Llandaff
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|---|---|
 Llandaff Cathedral | |
  Llandaff Location withinCardiff | |
| Population | 8,997 (2011)[1] |
| Community |
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| Principal area | |
| Preserved county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CARDIFF |
| Postcode district | CF5 |
| Dialling code | 029 |
| Police | South Wales |
| Fire | South Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
51°29′36″N3°12′48″W / 51.49333°N 3.21333°W /51.49333; -3.21333  Show map of the community Show map of the electoral ward | |
Llandaff (/lænˈdæf/;Welsh:Llandaf[ɬanˈdaːv]; fromllan 'church' andTaf) is a district,community and coterminouselectoral ward in the north ofCardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of theBishop of Llandaff, whosediocese within theChurch in Wales covers the most populous area of Wales.
Most of the history of Llandaff centres on its role as a religious site. Before the creation ofLlandaff Cathedral, it became established as a Christian place of worship in the 6th century AD, probably because of its location as the first firm ground north of the point where the river Taff met theBristol Channel, and because of its pre-Christian location as a river crossing on a north–southtrade route. Evidence of Romano-British ritual burials have been found under the present cathedral. The date of the moving of thecathedral to Llandaff is disputed, but elements of the fabric date from the 12th century, such as the impressive Romanesque Urban Arch, named after the 12th century Bishop, Urban. It has had a history of continual destruction and restoration, as a result of warfare, neglect, and natural disaster. Llandaff has been a focal point of devastating attacks byOwain Glyndŵr andOliver Cromwell. It was the second most damaged cathedral in the UK (afterCoventry Cathedral), followingLuftwaffe bombing duringWorld War II, and subsequently restored by thearchitectGeorge Pace. One of its main modern points of interest is thealuminium figure ofChrist in Majesty (1954–5), byJacob Epstein, which is suspended above thenave. In 2007, a lightning strike to its spire sent a surge through the building; which destroyed its organ. Its replacement, the largest to be built in the UK for over 40 years, was inaugurated in 2010.
TheBishop's Palace, also known as Llandaff Castle or Bishop's Castle[2][3] now in ruins, lies to the south of the cathedral. It is believed it was constructed at a similar date toCaerphilly Castle, in the late 13th century. It is also believed it was abandoned after being attacked and damaged by Glyndŵr in the 15th century.[4] The gatehouse of the Palace survives, and the courtyard is now a public garden.[4]
Llandaff never developed into a charteredborough, and by the 19th century, was described as "reduced to a mere village... It consists of little more than two short streets of cottages, not lighted or paved, terminating in a square, into which the great gateway of the old palace formerly opened, and where are still several genteel houses."[5]
Historically, Llandaff was informally known as a 'city', because of its status as the seat of theBishop of Llandaff. Thiscity status was never officially recognised, largely because the community did not possess a charter of incorporation.[6] The ancientparish of Llandaff included a wide area. Apart from Llandaff itself, it included the townships ofCanton,Ely,Fairwater, andGabalfa.
During the development of theSouth Wales coalfield andCardiff Docks, the parish was gradually absorbed into theBorough of Cardiff during the 19th and 20th centuries. Seen as a clean and green up-market countrified village location close to the fast developing city, many of the better-offcoal merchants and business people chose to live in Llandaff, including theInsole family. The house now known asInsole Court dates originally from 1856. Llandaff itself became acivil parish, and from 1894 to 1922, was part of the Llandaff andDinas Powis Rural District. On 9 November 1922, thecounty borough of Cardiff was extended to include the area.[7]
At theUnited Kingdom Census 2011, the population of the Llandaff was 8,997; of whom 4,309 were male, and 4,688 female.[1] 91.6% were recorded as being of various whiteethnicities.[8] Approximately 65% of the population were returned asChristian, with about 1.5% each beingHindu orMuslim, and 30% having no religion or no stated religion.[9]
In the2011 census, 15.3% of the population over 3 years old in Llandaff were recorded as speaking Welsh, or 1,337 people. This was a small drop compared to the2001 census figure, which was 15.4%.[10][11]
Broadcasting House in Llandaff was the headquarters ofBBC Cymru Wales untilit relocated to Central Square in Cardiff between October 2019 and July 2020.
Research byOwen John Thomas shows the historical strength of the Welsh language in Llandaff. According to his bookYr Iaith Gymraeg yng Nghaerdydd c. 1800–1914 (The Welsh language in Cardiffc. 1800–1914), the nonconformist church in Cardiff Road was a Welsh-language church in 1813. His work also shows that Welsh was the main language of the street in Llandaff in the 17th century.[citation needed]
Llandaff is both anelectoral ward, and acommunity (Welsh:cymuned) of theCity of Cardiff. There is nocommunity council for the area. The electoral ward of Llandaff is bounded byRadyr & Morganstown to the north west;Llandaff North to the north;Riverside to the south east;Canton to the south; andFairwater to the west. The ward is represented by two councillors onCardiff Council, Sean Driscoll and Peter Huw Jenkins, the former is a member of theConservative Party, the latter is a member of theLabour Party.[12]
In theUK Parliament, Llandaff is part of the constituency ofCardiff West. Its most prominent MPs were formerSpeaker of the House of Commons;George Thomas, and formerFirst Minister of Wales andWelsh Labour Party leaderRhodri Morgan.
In theSenedd, Llandaff is part of the constituency ofCardiff West, whose MS since 2011 isMark Drakeford of Labour; he succeededRhodri Morgan upon the latter's retirement. The constituency is within the electoral region ofSouth Wales Central, whose four current MSs are ConservativesAndrew RT Davies andJoel James; Plaid Cymru'sRhys ab Owen andHeledd Fychan.
Llandaff is served byrailway stations atDanescourt,Fairwater, andWaun-Gron Park; each is about a mile from the cathedral. There is a half-hourly service to and from Cardiff on theCardiff City Line.Llandaf railway station is located inLlandaff North.
Cardiff Bus services 1/2 (City Circle), 24/25 (Whitchurch), 62/63 (Radyr/Morganstown), 64/65 (Heath Hospital/Llanrumney), 66 (Danescourt), and Stagecoach service 122 (Tonypandy) operate through the area to/fromCardiff city centre.
Western Avenue (A48) runs through the south of the area, heading eastbound toGabalfa andM4 J29, and westbound toEly,Culverhouse Cross, and M4 J33. Cardiff Road leads south towardsCardiff city centre.
The major employment sectors in the area are:
Broadcasting House, formerly the headquarters ofBBC Cymru Wales, was opened in Llandaff in 1966. BBC Cymru Wales moved to new facilities atCentral Square, Cardiff in 2020,[17] with the remaining Llandaff site due for housing development.
Following its revival in 2005, the long-running science-fiction television seriesDoctor Who was produced by BBC Wales in Llandaff. Production was relocated to the BBC's newRoath Lock studios in Cardiff Bay[18] in 2012. The location scenes of four episodes were filmed in Llandaff:[19]
TheLlandaff Cathedral Festival was founded in 1958 and ran annually until 1986. It played an important role in Welsh (and Cardiff) music before the building ofSt David's Hall in 1982, commissioning large orchestral and choral works (fromAlun Hoddinott,Arwel Hughes,Daniel Jones,Norman Kay,William Mathias,Grace Williams and others) and attracting international soloists for chamber music and piano recitals. The event was briefly revived between 2008 and 2013.[20] After a gap of nine years the festival was revived once again in 2022 as a four day event, and has been held annually since then.[21]
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