridor around Cardiff was announced in 1971 as a replacement for a northern link road that had been on the statutes since 1947 but never built. The northern 'Lisvane route' for the M4 was eventually chosen after a number of noisy public enquiries and active objections from village residents. The new motorway was completed and opened in July 1980.
. There is also a quarry near the Graig which is now abandoned. The Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Walk
runs along the top of the Graig, and has some very good walks and mountain biking
routes. Particular favourites for locals include routes to the east to Rudry
and the Maenllwyd Inn, and to the west to Caerphilly mountain
, The Travellers Rest, and further on to Tongwynlais
, Castell Coch
and the Taff Trail
.
demographically showed that the total population
of Lisvane was 3,320 which represented a seventy eight percent increase since 1971 but down by 30 since the previous 1991 Census
. The average age was 42.3 years old and 66% of the adult population were married.
Of the 3,320 total, children under the age of 19 accounted for 711 and people over the age of sixty five totalled 877.
Only 1,515 were in full time employment and 188 of those worked exclusively from home. Of those that travelled to their place of employment 1,090 drove by private car, 74 travelled by train and 43 by bus, 34 walked, 9 cycled and 77 travelled as passengers in other vehicles.
The white population accounted for 95.5% (3,158) of the residents and of the remainder 2.4% (77) were Asian, 1.23% (39) Chinese, 0.8% (25) were of mixed race and 0.07% (21) were Black.
Following improvements in the road and rail infrastructure some Lisvane residents even commute daily to work in Bristol and London.
within Lisvane and school age residents fall into the catchment area for Llanishen High School
in the neighbouring district.
Llysfaen Primary School serves the local population of 4-11 year olds.
Lisvane houses Corpus Christi Catholic High School in which children from all over Cardiff can attend (Catholic or not). At the moment the school has over 1,000 pupils and is growing in size. The school is also raising money for a new sports/theatre hall which hopes to be up and running before 2015.
Lisvane has two active churches that meet for a range of weekly services in the village:
Originally built in the 14th century and remodelled several times since, St Denys Church is an Anglican church which holds both traditional liturgical and modern services. The congregation meets in the Listed Church Building, which is notable for the imposing and unusual tower with a pitched roof but lacking the normal Norman
castellations, located just opposite the Black Griffin pub in the centre of the village.
Lisvane Baptist
church meets in the Memorial Hall on Heol-y-Delyn road.
The churches hold a joint evening service together on those months which have 5th Sunday in them.
On a historical note Howell Harris
, one of the most famous pioneer Calvinistic Methodist ministers, preached regularly during meetings held at several private houses in Lisvane between 1766–1769, just before his death.
club was formed in 1979. The club is now based at Llynarthen in nearby St Mellons.
Lisvane Panthers Junior Football
Club fields sides in the under 8 Mini league, the Juniors at 11 - under16 and an over 16 youth team.
Lisvane Tennis Club is located just north of Lisvane and Thornhill railway station
and is the tennis section of the Cardiff Athletic Club
.
The nearest rugby union
team is in nearby Llanishen.
The area is served by Lisvane and Thornhill railway station
with services northbound to Rhymney
and southbound to Cardiff Central
via Cardiff Queen Street.
Cardiff Bus
operates services 27 (Thornhill/Birchgrove/Heath/Cathays), 28 (Llanishen/Roath), 85 (Thornhill/Heath), 85A (Heath) and 86 (Llanishen/Heath/Gabalfa/Cathays) from Cardiff central bus station
through the area.
There are two pubs in Lisvane; the Ty Mawr and the Black Griffin, named after the Tredegar House Morgan family's arms that featured a gryphon, sable, segreant
, and only recently returned to its traditional name having been called simply The Griffin for many years. There is a third pub called The Old Cottage just across the railway line that divides Thornhill and Lisvane. This pub is usually frequented by both Thornhill and Lisvane residents living nearby. The Old Cottage does however stand just within the official boundary line of the Lisvane Community Council.
Just a kilometre from the centre of the village is Parc Cefn Onn or Cefn Onn Country Park an extensive mixed species arboretum
, with lakes and woodland
walks. The park was laid out around ninety years ago and planted by the railway manager who lived in a large estate near Cefn Onn Halt, at the time Lisvane's tiny "request only" and underused railway station, that closed in 1985 when it was replaced by the current modern railway station closer to the village. Cefn Onn Halt stood a hundred metres away from the railway tunnel that vanishes under Llanishen Golf Club and Caerphilly
mountain.
