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Lisvane
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 Church Road, Lisvane | |
  Lisvane Location withinCardiff | |
| Population | 3,707 (2011)[1] |
| OS grid reference | ST190830 |
| Community |
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| Principal area | |
| Preserved county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CARDIFF |
| Postcode district | CF14 |
| Dialling code | +44-29 |
| Police | South Wales |
| Fire | South Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
| Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
51°33′N3°10′W / 51.55°N 3.16°W /51.55; -3.16  Show map of the community Show map of the electoral ward | |
Lisvane (Welsh:Llys-faen) is acommunity in the north ofCardiff, the capital ofWales, located 5 miles (8 km) north of the city centre. Lisvane is generally considered to be one of the wealthiest residential areas of Wales, with many properties worth in excess of £1 million.[2] Lisvane had 3,319 residents in 2001[3] and has about 1,700 dwellings, a localvillage shop, primary school, community cabin library, park, nursery,parish church,public house,war memorial,Scout hall and community orvillage hall.
TheWelsh language name Llys-faen means 'Stone Court' (llys – court andmaen,mutated tofaen – 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 and Lliffeni. The village probably settled on the present name from around 1630.
Each early Welsh kingdom was divided into lesser administrative units,cantrefi, which were further subdivided intocymydau (commotes). 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 ofCibbwr/Kibbor was on land betweenCefn Onn ridge and the coast, and most historians agree that Llys-faen was its administrative centre, althoughRoath 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[by whom?] to be the oldest artificial feature in Lisvane, proposed by several archaeologists to be the remains of anIron Age stronghold. 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 Normanmanors that were expected to provide food for thecastle garrison atCardiff. 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 local legend thatOliver Cromwell once stayed at the Black Griffin Inn,[4] prior to theBattle of St Fagans in May 1648 and that the Cromwell family once lived there briefly. There is no evidence to support this, though Cromwell must have lodged somewhere, but it is more likely that the inn's only Cromwellian association is with soldiers of Cromwell'sNew Model Army. Cromwell was, however, of Welsh ancestry (his real name was Williams) andhis great-grandfather came from this area.
Tŷ Mawr is a historic house on the Graig slope overlooking the village. It was built as a farmhouse in the 18th to early 19th centuries[5] and was in the estate of the Lewis family. In 1900 part of the estate was let to Lisvane Golf Club, which established a 9-hole course there; but two years later, the club moved toRadyr, taking the clubhouse with them. From just after theSecond World War, thefox hounds of the local Lisvane Hunt were kennelled at Tŷ Mawr until it became apublic house in the 1960s.
The Llanishen and Lisvane Hunt had several homes over the years, with the hunts most recently setting off from Llan Farm on Graig Llwyn Road. The village hunt disbanded around 1997 on the death of the hunt's Master.
There is a local tradition that for a period during the 1800s, Erw-wen, on Rudry Road, was also apub or beer house, possibly called the Red Cow, although no documentary proof has been found.
A few yards away from theOrdnance Survey'striangulation point on the Graig stands Lisvane's onlyCold Warnuclear bunker. DuringWorld War II theRoyal 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 GermanLuftwaffe raids approaching across the channel[clarification needed][Bristol Channel?] and activated the air raid warnings in the Cardiff area. In early 1966 a protected nuclearfallout shelter (or bunker) was completed on the site for the ROC (at OS Grid Ref: ST 1898 8508); by the 1960s they 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 ofnuclear war.
The only time observers were mobilised, and volunteers spent nearly ten days underground, was during theCuban Missile Crisis as the government prepared the country for the 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 theCold War and as a result of recommendations in the government'sOptions 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.
Several properties in Lisvane are listed for their historical and architectural significance byCadw.Tŷ Gwyn on Lisvane Road was built as the personal residence of builder James E. Turner of E. Turner and Sons and is listed Grade II. The firm was responsible for much of the construction of Cardiff'sCathays Park civic centre.[6] It was latterly the home of financierJulian Hodge.[7] Lisvane House on Mill Road was built in theArts and Crafts style by architect Edwin Seward.[8] The Dingle is toward the upper end of Mill Road. It was designed byPercy Thomas, and is also listed Grade II.[9]
The village has an electedcommunity council which is funded by a precept on council tax bills in the local area. It provides support to a number of community services. The council currently has ten councillors (9 Independent, 1 Conservative) with elections held every five years. The last election was held at the same time as the2017 Cardiff Council election and the next election is due in May 2022.[10][out of date]
Since 1999 theelectoral ward of Lisvane has elected one councillor toCardiff Council, namely David Walker for theConservative Party.[11] Before 1999, Lisvane was, withSt Mellons andPontprennau, part of the ward ofLisvane and St Mellons, which elected a single councillor to Cardiff Council. At the1995 election, Lisvane and St Mellons was the only ward in Cardiff to elect a Conservative councillor.[11] By 1999, the growth of Pontprennau led to the establishment of a separate ward ofPontprennau and Old St. Mellons, which elects two councillors, and Lisvane became a ward on its own.
