Llandaff
Encyclopedia
Llandaff is a district in the north
Cardiff North
Cardiff North or North Cardiff can refer to the collections of mainly middle class suburban communities in the north of Cardiff, Wales. The population of the north of Cardiff is around 85,000 and is represented by the Conservative Party on most levels of government...

 of Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

, capital of Wales, having been incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Church in Wales
Church in Wales
The Church in Wales is the Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses.As with the primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Archbishop of Wales serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The current archbishop is Barry Morgan, the Bishop of Llandaff.In contrast to the...

 Bishop of Llandaff
Bishop of Llandaff
The Bishop of Llandaff is the Ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff.-Area of authority:The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The Bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul , in the village of Llandaff, just north-west of the City of...

, whose diocese
Diocese of Llandaff
The Diocese of Llandaff is a Church in Wales diocese. It is headed by the Bishop of Llandaff, whose seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Llandaff, a suburb of Cardiff...

 covers the most populous area of South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...

. Much of the district is covered by parkland known as Llandaff Fields
Llandaff Fields
Llandaff Fields is a large parkland spanning parts of central and northern Cardiff, Wales.The park is owned by Cardiff Council and managed by its Parks department. The parkland is highly visible and accessed from local communities. The parkland is lined with avenues of trees and large grassed areas...

.

History

Most of the history of Llandaff centres on its role as a religious site. Before the creation of Llandaff Cathedral
Llandaff Cathedral
Llandaff Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, head of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. It is situated in the district of Llandaff in the city of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The current building was constructed in the 12th century over the site of an earlier church...

 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 the Bristol Channel, and because of its pre-Christian location as a river crossing on an east west trade route. Evidence of Roman-British ritual burials have been found under the present cathedral. The date of the moving of the cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

 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 by Owain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower , was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales...

 and Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....

. It was the second most damaged Cathedral in the UK (after Coventry Cathedral
Coventry Cathedral
Coventry Cathedral, also known as St Michael's Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry, in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The current bishop is the Right Revd Christopher Cocksworth....

) following Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....

 bombing during World War II, and subsequently restored by the architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

 George Pace
George Pace
George Pace , English architect, was born in Croydon, Surrey.He won many prizes as a student including the Pugin Studentship in 1937 and the RIBA Asphitel Prize for the best architectural student in England....

. One of its main modern points of interest is the aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....

 figure of Christ in Majesty (1954-5), by Jacob Epstein
Jacob Epstein
Sir Jacob Epstein KBE was an American-born British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British citizen in 1911. He often produced controversial works which challenged taboos on what was appropriate subject matter...

, which is suspended above the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...

. 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.

Llandaff never developed into a chartered borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....

, and by the nineteenth 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.
Historically Llandaff was informally known as a "city" because of its status as the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff
Bishop of Llandaff
The Bishop of Llandaff is the Ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff.-Area of authority:The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The Bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul , in the village of Llandaff, just north-west of the City of...

. This status
City status in the United Kingdom
City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the British monarch to a select group of communities. The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a "city". Nonetheless, this appellation carries its own prestige and, consequently, competitions...

 was never officially recognised, largely because the community did not possess a charter of incorporation.

The ancient parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

 of Llandaff included a wide area. Apart from Llandaff itself, it included the townships of Canton
Canton, Cardiff
Canton is an inner-city district and community in the west of Cardiff, capital of Wales, lying west of the city's civic centre. One of the most ethnically diverse of Cardiff's suburbs, with a significant Asian population such as Pakistanis and Indians, Canton has a population just in excess of...

, Ely
Ely, Cardiff
Ely is a community primarily dominated by council housing in western Cardiff, capital of Wales.-The Roman era:In Roman times, Ely was the site of a Roman villa, near the old racecourse...

, Fairwater
Fairwater, Cardiff
Fairwater is a district in the west of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is located a few miles from Culverhouse Cross which connects Cardiff to the M4 motorway.- History :The name Tyllgoed, meaning "dark wood" goes back to the 15th century...

, and Gabalfa
Gabalfa
Gabalfa is a district in the north of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is characterised by an enormous fly over road which is part of the large Gabalfa Interchange, and crosses the A48 road in a north-south direction. The area is also the site of the All Nations Centre.The name is derived...

