101 things you (probably) didn't know about Whitchurch

The oldest tree

The oldest tree in Whitchurch is probably the yew in St Mary’s Gardens in Old Church Road.

Where are 'The Crossroads' in Whitchurch?

In 1841, The Crossroads were a very important spot, located at the junction of the Merthyr Road and Ty’n y Pwll Road where the Library now stands. Back then, there was just one building on the crossroads, a pair of very small and very old thatched cottages surrounded by fields.

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We had Chelsea Pensioners living in Whitchurch

In the Census of 1861, there were 2 separate families of Chelsea Pensioners (the smiley men in bright red coats) living in Whitchurch.

Dale of the Blackbird

There was an old thatched cottage at the southern end of the village called Cwm-y-Fwyalchen, (which means dale of the blackbird).

The Farmers Arms

We probably all recognise this view of the village, with the Fox and Hounds pub. Did you know however, that, in days gone by, there was another old inn just to the left of the big tree?

Whitchurch Pigs

At the beginning of the 19th Century, there were no more than 400 people living in Whitchurch and probably less than 80 houses and cottages. Most of the cottages were very simple, with only a few rooms and an outside yard.

Heol Gwrgan and Heol Iestyn

In the centre of the Coat-of-Arms for the City of Cardiff is a shield with a red dragon. The dragon is proudly holding a square standard of three silver chevrons on a red background.

Sam Bennett and Manor Way

Between the two world wars, Whitchurch was expanding rapidly with new houses being built from the northern edges of the village to the south.

Count de Lucovich

Most people know about the Booker family and their connection to Melingriffith, but how many, I wonder know about Count de Lucovich, Antonio Leonardo Trifone and his family who also lived in Whitchurch about the same time.

#10

The Village Pump

There was no piped water supply to the village until 1893 at the earliest, and individual houses were only connected into the supply after that.

#11

William Vachell and his Mystery House

William Vachell (who was born in 1796) was a leading member of a well-known family firm of druggists in Cardiff in the nineteenth century. His father was a ships surgeon during the French Revolutionary wars and his brother Charles (and fellow druggist) became Mayor and developed houses in Charles Street (named in honour of their father).

#12

Church Road

What was the original name of the winding road, starting at the Plough Inn, passing the Fox & Hounds pub and the (old) St Mary’s Church? There’s no guidance on the 1841 Tithe Map, nor the OS map of 1880. From older newspaper articles, there is reference to residents living in Church Street and Church Road. Perhaps we’ll never know.

#13

The Lost Places

There are many local placenames which have been forgotten or lost over the many centuries. The old records list a few, and one could almost make a guess of where they might have been

#14

The Vaughan’s of Velindre

Many people will know of the Bookers of Velindre, but who were the Vaughan’s and what was their connection with Velindre?

#15

Polo in Whitchurch

On some of the older maps of Whitchurch there is a field behind the funeral home by the Three Elms, called ‘The Polo Field’. It’s all built upon now and there is no indication of why it was once called such a strange name

#16

The Naming of Streets

Some people say that the roundabout at the top of the village is over one mile in circumference, and that it’s the biggest roundabout in Europe

#17

Elizabeth Young

Sometimes you come across someone so unusual that you can hardly believe it’s true. For example, the American Clarence Birdseye, the man who invented the frozen Fish Finger (yes, it’s true!)

#18

Harvest

200 years ago, Whitchurch was very rural any just about everyone celebrated the changing seasons

#19

Where was Scrap Row

By the 1840’s, the Melingriffith Tin Works was booming. The British Empire was expanding around the globe and there seemed to be an insatiable demand for tin, iron and coal, and south Wales had this in abundance

#20

Whitchurch Fire Brigade

It’s hard to believe that Whitchurch had its own fire brigade. There’s no detail of when it was established but we know that on special occasions the fire brigade was turned out as a guard of honour. When the new free library was opened in 1904, the firemen resplendent in their brass helmets were prominent in the parade

#21

Why Have We Got So Many Chapels in Whitchurch?

In many villages in England quite often there is only a Parish Church and perhaps one or two Nonconformist Chapels. So why, in Whitchurch do we have so many?

#22

Ghost Stories

Now that the nights are drawing in and Autumn starts to turn to Winter, there’s nothing better than to curl up on a cosy armchair, in front of a roaring fire and to share ghostly tales from long ago

#23

Tithe Barn

Did you know we had a Tithe Barn in Whitchurch?