Community (Wales)
A community is a division of land in Wales that forms the lowest-tier of local government in Wales. Welsh communities are analogous to civil parishes in England....
in the north of Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, the capital of Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, located 5 miles (8 km) north of the city centre. Lisvane is one of the most desirable areas of both Cardiff and Wales, and as of 2011, has an average house price £410,000 with many properties worth in excess of £1 million. Lisvane has 3,319 residents, and comprises approximately 1,700 dwellings, a local village shop, a primary school, a community cabin library, a park, a nursery, a parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
, a public house, a war memorial
War memorial
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or to commemorate those who died or were injured in war.-Historic usage:...
, a Scout
Scouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....
hall and community or village hall
Village hall
In the United States, a village hall is the seat of government for villages. It functions much as a city hall does within cities.In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building within a village which contains at least one large room, usually owned by and run for the benefit of the local...
.
Early history
The Welsh languageWelsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
name Llysfaen, or Llys Faen means ‘Stone Court’ (llys – court and faen/maen – stone). There have been several alternative spellings in the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
over the centuries such as: Lysvayen, Lucyvene, Llisuine, Lyssefayn, Lysfayn, Lucyvine, Lucyvenye, Lucyveny, Leysvayen, Les Ffayne, Lliffeni. The village probably settled on the present name from around 1630.
Each early Welsh kingdom was divided into lesser administrative units, Cantrefs, which were further subdivided into Cymydau (commote
Commote
A commote , sometimes spelt in older documents as cymwd, was a secular division of land in Medieval Wales. The word derives from the prefix cym- and the noun bod...
s). In each commote the royal taxation house was a large building made almost certainly of stone because it had to be permanent, weather proof and thief proof. The commote of Cibbwr/Kibbor was on land between Cefn Onn ridge and the coast and most historians agree that Llysfaen was its administrative centre, however Roath
Roath
Roath is a district in the east/north-east of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales.It lies just east/north east of the city centre, stretching from Adamsdown in the south to Roath Park in the north. Roath contains the Plasnewydd electoral ward. The name is believed to originate from Irish ráth,...
has also staked a claim. There is now no indication of the actual whereabouts of the Llys Faen or Stone Court, although various theories have been advanced.
The earthworks at Graig Llwyn is held to be the oldest man-made feature in Lisvane, proposed by several archeologists to be the remains of an Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
stronghold. Unfortunately no definite date or purpose can yet be confirmed for this earthwork.
At the start of the 13th century the parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
lands of Llanishen and Lisvane had been divided into Norman manors
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
that were expected to provide food for the castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
garrisoned at Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
. The southern facing slopes of the ridge above Lisvane with their rich agricultural land soon became the grain growing area for the supplies which were transported to Roath Mill for processing.
There is a persisting local oral legend that the Cromwell family once lived briefly in the Black Griffin Inn, and also that Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
stayed there prior to the Battle of St Fagans in May 1648. There is no actual evidence to support this, and he must have lodged somewhere, but it is more likely that the Inn’s only Cromwellian association is with soldiers of Cromwell’s Model army
New Model Army
The New Model Army of England was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, and was disbanded in 1660 after the Restoration...
. Cromwell was, however, of Welsh ancestry (his real name was Williams) and his great-grandfather came from this area.
The Tŷ Mawr
The farmhouse, on the Graig slope overlooking the village, was included in the estate of the Lewis family. In 1900 part of the estate was let to Lisvane Golf Club, who established a 9-hole course there but two years later, the club moved to RadyrRadyr
Radyr is an outer suburb of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The suburb is situated in the west of the city, although it was originally a separate village, and is located around 5 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. According to 2009 estimates, the suburb has a population of 6,000...
, taking the clubhouse with them. From just after the Second World War, the fox hounds of the local Lisvane Hunt were kennelled at Tŷ Mawr until it became a public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
in the 1960s.
The Llanishen and Lisvane Hunt had several homes over the years with the hunts most latterly setting off from Llan Farm on Graig Llwyn Road. The village hunt disbanded around 1997 on the death of the then hunt Master, thereby anticipating the ban on fox hunting by nearly a decade.