. The parish was gradually absorbed into the Borough of Cardiff during the 19th and 20th centuries. Llandaff itself became a civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 and from 1894 to 1922 was part of the Llandaff and Dinas Powis Rural District. On 9 November 1922 the county borough
County borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...

 of Cardiff was extended to include the area.


Governance

Llandaff is both an electoral ward and a community
Community (Wales)
A community is a division of land in Wales that forms the lowest-tier of local government in Wales. Welsh communities are analogous to civil parishes in England....

 of the County and City of Cardiff. There is no community council
Community council
A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain.In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies...

 for the area. The electoral ward of Llandaff is bounded by Radyr & Morganstown
Radyr
Radyr is an outer suburb of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The suburb is situated in the west of the city, although it was originally a separate village, and is located around 5 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. According to 2009 estimates, the suburb has a population of 6,000...

 to the north west; Llandaff North
Llandaff North
Llandaff North , is a community in the north of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. It is located in the north of Cardiff and can be considered a two part ward, each containing about half the population; a northern section of mainly middle class housing, and a southern section of mainly public...

 to the north; Riverside
Riverside, Cardiff
Riverside is an inner-city southern area of Cardiff, capital of Wales. Riverside is also the name of the electoral ward, which can be split into two very different parts, Riverside and Pontcanna...

 to the west; Canton
Canton, Cardiff
Canton is an inner-city district and community in the west of Cardiff, capital of Wales, lying west of the city's civic centre. One of the most ethnically diverse of Cardiff's suburbs, with a significant Asian population such as Pakistanis and Indians, Canton has a population just in excess of...

 to the south; and Fairwater
Fairwater, Cardiff
Fairwater is a district in the west of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is located a few miles from Culverhouse Cross which connects Cardiff to the M4 motorway.- History :The name Tyllgoed, meaning "dark wood" goes back to the 15th century...

 to the west. The ward is represented by two councillors, Kirsty Davies and Gareth Aubrey, both members of the Liberal Democrat Party.

In the UK Parliament, Llandaff is part of the constituency of Cardiff West
Cardiff West (UK Parliament constituency)
Cardiff West is a borough constituency in the city of Cardiff. It returns one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system...

. Its most prominent MPs were former Speaker of the Commons George Thomas
George Thomas, 1st Viscount Tonypandy
Thomas George Thomas, 1st Viscount Tonypandy PC was a British Labour Party politician and Speaker of the House of Commons. Born in Port Talbot, Wales, he initially worked as a teacher in both London and Cardiff...

 and former Welsh Labour leader Rhodri Morgan
Rhodri Morgan
Hywel Rhodri Morgan is a Welsh Labour politician who, as First Secretary for Wales, and subsequently First Minister, was leader of the Welsh Assembly Government from 2000 to 2009. A former leader of Welsh Labour, he was the Assembly Member for Cardiff West from 1999 to 2011...

. The current MP is Labour's Kevin Brennan
Kevin Brennan (politician)
Kevin Denis Brennan is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Cardiff West since 2001, and was a Minister of State at both the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Children, Schools and Families before the 2010 general election...

, elected in 2001.

In the Welsh Assembly, Llandaff is part of the constituency of Cardiff West
Cardiff West (Assembly constituency)
Cardiff West is a constituency of the National Assembly for Wales. It elects one Assembly Member by the first past the post method of election...

, whose current AM is the former Welsh Labour leader Rhodri Morgan
Rhodri Morgan
Hywel Rhodri Morgan is a Welsh Labour politician who, as First Secretary for Wales, and subsequently First Minister, was leader of the Welsh Assembly Government from 2000 to 2009. A former leader of Welsh Labour, he was the Assembly Member for Cardiff West from 1999 to 2011...

, elected in 1999. The constituency falls within the electoral region of South Wales Central, whose four current AMs are Conservatives Andrew R. T. Davies and David Melding, and Plaid Cymru's Chris Franks
Chris Franks
Christopher Paul Franks is a Welsh engineer and politician. A member of Plaid Cymru, he has led the party's group on the Vale of Glamorgan council. Between 2007 and 2011 he was a member of the National Assembly for Wales losing in 2011....

 and Leanne Wood
Leanne Wood
Leanne Wood AM , is a Welsh politician, born in the Rhondda, Wales, who has represented the South Wales Central region for Plaid Cymru as a Member of the National Assembly for Wales since 2003. Wood is known as a republican and socialist....

