Rhiwbina
| |
|---|---|
 Rhiwbina village | |
  Rhiwbina Location withinCardiff | |
| Population | 11,369 (2011 Census) |
| Principal area | |
| Preserved county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CARDIFF |
| Postcode district | CF14 |
| Dialling code | 029 |
| Police | South Wales |
| Fire | South Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
| Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
51°31′16″N3°12′50″W / 51.5211°N 3.2140°W /51.5211; -3.2140  Show map of the community Show map of theelectoral ward | |
Rhiwbina (/ruˈbaɪnə/;Welsh:Rhiwbeina[r̥ɪuˈbɛina], alsoRhiwbina) is a suburb andcommunity in the north ofCardiff, the capital ofWales. Formerly a small hamlet within the parish ofWhitchurch, Rhiwbina was developed throughout the twentieth century, and is now a separate ward. It retains aspects of its former character, however, and is given a Welsh village appearance by Beulah United Reformed Church (originally Capel Beulah) at the village crossroads.
Modern Rhiwbina, which includesRhiwbina Garden Village,Wenallt Hill, Rhiwbina Hill, Rhydwaedlyd and the Llanishen Fach and Pantmawr developments, is bordered by the suburbs ofWhitchurch (Yr Eglwys Newydd) to the west,Llanishen to the east, andBirchgrove (Llwynbedw) to the south. To the north is the border withCaerphilly. The area is served byRhiwbina railway station on theCoryton Line.
The earliest records of a settlement in the area are found in the 12th centuryBook of Llandaff. This records that Rhiwallon, son of Rhan, gave up his"Rhiwbrien" property and that it be[clarification needed] transferred to the Bishop in 1040. Apapal bull ofHonorius II, also records that"Rhiwbrien" was part of the Bishop's holdings in 1129. The modern name, Rhiwbina is first documented in a 1630 survey of theCantref ofSenghenydd; it states that the ground on which the ruins ofCastell Coch stood belonged to "Henry Morgan ofRhiwbyna". The name also appears in a Will of 1708 asRhiwhina and in 1777 asRhubina.[1]
Although the first element is unanimously agreed to derive fromrhiw (meaning a slope or ascent, matching Rhiwbina's topography), there is no agreed etymology for the second. The suggestions forpina, from thelocal Welsh dialect form ofpinau (pine-trees) and forpannier (referring to the panniers of the mules carrying iron through the village fromCaerphilly toCardiff) have both been rejected as the name appears to predate both ironworking in Caerphilly and the introduction of pine trees to the area. A popularfolk etymology states that the name derives fromRhiw Beuno (with Beuno likely referring toSt Beuno).[2]
Archive recordings of Welsh speakers from the area all pronounce the penultimate vowel as/i:/ (Rhiw-BE-na).[3] However, as the village developed throughout the 20th century, the number of people with Welsh as their first language continued to decline. This demographic shift saw the name often mispronounced by those unfamiliar with Welsh orthography, and pronouncing the name with a penultimatediphthong,/aɪ/ (Rhiw-BYE-na) instead.
To better reflect the original and new pronunciations, the village is one of only eight settlements in Wales to have two standardised Welsh spellings,Rhiwbina andRhiwbeina.[4]
Near the summit of theWenallt, to the north of Rhiwbina, are the remains of an oval encampment probably dating from the Iron Age, the earliest evidence of settlement in the area.[5] At the base of the hill is a medievalmotte called theTwmpath Castle, which is ascheduled monument.[6]
The last nativeWelsh Prince ofMorgannwg (Glamorgan),Iestyn ap Gwrgant, may have been killed in a battle north of Rhiwbina towards the end of the 11th century, near the present-day Butchers Arms public house.[7] The stream nearby is still called Rhyd Waedlyd, which means 'Bloody Ford'. Rhydwaedlyd was the title given to housing developments to Rhiwbina's east in the latter half of the 20th century. This area has since come to be considered part of Rhiwbina itself and the name 'Rhydwaedlyd' has fallen out of use entirely.