There is a local tradition that for a period during the 1800s, Erw-wen, on Rudry Road, was also a pub or beer house, possibly called the Red Cow, although no documentary proof has yet been found.
Methodist Church
The Methodist Church in Lisvane seems to have had a history of building churches that do not last very well or are poorly maintained. Unlike the Norman parish church of St Denys that has stood for over seven hundred years, the first BaptistBaptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
Chapel in Lisvane was built in 1789 on Chapel Road, now renamed Rudry Road, and only stood for less than thirty years until it had to be rebuilt during 1818. Less than forty years later the foundations of the second church were becoming unsafe and a third chapel was constructed, but by 1910 further renovations and repairs were necessary as it had become dilapidated. Just a hundred years later the Methodist congregation no longer supports a separate chapel building and now holds its weekly services in the Memorial Hall.
Lisvane and the Cold War
A few yards away from the Ordnance SurveyOrdnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
's triangulation point on the Graig stands Lisvane’s only cold war
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
nuclear bunker. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the Royal Observer Corps
Royal Observer Corps
The Royal Observer Corps was a civil defence organisation operating in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down....
(ROC) observation post stood on the Graig with its clear views over the village and the city of Cardiff. The volunteer ROC observers spotted many German Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
raids approaching across the channel and activated the air raid warnings in the Cardiff area. In early 1966 a protected nuclear fallout shelter
Fallout shelter
A fallout shelter is an enclosed space specially designed to protect occupants from radioactive debris or fallout resulting from a nuclear explosion. Many such shelters were constructed as civil defense measures during the Cold War....
(or bunker) was completed on the site for the ROC (OS Grid Ref: ST 1898 8508), who by the 1960s had switched from above ground aircraft spotting to underground operations with instruments to detect nuclear explosions and warn the public of approaching radioactive fallout in the event of nuclear war.
The only time post members had been mobilised and volunteers spent nearly ten days underground was during the Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
as the government prepared the country for potential outbreak of war. The Lisvane nuclear bunker was abandoned by the ROC in 1991 when the Corps itself was disbanded with the end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
and as a result of recommendations in the governments Options for Change
Options for Change
Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in 1990, aimed at cutting defence spending following the end of the Cold War....
review of UK defence. The Lisvane nuclear bunker still exists but it was purchased by a mobile phone communications company who built a radio mast inside the fenced compound and sited some of their equipment in the underground facility.
Community Council
The village has an elected community councilCommunity council
A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain.In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies...
with ten elected members.
It is represented by Conservatives on the city council.
Welsh Assembly
The Welsh Assembly representative for Cardiff North is Welsh Labour AM Julie MorganJulie Morgan
Julie Morgan AM is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Cardiff North from 1997 until 2010; she is married to former First Minister of Wales, Rhodri Morgan. Julie Morgan won the Cardiff North seat in the Welsh Assembly in the 2011 elections.-Early life,...
.
Westminster
The electoral ward of Lisvane falls within the parliamentary constituency of Cardiff NorthCardiff North (UK Parliament constituency)
Cardiff North is aborough constituency in the city of Cardiff. It returns one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system....
- The current MP is Jonathan Evans (Conservatives).
The ward of Lisvane elects a single councillor to Cardiff Council
Cardiff Council
The County Council of the City and County of Cardiff is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The council consists of 75 councillors, representing 29 electoral wards. The authority is properly styled as The County Council of the City and County of Cardiff or in...
. Before 1999, Lisvane was, with Old St. Mellons and Pontprennau, part of the ward of Lisvane and Old St.Mellons, which elected a single councillor to Cardiff Council. In 1995, Lisvane and Old St. Mellons was the only ward in Cardiff to elect a Conservative councillor. By 1999, the growth of Pontprennau led to the establishment of a separate ward of Pontprennau and Old St. Mellons, which elects two councillors, and Lisvane became a ward on its own.
