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Fairwater (Welsh : Y Tyllgoed) is a district and community in the west of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is located a few miles from Culverhouse Cross which connects Cardiff to the M4 motorway. The population taken at the 2011 census was 12,981. [1]
The original Welsh name Tyllgoed derives from "tyll" meaning "to hole" or "to burrow" and "coed" meaning "woods" or "trees". Tyllgoed is a name common to a number of streams in Wales that burrow through woods and it is likely this name would have originally applied to the stream that still runs through Fairwater today. [2] [3]
The similarity of the first element to the Welsh word "tywyll" meaning "dark" led some later writers to derive the name as "dark woods". However, this derivation is now considered a folk etymology, especially given that the name is first recorded under the spellings Tull Coit and Tollcoit in the land of Ystrad Ager, in the 12th century Book of Llandaff. The entry states that the area was given to Llandaff Cathedral during the time of its fourteenth Bishop, Berthguin, in the early 8th century. [4] The English name Fairwater may ultimately derive from the Ecclesiastical Latin in this entry, as the term bella aqua (literally "fair water") is recorded in its marginalia. In later centuries, the area became the benefice of one of Llandaff's prebends, named as the "Prebend of Fairwell", or the "Prebend of Farewell" in the cathedral's own documents. Even today, one of the cathedral's historic canons' stalls is still named "Fairwater". [5] [6]
This leafy district is divided between the mainly privately owned 1930s semi-detached housing developments at the southern end, and more 1950s public housing stock towards the northern end closer to neighbouring Pentrebane. It includes Fairwater Park (known locally as "the Dell"), Fairwater Leisure Centre, a skatepark and numerous playing fields.
Fairwater has two secondary schools. The larger of the two, with over a thousand pupils, is the Welsh-medium Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Plasmawr. The other is Cantonian High School, which has nearly 700 pupils.
The building in which Plasmawr stands was originally opened in 1959 as Waterhall Secondary Modern School. Pupils at the school included Martyn Woodroffe an Olympic swimming Silver Medalist in 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico. It is on the grounds of old Cantonian lower school, but in recent times has had many new developments built on the site. Peter Lea Primary and Fairwater Primary schools are in the area. Cantonian has produced several Welsh international football (soccer) players. In recent times Ryan Green (once Wales' youngest international), Jermaine Easter and Joe Ledley and, a little further back, John Toshack. Famous former pupils also include the model and Gary Lineker's wife Danielle Bux and director of the film Human Traffic, Justin Kerrigan.
Fairwater Brook was a childhood haunt of Roald Dahl, who lived in Radyr and studied in nearby Llandaff.
Fairwater Park, known locally as "The Dell" is the site of one of Britain's first artificial ski slopes, built in 1969. [7] [8]
Fairwater Green is a local area of shops, supposedly named for the area of grass nearby.
Fairwater Library opened in 1960, is a small branch library with a small book collection, public access computers and study space is open five days a week. [9]
Fairwater is both an electoral ward, and a community of the City of Cardiff. There is no community council for the area. The electoral ward of Fairwater falls within the parliamentary constituency of Cardiff West. It is bounded by Creigiau & St. Fagans to the west; Llandaff to the east; Canton to the southeast; Ely to the south; and Radyr to the north. Previously represented by the Labour Party it has since May 2008 been represented on Cardiff Council by Plaid Cymru councillors. [10]
Fairwater is well served by public transport with three railway stations - Fairwater in the heart of the area, Danescourt in the north and Waun-Gron Park in the south. All 3 stations are on the Cardiff City Line with services northbound to Radyr and southbound to Cardiff Central via Ninian Park.
Fairwater has bus services provided by Cardiff Bus operating bus service 61 through the area to Pentrebane, while route 64 runs through to Heath Hospital and route 66 serves Keyston Road. Easyway run an infrequest bus service through Fairwater to St Fagans.
The main road running through the east of the area is Western Avenue (A48) linking it to Ely Bridge, Ely, Canton and the city centre to the south and Gabalfa, eastern districts and the M4 J30 Cardiff East to the north. St Fagans Road is a country road leading west out of Fairwater to St. Fagans, Ely, Culverhouse Cross and M4 J33 Cardiff West
Llandaff is a district, community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, whose diocese within the Church in Wales covers the most populous area of Wales.
St Fagans is a village and community in the west of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is home to the St Fagans National History Museum.
Radyr is an outer suburb of Cardiff, about 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest of Cardiff city centre. Radyr is part of Radyr and Morganstown Community, for which the 2011 Census recorded a population of 6,417.
Pentrebane is a district in the west of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is part of the Fairwater community.
Cardiff West is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2001 by Kevin Brennan of the Labour Party.
Canton is an inner-city district and community in the west of Cardiff, capital of Wales, lying 2 miles (3.2 km) west of the city's civic centre. Canton is one of the most ethnically diverse of Cardiff's suburbs, with a significant Pakistani and Indian population. The total population of Canton increased to 14,304 at the 2011 census. It is also the most Welsh-speaking district of central Cardiff, with 19.1% of the population speaking Welsh.
Culverhouse Cross is a district straddling the boundary between Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, in the community of Wenvoe.
Llandaff North, is a district, community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales.
Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf is a Welsh-medium coeducational secondary school in Llandaff North, a district in the north of Cardiff, Wales; it is the largest of its kind in the country. Of the three Welsh-medium secondary schools serving Cardiff, it was the first to be established; the others are Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Plasmawr and Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Edern. As of 2017, 36% of pupils come from Welsh-speaking homes.
Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Plasmawr is a Welsh-medium comprehensive secondary school in Cardiff. It opened in September 1998 as the second school of its kind in Cardiff. Its buildings had formerly belonged to Waterhall Secondary Modern School and more recently formed Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf's Lower School. The current headteacher is Dr Rhodri Thomas.
Danescourt is an outer suburb of western Cardiff, just over 3 miles (5 km) northwest of Cardiff city centre. Danescourt is part of the Llandaff Community.
Bus transport in Cardiff, the capital and most populous city in Wales, forms the major part of the city's public transport network, which also includes an urban rail network, Waterbus and international airport. Cardiff is a major city of the United Kingdom and a centre of employment, retail, business, government, culture, media, sport and higher education.
The centre of Cardiff, the capital of Wales, is relatively flat and is bounded by hills on the outskirts to the east, north and west. Its geographic features were influential in its development as the world's largest coal port, most notably its proximity and easy access to the coal fields of the south Wales valleys.
Cantonian High School is an English-medium 11-18 community school maintained by Cardiff local authority. It is located in Fairwater and serves the surrounding area in the west of Cardiff, Wales. There are currently more than 1000 pupils on roll and the school is continually growing. Although in the past it has often struggled, it has progressed significantly in recent years, and performed well in its most recent Estyn inspections, earning the title Cardiff's most improved school in Wales Online.
Plasdwr is the name given to a planned new suburb of approximately 7,000 homes in the north of Cardiff, Wales. Construction by lead developer Redrow Homes started in 2017.
Fairwater is the name of an electoral ward in the west of Cardiff, capital city of Wales. It covers Fairwater and Pentrebane on the outskirts of the urban area.