Until the 20th century the area remained rural, with few houses. The railway station opened in 1911, and the following year development began ofRhiwbina Garden Village, a new garden suburb based on a masterplan bySir Raymond Unwin, one of the leading architects of theGarden city movement. The first 34 houses were built in 1913 and more were built from 1919 to 1923, occupying an area between Pen-y-dre and Lon Isa which became known as Rhiwbina Garden Village. It was designated as a Conservation Area in 1976.[8]
Rhiwbina village centre is small compared to nearby Whitchurch and Birchgrove, but has in recent years undergone a revival, and is now a popular shopping destination for gifts and art.
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There are three schools within the ward – Rhiwbina Primary School, Llanishen Fach Primary School and Greenhill School. Llanishen Fach is the only school in Cardiff which sends its Year 6 pupils to two main secondary schools, Whitchurch High, and Llanishen High. Rhiwbina currently has no Welsh-medium school. As a result, some local children travel to the nearby Ysgol y Wern and Ysgol Melin Griffith to receive their education.
The area has a large number of churches and chapels including All Saints (Church in Wales), Beulah (URC), Bethesda (Independent), RhiwbinaBaptist Church, Bethany (Baptist), Bethel (Methodist) andthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
To the north of Rhiwbina is aparade of shops on Heol Llanishen Fach, built in the 1960s to serve an extensive area of new housing. Also to the north of Rhiwbina village is the Deri Stores, a family run shop on the corner of Wenallt Road and Rhiwbina Hill which used to be a post office, and before that a cafe. Another parade of shops was built further north at Pantmawr, but has since been demolished and replaced by houses.
Since 1997 the 'Deri' community quarterly newsletter has been published by the Rhiwbina Civic Society. Rhiwbina also has a quarterly magazine launched on 15 November 2007, calledRhiwbina Living. A similar publication, "Wenallt", was published between 1972 and 1980 but failed due to a lack of local advertising. A hyperlocal news and information website Rhiwbina Info has operated since 2013.
The number of Rhiwbina residents over the age of three who speak Welsh increased slightly from 1,409 (12.8%) in the2001 UK Census to 1,433 (12.9%) in the2011 UK Census.[9]
Beulah United Reformed Church was originally a Welsh-speakingcongregationalist chapel, but the services turned to English in 1898.[10] Bethel Methodist Church continues to hold Welsh-language services.
Rhiwbina has been the home of many notable figures in Welsh-language culture, includingW. J. Gruffydd,R. T. Jenkins,Iorwerth Peate andKate Roberts.[citation needed]
Theelectoral ward of Rhiwbina falls within theparliamentary constituency ofCardiff North. It is bounded by the wards ofLisvane andLlanishen to the east;Heath to the southeast; andWhitchurch & Tongwynlais to the west.
There are three railway stations located within Rhiwbina. The principal station isRhiwbina railway station, located behind the library in the heart of the village. The other two stations areBirchgrove railway station, located in the east of the ward, andWhitchurch railway station, Cardiff in the west. These two stations were built (as their names suggest) to service other adjacent areas, but the expansion of Rhiwbina and its clear demarcation from Whitchurch has meant that all three stations are now located within the boundaries of the ward. All of the stations are on theCardiff Central to Coryton Line, and were built by the Cardiff Railway Company. Presently, services continue through west Cardiff via theCity Line toRadyr.
Cardiff Bus services 21 (Central Station - Gabalfa - Birchgrove - Whitchurch - Coryton - Rhiwbina) and 23 (Central Station - Gabalfa - Birchgrove - Rhiwbina - Coryton - Whitchurch) frequently run through the area.Crossgates Coaches also ran service 22 (Heath Hospital – Rhiwbina) but this route ceased running in 2013.
Heol-y-Deri is the main road leading through the district. Rhiwbina is situated between theA470 (Cardiff City Centre to M4 J32) andA469 (Cardiff city centre to Caerphilly).
Rhiwbina Recreation Club is a centre of activities within the community, and is home to tennis, rugby, squash, bowls and table tennis clubs.[11]
Rhiwbina RFC, the localrugby union club operates sides from Under 7 to Under 16, plus a youth and three senior teams. The First XV was promoted to Division 4 East after an unbeaten League run in Season 2006–07. The club operates from the Rhiwbina Recreational Club.
Rhiwbina Squash Club has men's teams playing in the Premier, South Wales and South Glamorgan Leagues. The club also has a Junior and Ladies section. Rhiwbina Squash Club were the 2011 South Wales Premier League Champions.