#24

Charles Burley Ward VC

Ever since we moved to Whitchurch, we’ve heard stories about Charles Burley Ward, the last man to receive the Victoria Cross from Queen Victoria. A man who is buried in St Mary’s Churchyard

#25

Richard Blakemore and TW Booker

Do you ever dream about receiving a phone call or a letter from some dusty solicitor advising you that a long-lost relative has died and left you with a sizeable ‘inheritance’?

#26

(Really) Old Whitchurch

This time we’re really exploring the dim and distant past of our village. How old is this place we call home, and why is it called so many different names (in at least 3 different languages!). Where was the original church in Whitchurch?

#27

Old St Mary’s Church

Last time, we looked at Whitchurch (or whatever it was called) from the dark ages to the conquest, and where the original church might have been located. We finished by wondering whether a church might have been built close to the Norman ‘castle’, and whether this might have been where old St Mary’s Church stood?

#28

The Turnpike

The village boundaries today seem to be defined by roads and railways. To the north is the M4 and Junction 32, to the east is the busy A470 and the Gabalfa Interchange to the south. The west boundary remains (as always), the River Taff

#29

Cinemas in Whitchurch

We seem to be fast approaching Christmas, and in earlier times we might be thinking of popping down to our local cinema to watch the latest ‘flick’ from Hollywood

#30

Christmas in Whitchurch

Happy Christmas Everyone!

#31

New Year Celebrations

101 THINGS YOU (PROBABLY0 DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT WHITCHURCH

#32

The Footpaths of Whitchurch

Before the cars and lorries that dominate our lives nowadays, before the horses and wagons, before the roads and lanes were the footpaths and ancient ways

#33

Old Povey’s House

Another mystery house!

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#34

The Glamorganshire Canal

Everyone knows that we’ve got a stretch of the old canal running through the village, but how many of us know much more than that?

#35

Santes Dwynwen

Happy Dydd Santes Dwynwen!

#36

The Presbyterians

Have you ever noticed the plaque high up on the front of Tabernacle which says ‘Calvinistic Methodists’? how strange for a Presbyterian Church

#37

Melingriffith

One of the most-frequently raised queries about Whitchurch relates to our subject this time; the mill at Melingriffith

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#38

Uniformed Organisations

If you were to list all of the uniformed organisations that are held (or used to be held) in the village, it wouldn’t be difficult to rattle off a whole list: Boys Brigade, Scouts, Girls Brigade and Guides. And then for the slightly younger ones, BB Junior Section, Cubs and Brownies. And there are other groups, associated with church and chapels and other affiliated organisations, all trying to show young people what’s good in society

#39

Local Builders

Over the past months we’ve looked at various houses in the village, but these have generally been so old that there is no record of who actually built them. In June last year we ‘dipped a toe’ and discovered a little about Cornishman Sam Bennett, and his family, and the houses that they built on Manor Way, Birchgrove and off Kelston Road. This generated a lot of comment, so here’s another article about some of our other local builders:

#40

The Booker’s of Velindre

Back in November last year we looked at TW Booker and his uncle Richard Blakemore, and how TWB inherited the Melingriffith works and the grand house Velindre

#41

New Style/Old Style

Have you ever wondered why the tax year ends on such a strange date, 5th April each year?

#42

All Fool’s Day Canal Police/Smugglers

Today is April 1st, traditionally described as April-Fools Day or All-Fools day! A perfect day for looking at one of the more bizarre items we’ve looked at so far in this series about Whitchurch

#43

Schools

How much do we know about the schools in Whitchurch? There’s lots to discover, so we’ll have to explore in a series of articles. So, this one’s the first

#44

Easter

To many people in the village Easter is just a long holiday weekend, a chance to meet up with family or friends, and for children to over-indulge in chocolate eggs. It wasn’t always though

#45

Servants of the Bookers

We’ve all seen the TV programmes of posh Victorian people living in their wonderful houses and the army of servants waiting upon them. But I wonder what the reality of life was for the servants of the Bookers at Velindre?

#46

May Day

The May Day holiday nowadays seems to be quite sad and pathetic

#47

The Methodists

The Methodists have been a pillar of Whitchurch society for such a long time, and we all know the church at the roundabout near the library. But who are they and what is the history?