The ward is bounded by those of Caerphilly county borough
Caerphilly (county borough)
Caerphilly is a county borough in southern Wales, straddling the ancient county boundary between Glamorgan and Monmouthshire.Its main town is Caerphilly, and also the largest...
to the north; Pontprennau & Old St. Mellons
Pontprennau & Old St. Mellons
Pontprennau & Old St Mellons is an electoral ward located in the north-east of Cardiff Wales. It has a population that probably now exceeds 10,000 people due to sustained housebuilding in the Pontprennau section of the division, which is likely to continue for the next 10 years as a major urban...
to the east; Pentwyn
Pentwyn, Cardiff
Pentwyn is a district in the east of Cardiff, Wales, located northeast of the city centre.- Amenities :Pentwyn has three pubs : The Village Inn, Hollybush and The Grand Slam. Pentwyn has its own shopping centre which has a Post Office, newsagent, fish and chips Shop, Pentwyn Balti, Betfred and the...
to the southeast; Llanishen
Llanishen
Llanishen is a district in the north of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. Llanishen is well-known as the home of the 'Tax Offices', the tallest buildings in north Cardiff and a landmark for miles around...
and Cyncoed
Cyncoed
Cyncoed is a community in the north of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales. Located in the north east of the city, Cyncoed is one of the most affluent suburbs of Cardiff, and of Wales in general. It has some of the highest property prices in Wales...
to the south; and Rhiwbina
Rhiwbina
Rhiwbina is a prosperous northern suburb of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It used to be a separate village: its core is still locally called "the village" and is given a Welsh village appearance by Beulah United Reformed Church at the village crossroads.Capel Beulah/Beulah URC was a daughter chapel...
to the west.
Geological structure
The surrounding soilSoil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
s are mostly a strong, brown, dry earth, well adapted for arable farming and the growing of grains of all kinds that contributed to the area being a mostly farming community until the modern era. Soils were further enriched over the millennia by alluvial deposits
Alluvium
Alluvium is loose, unconsolidated soil or sediments, eroded, deposited, and reshaped by water in some form in a non-marine setting. Alluvium is typically made up of a variety of materials, including fine particles of silt and clay and larger particles of sand and gravel...
from the meandering River Taff and other smaller tributaries. The substratum under the whole area is a limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
and lime shale that was likely laid down under a warm ocean at some stage in the distant past and subsequently ground down by glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
s during the last ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
around 18,000 years ago.
M4 motorway
The neighbouring suburbSuburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s are Llanishen
Llanishen
Llanishen is a district in the north of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. Llanishen is well-known as the home of the 'Tax Offices', the tallest buildings in north Cardiff and a landmark for miles around...
to the south, Thornhill to the west and Lisvane's effective northern border is the M4 motorway
M4 motorway
The M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...
. The M4 corridor around Cardiff was announced in 1971 as a replacement for a northern link road that had been on the statutes since 1947 but never built. The northern 'Lisvane route' for the M4 was eventually chosen after a number of noisy public enquiries and active objections from village residents. The new motorway was completed and opened in July 1980.
The Graig
The Graig Hill is situated north of Lisvane. It borders on CaerphillyCaerphilly
Caerphilly is a town in the county borough of Caerphilly, south Wales, located at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley, with a population of approximately 31,000. It is a commuter town of Cardiff and Newport, which are located some 7.5 miles and 12 miles away, respectively...
. There is also a quarry near the Graig which is now abandoned. The Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Walk
Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Walk
The Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Walk is a waymarked long distance footpath in the UK forming a circular walk in the Rhymney Valley area of South Wales.- The route :...
runs along the top of the Graig, and has some very good walks and mountain biking
Mountain biking
Mountain biking is a sport which consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, using specially adapted mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain.Mountain biking can...
routes. Particular favourites for locals include routes to the east to Rudry
Rudry
Rudry is a small village and community located to the east of Caerphilly in Wales. As a community Rudry contains not only the village of Rudry, but also the villages of Draethen, Garth and Waterloo....
and the Maenllwyd Inn, and to the west to Caerphilly mountain
Caerphilly mountain
Caerphilly mountain lies between Cardiff and Caerphilly at the southern edge of the South Wales coal field. It is 271 metres in height.Since 1957 there has been a small wooden Snack Bar located near to the summit. In September 2011 this is being replaced by an eco-friendly permanent building, with...
, The Travellers Rest, and further on to Tongwynlais
Tongwynlais
Tongwynlais is a village in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales, in the Taff Valley.- Overview :Tongwynlais lies in the River Taff Valley. Its population is 1946 people....
