Rhiwbina 1 Rhiwbina

Geographical coordinates: 51°31′16″N 3°12′50″W Rhiwbina (Welsh: Rhiwbeina or Rhiwbeuno - Rhiw slope + Beuno Saint Beuno) is a prosperous northern suburb of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It used to be a separate village, and its core is still locally called "the village" and given a Welsh village appearance by Beulah United Reformed Church (originally Capel Beulah) on the village crossroads. Capel Beulah/Beulah URC was a daughter chapel of Groeswen, Caerffili. While services have been held in English since the circa 1900 Beulah named its redevoloped Assembly Rooms "Canolfan Beulah" in Rhiwbina electoral ward in Cardiff honour of its foundation as a Welsh language congregation.

Rhiwbeina is bordered by the suburbs of Yr Eglwys Newydd (Whitchurch) to the west, Llanishen to the east, and Llwynbedw (Birchgrove) to the south. To the north is Y Wenallt (Wenallt Hill), part of Cardiff's unofficial "green belt". The area is served by Rhiwbina railway station on the Coryton Line.

Amenities and history It has three schools within the ward - Rhiwbeina Primary School, Llanishen Fach Primary and Greenhill Special School. Despite high demand and continual local campaigning since the 1960's Rhiwbeina currently has no Welsh-medium school. As a result about 20% of local children travel to Ysgol y Wern and Ysgol Melin Griffith to receive their education. The area has large number of churches and chapels including St. Thomas Church in Wales, All Saints (CiW), Beulah (URC), Bethesda (Brethren), Rhiwbina Baptist Church, Bethany (Baptist), Bethel (Yr Eglwys Fethodistaidd) and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or Mormons. There is a Norman motte called the Twmpath situated near Rhiwbina's northernmost edge. To the north of Rhiwbina lies the steep, wooded Wenallt (229 metres) where Coed-y-Wenallt provides public open space. Rhiwbina Twmpath [1]

Toward the end of the 11th century, the last native Welsh Prince of Morgannwg (Glamorgan), Iestyn ap Gwrgant, was killed in a battle north of Rhiwbina, reportedly near the present day Butchers Arms Pub. Much blood was shed at the battle, and to this day the nearby stream is called Rhyd Waedlyd (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. In the 1910s some streets were developed according to the ideals of the Garden city movement, including Pen-y-Dre, a half-mile-long railwayside avenue, which has the rare distinction of having two successive railway stations opening onto it. This area is still known as the Garden Village. One of the central focal points in Rhiwbeina began in the first half of the twentieth century as "Rhiwbina Tea Gardens". Owned by the Smart family, this became "Rhiwbina Motor Garages" once it became clear that motor cars were going to be big business. The garage, despite its shoddy apeareance, was a landmark of the local area for decades, its notoriety increased when it became the area's first video rental outlet from the early 1980s. The retirement of Cliff Smart in 1989 led to the closure of the family business and the buildings were demolished. On its site now stands the road called Clos Yr Ardd - which translates as Gardens Close in tribute to the Tea Gardens. There are no gardens, or even much greenery left. Rhiwbina 2

Rhiwbeina has been the home of many noted Welsh artists including the authors Jack Jones and Kate Roberts and the actress Rachel Thomas. Rhiwbeina village is small compared to nearby Whitchurch and Birchgrove, and consequently suffers from a lack of trade. In recent years many businesses have ceased trading in the area. However some businesses, mainly in the service sector, have managed to buck the trend and establish themselves in the village. To the north of Rhiwbeina is a parade of shops on Heol Llanishen Fach. These were built in the 1960s to serve the vast amounts of new middle class housing built in the north of the village. Also to the north of Rhiwbina village there are the Deri Stores, a family run shop on the corner of Wenallt Road and Rhiwbeina Hill. Rhiwbeina also has its own colourful quarterly magazine- launched on 15 November 2007, called Rhiwbina Living. A similar publication "Wenallt" was published between 1972 and 1980 and failed due to a lack of local advertising.

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. It is represented in Parliament by Labour Party MP Julie Morgan, who has held the seat since 1997. However, following the loss of Cardiff North to the Conservatives in the 2007 Welsh Assembly election and the current resurgence of the Conservative Party, Cardiff North is a key target for the Tories in 2009/2010. In the Welsh Assembly, Cardiff North is represented by Conservative Jonathan Morgan. He took the seat from Labour for the first time in the 2007 elections, overturning Labour's majority of 550 and creating a majority of over 5000 for himself. In the 2008 Local Council elections Rhiwbina returned three Independent Councillors: Jayne Cowan, Brian Jones and Adrian Robson.

Transport The area is served by Rhiwbina railway station on the Cardiff Central to Coryton Line. Services continue through West Cardiff to Radyr. Cardiff Bus services 21 (Coryton-Whitchurch) and 23 (Birchgrove-Gabalfa-Cathays-Central Station) frequently run through the area. Heol-y-Deri is the main road leading through the district. Rhiwbina is siutated between the A470 (Cardiff City Centre to M4 J32) and A469 (Cardiff city centre to Caerphilly).

Sport and leisure Rhiwbina RFC, the local rugby union team, have the biggest playing membership of any team in Wales and operate sides from Under 7 to Under 16 and a youth and three senior teams. The First XV were recently promoted to Division 4 East after an unbeaten League run in Season 2006/07. The club operate from the Rhiwbina Recreational Club. However plans are afoot to build a new clubhouse in nearby Caedelyn Park.

External links • www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Rhiwbina and surrounding area [2] • www.railwaybridge.co.uk/twmpath : The Rhiwbina Twmpath [3] Rhiwbina 3

References

[1] http:/ / www. railwaybridge. co. uk/ twmpath/

[2] http:/ / www. geograph. org. uk/ search. php?i=2774212

[3] http:/ / www. railwaybridge. co. uk/ twmpath Article Sources and Contributors 4 Article Sources and Contributors

Rhiwbina Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=344715519 Contributors: Alansohn, Alecs casnewydd, Antandrus, Atombridge, Bobamaul1980, Boojum, Cardiffian, Chapwithwings, Colonies Chris, Daicaregos, DarbyAsh, Duncharris, FruitMonkey, Gil Gamesh, Ground Zero, J.delanoy, Jeremy Bolwell, Lewisdg2000, LinguisticDemographer, Mmxx, Morwen, Mrcanada19, Neil Of Cardiff, Our Phellap, RB211Trent, Rjwilmsi, Rodhullandemu, Ronhjones, Royston Butterscotch, Sloman, Tern, Tomos ANTIGUA Tomos, Verne Equinox, Walgamanus, Welshleprechaun, Wiki alf, 67 anonymous edits Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

Image:Cew rhiwbina.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Cew_rhiwbina.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Sloman License

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