#48

The Other Mill

Pretty much everyone in the village knows about Melingriffith, Griffith’s Mill on the bank of the River Taff. It seems that it had been there since time immemorial, but the earliest mention is in 1158 when it was described as ‘burnt down’, destroyed by Welsh insurgents fighting the Norman incomers

#49

Memories

Over the past year, we’ve been looking at so many places and people from long ago, I thought it would be nice to share some of the memories of a Whitchurch ‘local’ with more recent memories of the village

#50

Memories 2

Last week we looked at some of the memories of ‘Gill’, a Whitchurch local, growing up in the 1950s and 60s. She had lots to share about her homelife, so this week I thought we could look at some of her other memories of growing up. She remembers:

#51

Celebration Time

If you’ve stuck with this blog since April 2021, you can now celebrate on reaching the halfway point in this series of 101 Things You (Probably) Didn’t Know About Whitchurch!

#52

Whitchurch Hospital

To start the second half of our ‘101 Things’, I thought we could look at one of the most prominent buildings remaining in the village, Whitchurch Hospital

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#53

Velindre in its Prime

When do you think you’ll be in your prime? If you’re honest, you might say that your prime years are still ahead (not many would volunteer that their best has passed them by already!)

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#54

Whitchurch Sportsmen

In the village we seem to be blessed with very famous sportspeople, a fact that even the national newspapers seem to have noted. However, there are a few sportsmen of yesteryear that seem to have been forgotten, and it seems only right to restore their names to public attention:

#55

Walking Whitchurch Heritage

On Tuesday evening we completed our first heritage walk. We ambled along Old Church Road from the Plough, finishing at the site of Whitchurch Castle. In spite of the weather forecast, over 50 folk joined us (so many in fact that we split into 2 groups). From the feedback, everyone seemed to enjoy the event, and the really hardy folk joined us in the Fox & Hounds for a catchup (I had to have a medicinal Reverend James because I’d done so much talking on the walk!)

#56

John Cornish

Our first blog in this series was in early May last year, when we discovered the oldest tree in the village. Since then, we’ve been dipping into the history of Whitchurch, sometimes finding strange and fascinating facts

#57

War Memorial

There can be few alive today who can begin to understand the carnage of World War One. The numbers of fresh-faced young men (mainly men in those days) who had volunteered to take part in the ‘great adventure’ of a European War

#58

Dentists

My dad loved Franks Mints. They were made in Newport and were individually wrapped in cellophane. They were square-shaped with light brown and brown stripes, and they were always a ‘go-to’ present for him for birthdays and Christmas. Does anyone remember Franks Mints?

#59

Whitchurch Rugby Club

I need to tread carefully with this blog, as there are lots of Whitchurch people who have a great interest and knowledge in this. I have to rely on others (again) for the information

#60

Corner Shops

What’s the definition of a corner shop? Well, either a shop on the corner of a block, or maybe a single shop in the middle of a terrace of houses. But, definitely not a shop in a long line of other shops (or a parade). Do you agree?

#61

Gwyl Mabsant

Next Monday is the 15th of August. The saint’s day for St Mary of our local parish church (thanks to Fr John Davis for confirming this date as there are 3 or 4 other dates during the year, but this one supports my story!)

#62

Street Vendors

For over 40 years we’ve had the privilege of having a ‘Johnny Onion’ man visit us here in Whitchurch, usually three times every year. Sadly, in the spring this year Patrick made his last visit to us selling his Breton onions and shallots, announcing he was retiring. What a loss, and the end of a long tradition!

#63

The Baptists

It never ceases to amaze me about our village. This week I’m wondering why we’ve got 2 Baptist Churches within half a mile of each other

#64

Y Filog

The southernmost part of the village (nearest to the parish boundary), was incredibly rural 200 years ago. A few isolated cottages and fields, and a rambling roadway.

#65

Eli Evans

Did you know that we had a sculptor living in the village in the 19th century? His name was Eli Evans.

#66

Americans on the Common

It’s common knowledge that there was a camp of American soldiers on Whitchurch Common for quite a time during WW2.

#67

Other Booker Houses

The Bookers had 5 children, and they all lived the life of luxury in Velindre with a host of servants at their beck and call.