.

Demography

Demographics
Demographics
Demographics are the most recent statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology , public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location...

 shows that the electoral division of Llandaff had a population at the United Kingdom Census 2001
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....

 of 8,988, of whom 4,227 were male and 4,761 female. The majority of the population (94.7%) were recorded as being of white ethnicity. Approximately 76% of the population were returned as Christian, with about 1% each being Hindu or Muslim, and 20% having no religion or no stated religion. About 13% of the population of Llandaff can read, write and speak Welsh, while 78% have no knowledge.

Education

Llandaff is home to a co-educational independent school for children between the ages of 3-16. (The Cathedral School
The Cathedral School, Llandaff
The Cathedral School, Llandaff is a coeducational Welsh independent senior, prep and pre-prep day school. It is located in Llandaff, Cardiff. The school is part of the Woodard Schools foundation, as well as having many links to the neighbouring Llandaff Cathedral.In 1880 Dean John Vaughan opened a...

). The independent GDST school, Howell's School Llandaff
Howell's School Llandaff
Howell’s School Llandaff is an independent school in Llandaff, Cardiff. The school teaches girls from the age of 3 years up to 18, and contains a nursery, junior, senior school and a sixth form college...

, is also based in the area and recently expanded from an all-girls school to include the co-educational Howell's Sixth Form College. There are also two state Church Schools; Llandaff City Church in Wales Primary School and Bishop of Llandaff Church in Wales High School
Bishop of Llandaff Church in Wales High School
Bishop of Llandaff Church in Wales High School is a Church in Wales, Christian faith comprehensive school in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, Wales...

.
Llandaff is also home of the Cardiff Metropolitan University Llandaff campus.

Transport

The closest railway station is either Waun-Gron Park
Waun-Gron Park railway station
Waun-Gron Park railway station is a railway station serving the Fairwater area of Cardiff, Wales. The station was built when the City Line 4 km west of Cardiff Central reopened to passenger services in 1987....

 or Fairwater railway station
Fairwater railway station
Fairwater railway station is a railway station serving the Fairwater area of Cardiff, Wales. The station was built when the City Line west of Cardiff Central reopened to passenger services in 1987....

 which both have half hourly services to and from Cardiff on the Cardiff City Line
Cardiff City Line
The City Line is a commuter railway line in Cardiff that runs from Coryton to Radyr via Cardiff Central. Regular passenger services on this route started in 1987. Passenger trains run from Monday to Saturday. The line is also used as a diversionary route for trains to Merthyr, Aberdare and...

. Llandaf railway station
Llandaf railway station
Llandaf railway station is located in Llandaff North, Cardiff, Wales. It serves the areas of Llandaff North and Whitchurch.The station was opened by the Taff Vale Railway in 1840....

 is actually located in Llandaff North
Llandaff North
Llandaff North , is a community in the north of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. It is located in the north of Cardiff and can be considered a two part ward, each containing about half the population; a northern section of mainly middle class housing, and a southern section of mainly public...

.

Cardiff Bus
Cardiff Bus
Cardiff Bus is the dominant operator of bus services in Cardiff, Wales and the surrounding area, including Barry and Penarth. Its hub is Cardiff central bus station...

 services 1/2 (City Circle), 24/25 (Whitchurch), 33/33A (Radyr/Morganstown) 60/62/62A (Pentrebane/Fairwater) and Stagecoach service 122 (Tonypandy) operate through the area to/from Cardiff central bus station
Cardiff Central bus station
Cardiff Central bus station is the main bus transport interchange in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. With 34 stands, it is the largest bus station in the city and in Wales. It is located adjacent to Cardiff Central railway station forming a major bus-rail-cycle-taxi interchange.The station used...

.

Western Avenue (A48
A48 road
The A48 is a major trunk road in Great Britain. It runs from the A40 at Highnam west of Gloucester to the A40 at Carmarthen. Before the construction of the M4 motorway and the first Severn Bridge in the mid 1960s it was the principal route into South Wales. For most of its journey through Wales,...