, Castell Coch
Castell Coch
Castell Coch is a 19th-century Gothic Revival castle built on the remains of a genuine 13th-century fortification. It is situated on a steep hillside high above the village of Tongwynlais, to the north of Cardiff in Wales, and is a Grade I listed building as of 28 January 1963.Designed by William...
and the Taff Trail
Taff Trail
The Taff Trail is a popular walking and cycle path that runs for between Cardiff Bay and Brecon in Wales. It is named so because it follows the course of the River Taff...
.
Demography
The United Kingdom Census 2001United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
demographically showed that the total population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of Lisvane was 3,320 which represented a seventy eight percent increase since 1971 but down by 30 since the previous 1991 Census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
. The average age was 42.3 years old and 66% of the adult population were married.
Of the 3,320 total, children under the age of 19 accounted for 711 and people over the age of sixty five totalled 877.
Only 1,515 were in full time employment and 188 of those worked exclusively from home. Of those that travelled to their place of employment 1,090 drove by private car, 74 travelled by train and 43 by bus, 34 walked, 9 cycled and 77 travelled as passengers in other vehicles.
The white population accounted for 95.5% (3,158) of the residents and of the remainder 2.4% (77) were Asian, 1.23% (39) Chinese, 0.8% (25) were of mixed race and 0.07% (21) were Black.
Economy
There are little in the way of major employers in the village. The area still has a predominantly farming economy. Some local employment is provided by the service industries of the shops and public houses. The general affluence in the village is mainly drawn from employment in the commerce and industry centre of the capital city. An increasing number of employees are working from home via high speed internet links and telephone.Following improvements in the road and rail infrastructure some Lisvane residents even commute daily to work in Bristol and London.
Landmarks
- Cefn Onn Country ParkCountry parkA country park is an area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment.-History:In the United Kingdom the term 'Country Park' has a special meaning. There are over 400 Country Parks in England alone . Most Country Parks were designated in the 1970s, under the...
- The war memorial
- St Denys Church
- Graig Llwyn earthworks
- The Graig Mountain
- Lisvane ReservoirLisvane ReservoirLisvane Reservoir is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Lisvane, Cardiff, south Wales.The reservoir is one of the reservoirs constructed as part of the Taff Fawr scheme for supplying water to Cardiff, completed in 1886...
Education
There is no secondary schoolSecondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
within Lisvane and school age residents fall into the catchment area for Llanishen High School
Llanishen High School
Llanishen High School is an English speaking-medium secondary school based in Llanishen, Cardiff, Wales and has approximately 1700 students, making it the largest single-site secondary school in Cardiff.-School buildings:...
in the neighbouring district.
Llysfaen Primary School serves the local population of 4-11 year olds.
Lisvane houses Corpus Christi Catholic High School in which children from all over Cardiff can attend (Catholic or not). At the moment the school has over 1,000 pupils and is growing in size. The school is also raising money for a new sports/theatre hall which hopes to be up and running before 2015.
Religious sites
Originally built in the 14th century and remodelled several times since, St Denys Church is an Anglican church which holds both traditional liturgical and modern services. The congregation meets in the Listed Church Building, which is notable for the imposing and unusual tower with a pitched roof but lacking the normal Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
castellations, located just opposite the Black Griffin pub in the centre of the village.
Lisvane Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
church meets in the Memorial Hall on Heol-y-Delyn road.
The churches hold a joint evening service together on those months which have 5th Sunday in them.
On a historical note Howell Harris
Howell Harris
Hywel Harris was one of the main leaders of the Welsh Methodist revival in the 18th century, along with Daniel Rowland and William Williams Pantycelyn.-Life:...
, one of the most famous pioneer Calvinistic Methodist ministers, preached regularly during meetings held at several private houses in Lisvane between 1766–1769, just before his death.
Sports and recreation
Lisvane CricketCricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
club was formed in 1979. The club is now based at Llynarthen in nearby St Mellons.
Lisvane Panthers Junior Football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
Club fields sides in the under 8 Mini league, the Juniors at 11 - under16 and an over 16 youth team.