#68

Telephone Boxes

Where have all the telephone boxes gone?
I know that the old red telephone boxes have all disappeared from our streets, but the silver replacement boxes seem to be disappearing as well. I’ve been looking around at where the boxes still are, and there aren’t many. There’s one at the roundabout by the library, and one right at the bottom of the village where Manor way starts. But there’s nothing in between. Surely there used to be a phone box in the village? Where would it have been, anyone remember?

#69

Oliver Cromwell

Researching items for these weekly blogs is always a delight, and the number of strange facts that come to light never ceases to amaze me.

#70

The Farms of Whitchurch - 1

It’s thanks to Ernie Broad and Edgar Chappell that we know so much about the farms of the village. They have written so much and given us a glimpse of how things were not so long ago
Ernie Broad tells us about the farming characters of his childhood and Edgar Chappell has lots to say about the history. He tells that from 1295 Whitchurch was one large medieval manor, with farms and bound tenants, but for the last 2-300 years there were a handful of separate landowners. Does anyone know any more about this?

#71

Walking Whitchurch Heritage

Last Saturday, we completed our second heritage walk. Meeting on Whitchurch Common (opposite the Three Elms), over 60 folk met up ready for another instalment of local history and healthy walking

#72

The Farms of Whitchurch - 2

A few weeks ago, we looked generally at the 16 or so farms which made up much of our early village, and we’ve had an incredible response. This time we’ll take a bit of a look at the individual farms and see who lived in them at various times. Whilst we’ve got information from the Tithe Map and the early census returns, there’s not much else. There are odd snippets in the local newspapers and historic gossip. If you’ve got anything more, please share it as we want to grow this story of ours.

#73

Wartime Memories of Whitchurch

Today is Remembrance Day, 11th November

#74

Robin Goch

Yet another story of a local man with an incredible story.

#75

Horticultural Shows

Where was ‘The Square’ in Whitchurch? And when did we have horticultural shows?

#76

14th December 1904: The Opening of the Free Library

We’re over threequarters of the way through these blogs, and I’ve realised that no mention has been made yet to the library (sorry Hub!). So, as today is the 9th of December, it’s the nearest in date to the official opening of The Library

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#77

Whitchurch Hospital (The War Years)

We pick up from last time and our blog number 52. Whitchurch Hospital (the Cardiff Asylum) had opened in 1908 with space for 750 patients and 150 staff, all within landscaped grounds with its own farm

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#78

Characters of Whitchurch - 1

A special Christmas edition of ‘101 Things’

#79

The Farms of Whitchurch - 3

This is the third part of the farm story. The first two seemed very popular with lots of comments and feedback, so this time we’ll look at the farms on the west side of the old Merthyr Road. You might like to contemplate the old farms whilst you enjoy your New-Year celebratory cornflakes

#80

Chateauneuf de Tongwynlais

We’ve got a grapevine in the garden. It was planted over 30 years ago, and it has been terribly neglected and is looking very gnarled

#81

The Woollen Mills

If you were asked to produce a list of industries in the village over the past couple of hundred years, you’d probably include the tin works at Melingriffith, the College Ironworks behind the Common or perhaps the industries in Llandaff North and Tongwynlais associated with the canal and the railways

#82

Proper Respects/Funerals

Apologies for the mawkish subject of this week’s blog. Not a subject for the fainthearted, but perhaps worthy of asking a few questions

#83

Old Whitchurch Place Names

When you live in a village with over a thousand years of history, and three languages (Welsh, English and Norman French) and probably a bit of Latin too, there must be some scope for an incredibly wide range of local place names

#84

Pubs

We’ve previously looked at churches and chapels and remarked how many there were. We’ve also been surprised at how many local farms we had too. So, imagine my surprise when I started to research how many pubs we have, and what a thirsty lot our village ancestors must have been!

#85

Bust at Mellingriffith

The story of the Booker family is like a Victorian melodrama. Starting with an unexpected inheritance, the growth of a tinplate works (and the acquisition of both an ironworks and coalmines just upstream at Pentyrch). Fabulous wealth, TW Booker becoming MP for Herefordshire and all-round philanthropist to his workers and the local community

#86

Characters of Whitchuch - 2

Well, here we are again!