The ward was bounded by those ofCaerphilly county borough to the north;Pontprennau & Old St. Mellons to the east;Pentwyn to the southeast;Llanishen andCyncoed to the south; andRhiwbina to the west.
Following a boundary review and a projected population increase, the new community ofThornhill will be transferred from theLlanishen ward to Lisvane, effective from the2022 Cardiff Council election.[out of date] The ward will be renamed "Lisvane and Thornhill" and elect three councillors.[12]
TheSenedd representative for Cardiff North is Welsh Labour MSJulie Morgan.
Lisvane lies within the parliamentary constituency ofCardiff North, which has been represented since 2017 byAnna McMorrin (Labour).
The surroundingsoils 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 byalluvial deposits from the meandering River Taff and other smaller tributaries. The substratum under the whole area is alimestone and lime shale that was likely laid down under a warm ocean at some stage in the distant past and subsequently ground down byglaciers during thelast ice age around 18,000 years ago.
The neighbouring suburbs areLlanishen to the south, Thornhill to the west,Pontprennau to the east, and Lisvane's effective northern border is theM4 motorway. The M4 corridor around Cardiff was announced in 1971 as a replacement for a northern link road that had been proposed since 1947 but never built. The northern 'Lisvane route' for the M4 was eventually chosen after a number of public enquiries and objections from village residents. The new motorway was completed and opened in July 1980.
The Graig is a hill situated north of Lisvane. It borders onCaerphilly. There is also a quarry near the Graig which is now abandoned. TheRhymney Valley Ridgeway Walk runs along the top of the Graig, and has some very good walks andmountain biking routes. Particular favourites for locals include routes to the east toRudry and the Maenllwyd Inn, and to the west toCaerphilly mountain, The Travellers Rest, and further on toTongwynlais,Castell Coch and theTaff Trail.
TheUnited Kingdom Census 2011 showed that the total population of Lisvane was 3,707. The average age was 44.6 years old and 69% of the adult population were married.
Of the 3,707 total, children under the age of 19 accounted for 864 and people over the age of 65 totalled 866.
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 92.6% of the residents; of the remainder 4.2% were Asian, 0.5% Chinese, 1.5% were of mixed race and 0.2% were Black.[Sums to 99%. What about the other 1%?]
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 commute daily to work in Bristol or London.
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Corpus Christi High School is the only secondary school located within Lisvane, just on its boundary with the ward ofCyncoed. However, school age residents fall into the catchment area forLlanishen High School in the ward ofLlanishen, which is more accessible.
Llysfaen Primary School serves the local population of 4- to 11-year-olds.
St Denys' Church (Church in Wales) in the centre of the village was built in the 12th[13] century and remodelled several times since.[14] Thelisted building is notable for the imposing and unusual tower with a pitched roof but lacks the normalNormancastellations.
The firstBaptist 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. Lisvane Baptist church now meets in the Memorial Hall on Heol-y-Delyn Road.[15] Methodist services are also held in the Memorial Hall.
Howell Harris, one of the most famous pioneerCalvinistic Methodist ministers, preached regularly during meetings held at several private houses in Lisvane between 1766 and 1769, just before his death.
LisvaneCricket Club was formed in 1976. The club is now based at Llwynarthen in nearby St Mellons. They run 5 adult league sides, with the 1st XI playing in the South East Wales Cricket League Division 1, as well as running youth sides from Under 9 to Under 19.
Lisvane Panthers JuniorFootball Club fields sides in the under 8 Mini league, the Juniors at 11 – under 16 and an over 16 youth team.
Lisvane PanthersFootball Club, home groundCardiff University pitches in Llanrumney, entered the Lazarou League in 2011. The team won three league and cup doubles (Division 4 in 2012, Division 3 in 2013, Division 2 in 2014) as well as reaching consecutive Lazarou Cup finals in 2013 and 2014.
Lisvane (CAC) Tennis Club is located just north ofLisvane and Thornhill railway station and is the tennis section of theCardiff Athletic Club.
The nearestrugby union team is in nearby Llanishen.
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The area is served byLisvane & Thornhill railway station with services northbound toRhymney and southbound toCardiff Central viaCardiff Queen Street.
Cardiff Bus operates services 27 (Thornhill/Birchgrove/Heath/Cathays), 28 (Llanishen/Roath), and 86 (Llanishen/Heath/Gabalfa/Cathays) fromCardiff Central bus station through the area.
There are twopubs in Lisvane; theTy Mawr and theBlack Griffin, named after the Tredegar House Morgan family's arms that featured agryphon, sable, segreant, and only recently returned to its traditional name having been called simplyThe Griffin for many years. There is a third pub calledThe Old Cottage just across the railway line that dividesThornhill and Lisvane.
A kilometre from the centre of the village isParc Cefn Onn or Cefn Onn Country Park, an extensive mixed speciesarboretum, 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 nearCefn Onn Halt, at the time Lisvane's tiny "request only" and underused railway station, which 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 andCaerphilly mountain.
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