The A-Z of Rhiwbina

Andrew Wynford Davies, writer of numerous screenplays and novels is best known for House of Cards and A Very Peculiar Practice, as well as his adaptations of Vanity Fair, Pride and Prejudice, Middlemarch and War and Peace. He was made a BAFTA Fellow in 2002 and was brought up on Lon-y-Dail.

One of the most popular debates between residents is where Rhiwbina officially ends and where Birchgrove officially starts. Or where Birchgrove officially starts and Rhiwbina officially ends. Where is this mysterious border? Can anyone stick some signs up for us?

His garage once sat where Clos Yr Ardd now resides. The garage, known as Smart’s Tea Rooms for a while, sold Austin cars from the early 1900s onwards. It was also a petrol station for a time. If you’re old enough to remember Smart’s Garage, you can consider yourself a Rhiwbina stalwart.

If you’re lucky enough to be walking through Rhiwbina in spring, everywhere you look, you’ll see bright yellow daffodils. Lots of them were planted by children of the community back in the 1980s.

Rhiwbina boasts some of Cardiff’s finest estate agents. Is it something to do with the fact that Rhiwbina is such a desirable area to live in?

Winter or summer? Which one do you prefer? It’s not a hard decision. Go on. Winter or summer? Actually, it is a hard decision. Winter’s so cosy yet summer’s so much fun. Difficult choice isn't it?

The first houses in Cardiff’s only Garden Village were completed in 1913. An opening ceremony to mark the occasion took place in Y Groes on the 13th July and involved many of the workers who had built the houses. It’s now an official conservation area.

The big-haired singer was one of pop’s biggest acts back in the 1980s with hits like New Song and Like to Get to Know You Well. A classically-trained musician, Howard grew up on Heol Llanishen Fach and went to Llanishen Fach Primary School.

The last ruler of the Welsh kingdom of Morgannwg. It’s believed he met his demise in a battle near the modern-day Butcher’s Arms.

Joobs. Joobie. However you say it, it still means one thing - a cracking curry house that will forever be synonymous with Rhiwbina. The village just wouldn’t be the same without it would it?

Someone, somewhere in the village is at it. Like a fiend. Every so often, parts of the village are adorned with knitted wool. Last year, it was Rhiwbina’s trees. What will it be this year?

The place has got a Post Office, a convenience store, a newsagent, several hair dressers, a butchers, a takeaway and even a café! Who said that she shops in Llanishen Fach were the forgotten ones in Rhiwbina?

The village owes a great debt to Mary Clarke. If there’s anything worth knowing about Rhiwbina, Mary will know about it.

Or friends as we like to call them.

“When I was growing up, a lot of my friends lived in Rhiwbina so I’ve got a lot of fond memories of after school, tearing around on our bikes around Rhiwbina near the tennis courts, not far from where my Mamgu lives,” Owain Doull told Living Magazines last year. He'd just won Olympic Gold in the Team Pursuit in Rio alongside his teammates Sir Bradley Wiggins, Steven Burke and Ed Clancy.

For many years, the good people of Pantmawr would write to us and ask if we could deliver copies of Rhiwbina Living to their area. In 2016, we began doing just that. What they didn’t tell us was how hilly Pantmawr is. Boy oh boy!

Currently known as Heol-y-Deri.

This brook meanders its way through Rhiwbina without a care in the world. Until the new flood defences were built, its presence would be felt when it rained heavily. It also reportedly once ran red with the blood of those injured and dying in the battle cost that Iestyn ap Gwrgant his life. If you ever hear it being referred to as the Bloody Brook, it could either be reference to the battle, or it’s just burst its banks again.

A common sight throughout Rhiwbina, especially on a Saturday afternoon down at Caedelyn Park when you get to see 15 of them knocking lumps out of the opposition.

The small ancient earthwork, near the summit of Wenallt Hill, suggests that there was a settlement at Rhiwbina in the Iron Age. Not to be confused with the other lump of earthwork a few hundreds yards away at Coed y Wenallt. That’s just a man-made hill formed when the M4 was dug out of the hillsides.

More commonly known as Beulah, this well-known church opened in February 1891. At first, only Sunday morning services were entirely in Welsh, while the afternoon Sunday School and the evening service were mainly in English. In 1898, for an experimental period of three months, morning sermons were preached in English and at the end of that year, it was decided to make this a permanent arrangement.

noun
1. a small community or group of houses in a rural area, larger than a hamlet and usually smaller than a town. Think that sums us up quite nicely.

The Wenallt is an area of semi natural ancient woodland. The land extends into other woodlands to the north west – Cwm Nofydd, designated as a Local Nature Reserve, and Fforest Ganol – a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The area is a well known local beauty spot and a popular site for picnics in summer. In spring there are displays of bluebells and other spring flowers throughout the woodland. It’s also the home of Rhiwbina Living mascot, Squidgy Squirrel.

Erm. Nope. Can't think of anything.

We have it on good authority (see Mary Clarke) that the trees that line the way into Y Groes once bore the names of the first borns who lived in the square when it was built.

Nope. Nothing here either. No idea why we even thought an A-Z would be a good idea. Maybe we'll do a Puzzles Page next time.