) runs through the south of the area heading eastbound to Gabalfa
Gabalfa
Gabalfa is a district in the north of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is characterised by an enormous fly over road which is part of the large Gabalfa Interchange, and crosses the A48 road in a north-south direction. The area is also the site of the All Nations Centre.The name is derived...

 & M4 J30
M4 motorway
The M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...

 and westbound to Ely
Ely, Cardiff
Ely is a community primarily dominated by council housing in western Cardiff, capital of Wales.-The Roman era:In Roman times, Ely was the site of a Roman villa, near the old racecourse...

, Culverhouse Cross
Culverhouse Cross
Culverhouse Cross is suburban district in the west of Cardiff, capital of Wales, lying on the border with the Vale of Glamorgan.The busy Culverhouse Cross roundabout is an important part of the primary road network to the west of the city and connects the A4232 , the A4050 , and...

 and M4 J33. Cardiff Road leads south towards the city centre
Cardiff city centre
Cardiff city centre is the central business district of Cardiff, Wales. The area is tightly bounded by the River Taff to the west, the Civic centre to the north and railway lines and two railway stations - Central and Queen Street - to the south and east respectively...

.

Economy

The major employment sectors in the area are:
  • Public administration, education and health (35.26%)
  • Banking, finance
    Finance
    "Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...

     and insurance
    Insurance
    In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...

     (19.44%)
  • Distribution, hotels and restaurants (16.46%)
  • Other services (9.13%)
  • Manufacturing (8.81%)
  • Transport and communication (4.82%)
  • Construction (4.43%)


BBC Wales
BBC Wales
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages.Outside...

 have their headquarters at Broadcasting House, Llantrisant Road in Llandaff. The Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...

 episode The Eleventh Hour
The Eleventh Hour (Doctor Who)
"The Eleventh Hour" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One and BBC HD on 3 April 2010....

, broadcast on BBC 1 on 3 April 2010, was filmed here, renamed "Leadworth", the home of Amy Pond.

Notable people

  • Idloes Owen
    Idloes Owen
    Evan Idloes Owen principal founder of the Welsh National Opera Company- Early life :Idloes Owen, was born in late 1894 in the mining village of Merthyr Vale in Glamorgan. His parents Richard and Jane originally came from Llanidloes a market town in Montgomeryshire mid-Wales. They moved to Merthyr...

    , founded the Welsh National Opera
    Welsh National Opera
    Welsh National Opera is an opera company founded in Cardiff, Wales in 1943. The WNO tours Wales, the United Kingdom and the rest of the world extensively. Annually, it gives more than 120 performances of eight main stage operas to a combined audience of around 150,000 people...

    , at a meeting in his home, 40 Station Road, Llandaff, in 1943
  • Ivor Atkins
    Ivor Atkins
    Sir Ivor Algernon Atkins was the choirmaster and organist at Worcester Cathedral for over 50 years . He is well known for editing Allegri's Miserere with the famous top-C part for the treble...

    , choirmaster and organist, was born in Llandaff on 29 November 1869.
  • Charlotte Church
    Charlotte Church
    Charlotte Maria Church is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter. She rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching into pop music in 2005. By 2007, she had sold more than 10 million records worldwide including over 5 million in the United States...

    , singer and television presenter, born in Llandaff 21 February 1986
  • Roald Dahl
    Roald Dahl
    Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...

    , author, was born in Fairwater Road on 13 September 1916. He subsequently attended the Cathedral School until 1925, and his family moved to Kent
    Kent
    Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

     in about 1928.
  • Francis Lewis
    Francis Lewis
    Francis Lewis was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of New York....

    , signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of New York, was born in Llandaff on March 21, 1713.
  • The Welsh artist Ivor Williams
    Ivor Williams
    Ivor Williams was a Welsh artist.He was born in London, the son of the distinguished Welsh painter Christopher Williams and Emily Appleyard ....

     lived and painted in Llandaff House until his death in 1982.
  • Cheryl Gillan
    Cheryl Gillan
    Cheryl Elise Kendall Gillan is a British Conservative Party politician. She is currently the Secretary of State for Wales, and the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Chesham and Amersham in Buckinghamshire....

    , politician, born in Llandaff on 21 April 1952.

External links

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