Rhiwbina


Rhiwbina is a suburb and community in the north of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. Formerly a small hamlet within the parish of Whitchurch, 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 at the village crossroads.
Modern Rhiwbina, which includes the Garden Village, Wenallt Hill, Rhiwbina Hill, Rhydwaedlyd and the Llanishen Fach and Pantmawr developments, is bordered by the suburbs of Whitchurch to the west, Llanishen to the east, and Birchgrove to the south. To the north is the border with Caerphilly. The area is served by Rhiwbina railway station on the Coryton Line.

History

Near the summit of the Wenallt, 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. At the base of the hill is a Norman motte called the Twmpath.
The last native Welsh Prince of Morgannwg, 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. 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 of a new garden suburb, based on a masterplan by Sir Raymond Unwin, one of the leading architects of the Garden 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.
A focal point in Rhiwbina in the early twentieth century was the "Rhiwbina Tea Gardens". Owned by the Smart family, it later became "Rhiwbina Motor Garages" in response to the rise of the motor car and subsequently the area's first video rental outlet in the early 1980s. The business was closed on the retirement of Cliff Smart in 1989 and the site is now occupied by the development of Clos Yr Ardd. This translates as Garden Close, in memory of the Tea Gardens, but there is little greenery left.
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.

Amenities

There are three schools within the ward – Rhiwbeina 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, Beulah, Bethesda, Rhiwbina Baptist Church, Bethany, Bethel and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
To the north of Rhiwbina is a parade 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.
Rhiwbina has been the home of many noted Welsh artists including the authors Jack Jones and Kate Roberts, musician Howard Jones, dramatist Tom Richards and the actress Rachel Thomas, who worked together.
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, called Rhiwbina 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 Welsh language

The number of Rhiwbina residents over the age of three who speak Welsh increased slightly from 1,409 in the 2001 UK Census to 1,433 in the 2011 UK Census.
Beulah United Reformed Church was originally a Welsh-speaking congregationalist chapel, but the services turned to English in 1898. Bethel Methodist Church continues to hold Welsh-language services.
Rhiwbina has been the home of many notable figures in Welsh-language culture, including W. J. Gruffydd, R. T. Jenkins, Iorwerth Peate and Kate Roberts.

Governance

The electoral ward of Rhiwbina falls within the parliamentary constituency of Cardiff North. It is bounded by the wards of Lisvane and Llanishen to the east; Heath to the southeast; and Whitchurch & Tongwynlais to the west.
There are three railway stations located within Rhiwbina. The principal station is Rhiwbina railway station, located behind the library in the heart of the village. The other two stations are Birchgrove railway station, located in the east of the ward, and Whitchurch railway station, Cardiff in the west. These two stations were built 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 the Cardiff Central to Coryton Line, and were built by the Cardiff Railway Company. Presently, services continue through west Cardiff via the City Line to Radyr.
Cardiff Bus services 21 and 23 frequently run through the area. Crossgates Coaches also ran service 22 but this route ceased running in 2013.
Heol-y-Deri is the main road leading through the district. Rhiwbina is situated between the A470 and A469.

Sport and leisure

Rhiwbina Recreation Club is a centre of activities within the community, and is home to tennis, rugby, squash, bowls and table tennis clubs.
Rhiwbina RFC, the local rugby 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.

Notable people