#87

St Teilo's

The sketch below shows the most modern-looking of our village churches. It is St Teilo’s RC on Old Church Road

#88

Forgotten Houses of Whitchurch

Over these past months we’ve looked at so many aspects of our village and the old parish, and discovered many things that we probably didn’t know. People, places and events now long gone and lost from memory

#89

Shops

Back in blog 60 we looked at the corner shops in the village, and it attracted lots of comments. I thought it might be fun to look at the village centre shops this time and see what we can discover

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#90

What Happened to Velindre House

We’ve looked previously at the saga of the Bookers, and how the Melingriffith works failed

#91

Whitchurch Hospital - 3

Last time we looked at Whitchurch Hospital during two world wars. This time we’ll look at what’s happened since

#92

St. Mary's

Because it’s Easter, I thought that we could look at our parish church and its place in the community

#93

Forgotten Houses of Whitchurch - 2

Previously, we looked at some of the houses in the parish which have been lost, where only the name and perhaps a vague memory or two remain. Ghosts of houses from the past which still leave the faintest of footprints; almost forgotten over time, but not quite

#94

Pubs - 2

Like the churches and chapels, we seem to have many pubs too. When we explored pubs back in February, I concluded there were at least 20 pubs, with 9 still open in Whitchurch alone

#95

Greenmeadow

Greenmeadow is yet another of the grand houses of the parish that has simply disappeared from view and memory. Fortunately, the history of the house and the genealogy of the Lewis family who lived there, is well documented by local historian Don Llewellyn

#96

Gwauntreoda Engineering Company

I’m told that the Brown Lennox factory in Pontypridd manufactured the anchor chains for the Titanic!

#97

Railways

Imagine Whitchurch 250 years ago, you probably couldn’t. A pastoral corner of the country that hadn’t changed much in the hundreds of years previously. Quiet local tracks linking the various farms, and a ‘dodgy’ rural road down to Cardiff. Less than 700 people living in the whole parish

#98

Gabalva House

Back in March we looked at some of the forgotten houses in the area. One of those mentioned was Gabalva House

#99

Elm Trees in Whitchurch

There must have been lots of elm trees in the village in the past. They would have been a common sight 200 years ago, growing in the hedgerows, standing alone in fields or even in groups. They were still around quite recently, some of our older residents may well remember them

#100

Whitchurch Castle

Wow! The penultimate blog. There are so many things still to look at, but I’ve run out of numbers!

#101

All done!

Well, would you believe it?

We hadn’t lived in Whitchurch long, before we began to hear some intriguing stories of the village. And yet, there was so little evidence of previous times.

Yes, there was the library, and Whitchurch Hospital, but where was the old church? the tinplate works? was there really an old castle?

Now fifty years later, I wasn’t much further along. I’d read Edgar Chappell’s book, but found it a little ‘dusty’. Ernie Broad’s meanderings were far more interesting, but hard to follow. Of course, there were the wonderful black-and-white photographs showing the village in the ‘olden days’.

Through AWEN, we’d set up a Reminiscence Group at the library, and clearly, I wasn’t alone in trying to find out more about the village. There were so many questions (and not enough answers).

The history of the village seemed like a complicated jigsaw puzzle, without a picture to guide us, not certain whether all the pieces were available, and which ones were the important ‘corner’ ones to make a start?

We had our local experts, Chris down at the Philog, Terry and his memories as a local Whitchurch boy, and Gwawr with all the history of the hospital. And so many others, each with their own stories.

You start exploring, and you find the first answers, and then one or two pieces seem to join up. Were they true? where would I find out more? Perhaps the opening of our wonderful library a hundred years ago, thanks to the generosity of Andrew Carnegie, or the story of Melingriffith. Both seemed almost legendary, and maybe worth looking into.

A list was needed, to act as a possible programme for the Reminiscence Group. Then some basic ground rules.

And then came COVID and the compulsory lockdowns. No more face-to-face meetings.

Was this the opportunity I’d been waiting for?

With compulsory isolation, was there an appetite for a regular on-line blog? Would this help to answer some of the questions, to invite sharing and feedback perhaps?

So, through AWEN volunteers, ‘101 Things’ was created as a weekly chronicle on the AWEN web-page and also on Facebook. I’d convinced myself that interest would wane after a month or so, so the project wouldn’t be too onerous.

The stories would tell themselves, and I’d enjoy the sketching.

Who would believe that two-and-a-half-years later the chronicle was completed. My idiosyncratic stroll through the lost history of the village was done.

Without further ado…