Lisvane Tennis Club is located just north of Lisvane and Thornhill railway station
Lisvane and Thornhill railway station
Lisvane and Thornhill railway station is a railway station serving the Lisvane and Thornhill areas of north Cardiff. It is a stop on the Rhymney Line of the Valley Lines network....
and is the tennis section of the Cardiff Athletic Club
Cardiff Athletic Club
Cardiff Athletic Club is a multi-sport club in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. It is the owner of the world famous Cardiff Arms Park rugby ground, however, it is also a major shareholder of Cardiff Rugby Football Club Ltd and therefore has a large influence over the rugby club's two...
.
The nearest rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
team is in nearby Llanishen.
Public services and village facilities
Lisvane and Thornhill railway station
Lisvane and Thornhill railway station is a railway station serving the Lisvane and Thornhill areas of north Cardiff. It is a stop on the Rhymney Line of the Valley Lines network....
with services northbound to Rhymney
Rhymney railway station
Rhymney railway station serves the town of Rhymney in Wales. Situated on the Valley Lines network north of Cardiff Central, it is the terminus of the Rhymney Line....
and southbound to Cardiff Central
Cardiff Central railway station
Cardiff Central railway station is a major railway station on the South Wales Main Line in Cardiff, Wales.It is the largest and busiest station in Wales and one of the major stations of the British rail network, the tenth busiest station in the United Kingdom outside of London , based on 2007/08...
via Cardiff Queen Street.
Cardiff Bus
Cardiff Bus
Cardiff Bus is the dominant operator of bus services in Cardiff, Wales and the surrounding area, including Barry and Penarth. Its hub is Cardiff central bus station...
operates services 27 (Thornhill/Birchgrove/Heath/Cathays), 28 (Llanishen/Roath), 85 (Thornhill/Heath), 85A (Heath) and 86 (Llanishen/Heath/Gabalfa/Cathays) from Cardiff central bus station
Cardiff Central bus station
Cardiff Central bus station is the main bus transport interchange in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. With 34 stands, it is the largest bus station in the city and in Wales. It is located adjacent to Cardiff Central railway station forming a major bus-rail-cycle-taxi interchange.The station used...
through the area.
There are two pubs in Lisvane; the Ty Mawr and the Black Griffin, named after the Tredegar House Morgan family's arms that featured a gryphon, sable, segreant
Charge (heraldry)
In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon . This may be a geometric design or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object or other device...
, and only recently returned to its traditional name having been called simply The Griffin for many years. There is a third pub called The Old Cottage just across the railway line that divides Thornhill and Lisvane. This pub is usually frequented by both Thornhill and Lisvane residents living nearby. The Old Cottage does however stand just within the official boundary line of the Lisvane Community Council.
Just a kilometre from the centre of the village is Parc Cefn Onn or Cefn Onn Country Park an extensive mixed species arboretum
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
, with lakes and woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
walks. The park was laid out around ninety years ago and planted by the railway manager who lived in a large estate near Cefn Onn Halt, at the time Lisvane's tiny "request only" and underused railway station, that closed in 1985 when it was replaced by the current modern railway station closer to the village. Cefn Onn Halt stood a hundred metres away from the railway tunnel that vanishes under Llanishen Golf Club and Caerphilly
Caerphilly
Caerphilly is a town in the county borough of Caerphilly, south Wales, located at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley, with a population of approximately 31,000. It is a commuter town of Cardiff and Newport, which are located some 7.5 miles and 12 miles away, respectively...
mountain.
Notable people with Lisvane connections
- Dave EdmundsDave EdmundsDavid 'Dave' Edmunds is a Welsh singer, guitarist and record producer. Although he is primarily associated with Pub rock and New Wave, and had numerous hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has always been towards 1950s style rock and roll.-Early bands:As a teenager Edmunds first...
- the successful Welsh recording artist, popular singer, rock guitarist and high profile record producer lived in the village with his family during the 1970s and early 1980s.
- Jimmy Floyd HasselbainkJimmy Floyd HasselbainkJerrel Hasselbaink usually known as Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is a Dutch former football striker who played for various clubs in the Netherlands, Portugal, England, and Spain, as well as the Dutch national team. He scored more than 200 career goals...
- resided in Lisvane during his successful stint with Cardiff City FC during the 2007/8 season.
- Joe JacobsonJoe JacobsonJoseph Mark "Joe" Jacobson is a Welsh footballer who plays for Shrewsbury Town. He is the former captain of the Wales U21 team, and is also a former captain of the Cardiff City reserve team.- Cardiff City :...
- former resident of Lisvane. A graduate of the Cardiff City FC academy, currently a footballer for Shrewsbury Town FC and former captain of Wales under 21s.
- Nigel WalkerNigel WalkerNigel Walker is a former Welsh athlete and Wales international rugby union player. He is currently National Director at the . He was born in Cardiff....
- former Welsh athlete and Wales international rugby union player. He is currently Head of Internal Communications at BBC Wales. Now resides in Lisvane.
- Andrew Moore (rugby player)Andrew Moore (rugby player)Not to be confused with Andy Moore, the scrum-half who also played for Wales.Andrew 'Andy' P Moore is a former Wales international rugby union player. A lock forward, he played his club rugby for Swansea RFC, Bridgend RFC and Cardiff Blues and was in the Wales squad for the 1995 Rugby World Cup...
- former Wales international rugby union player. Now resides in Lisvane.
- John Winterson RichardsJohn Winterson RichardsJohn Winterson Richards is a Welsh entrepreneur, writer, and former local councillor.-Biography:Born in St David’s Hospital, Cardiff, he is the son of the late Alun Thomas Richards, a solicitor, and the late Patricia Winterson Richards, an antiques dealer...
- City Councillor for Lisvane, 1986–1999, and at one time the only Conservative on Cardiff Council. Resides in Lisvane.
- Chandra WickramasingheChandra WickramasingheVidya Jothi Nalin Chandra Wickramasinghe , FIMA, FRAS, FRSA is Professor at Cardiff University and Honorary Professor at the University of Buckingham. He is the Director of the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology...
FIMA, FRAS, FRSA - Professor of Applied Mathematics and Astronomy at Cardiff University. Resides in Lisvane.
- Bernard KnightBernard KnightProfessor Bernard Knight, CBE, became a Home Office pathologist in 1965 and was appointed Professor of Forensic Pathology, University of Wales College of Medicine, in 1980. He was awarded the CBE in 1993 for services to forensic medicine....
CBE - Professor of Forensic Pathology at the University of Wales Collge of Medicine, and historical crime writer. Resides in Lisvane.
- Gwilym JonesGwilym JonesGwilym Hayden Jones is a British Conservative politician. At the 1983 general election, he was elected as Member of Parliament for Cardiff North, retained his seat until the 1997 election, when was defeated by Labour's Julie Morgan...
- Member of Parliament for Cardiff North, 1983–1997, and Under Secretary of State for Wales, 1992 - 1997. Resides in Lisvane.
- Sir Julian HodgeJulian HodgeSir Julian Hodge was a London-born entrepreneur and banker who lived in Wales for most of his life, from the age of five. He formed the Bank of Wales , and later the Julian Hodge Bank in Cardiff.- Background and beginnings :As the son of a plumber, he came from humble beginnings...
(1904–2004) - founder of the Bank of Wales and the Jane Hodge Foundation. Owned a mansion in Lisvane; however, later resided abroad.
- Mark Williams (snooker player)Mark Williams (snooker player)Mark James Williams, MBE is a Welsh professional snooker player who has been World Champion twice, in 2000 and 2003. Often noted for his single-ball potting, he has earned the nickname, The Welsh Potting Machine...
- the former 2000 and 2003 World Snooker ChampionshipWorld Snooker ChampionshipThe World Snooker Championship is the leading professional snooker tournament in terms of both prize money and ranking points. The first championship was held in 1927; since 1977, it has been played at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England...
winner resided in Lisvane during the early 2000s.
- David HasselhoffDavid HasselhoffDavid Michael Hasselhoff is an American actor, singer, producer and businessman. He is best known for his lead roles as Michael Knight in the popular 1980s US series Knight Rider and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the series Baywatch...
- in July 2011, the American actor and producer visited the local public house, The Black Griffin, fuelling rumours that he was considering a move to Lisvane.
- John TabatabaiJohn TabatabaiJohn Tabatabai is a Welsh professional poker player based in London, England. He was the runner-up to Norwegian poker player Annette Obrestad in the first World Series of Poker Europe Main Event. He is currently sponsored by Betfair....
- LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
based graduate of The University of Reading lived in Lisvane before embarking on a career as a professional poker player. John's family still reside in Lisvane.