Dinas Powys
Dinas Powys | |
---|---|
A distant view of Dinas Powys | |
Location within the Vale of Glamorgan | |
Population | 7,490 (2011)[1] |
OS grid reference | ST157711 |
Principal area | |
Preserved county | |
Country | Wales |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Dinas Powys |
Postcode district | CF64 |
Dialling code | 029 |
Police | South Wales |
Fire | South Wales |
Ambulance | Welsh |
Vale of Glamorgan | |
Dinas Powys (Welsh pronunciation:
Although several housing developments have been added since the late 20th century, the old centre of Dinas Powys maintains a traditional, almost
According to recent electoral rolls, the population is in the region of 8,800, making Dinas Powys the fifth largest settlement in the Vale of Glamorgan.[citation needed]
History
The Neolithic and the Middle Ages
The Dinas Powys area has been populated since prehistoric times. The most ancient artifact found in the area is a Neolithic Stone Age axe-head, discovered by P. W. Brooks in 1949 and now displayed in the National Museum Cardiff. The hillfort was, in its time, considered[by whom?] to have great status and wealth. Indeed, in the age of Celtic Christianity, residents of Dinas Powys had use of day-to-day objects from Bordeaux, Athens and Alexandria.[citation needed]
The village features substantial remains of an early medieval castle and the adjacent Cwm George was the site of the Celtic
The castle was originally the seat of a Norman noble called Baron de Sumeri or Sumery,[8] but the structure went into decline around 1322 when the de Sumeri male family line came to an end.[9]
In the 11th century, Dinas Powys was under the control of Sir Reginald de Sully, one of the Twelve Knights of Glamorgan. In 1591, Sir Edward Mansel of Margam wrote his historical document recording The Winning of Glamorgan and said:
- To Sir Reginald de Sully he (Sir Robert Fitz Haymon) gave the castle and town to be called Sully with the Manor of it, and the Manors of St Andrews and Dinas Powys for his Granary and provisions. This Sir Reginald bestowed much land in fee frankliege to his men and came to be a man of wealth and fame. He had at Sully besides his Castle a fair Manor house built after a new manner, where he did live the most of his time, which house as well as the Castle was broke down by Owain Glendowr[10]
Mansel also records:
- The Lordship of Llantwit is described as so fertile that as Glamorgan was called the Garden of Wales was this Lordship called the Garden of Glamorgan ... and it is the flower of all the Country ... and it was very full of goodly villages and Courtly houses, most of them still in remaining. The Lord had in this Lordship a noble Castle at Dinas Powys and one at Barry, with his Court house of Llantwit and Grange house of Boverton, so that in the whole it is a most Goodly Country.
Dinas Powys was included in the original medieval Welsh political sub-division called the Cantref Brenhinol (the Royal Hundred) which later became the commote known as the Hundred of Dinas Powis, which also encompassed St Andrews Major, Michaelston-le-Pit, Westra, Penarth, Cogan, Sully, Lavernock and Llandough.
Rapid expansion in 19th century
By 1833, Dinas Powys barely existed. The nearby
The village population remained almost static at about 300-400 people until the second half of the 19th century, when there was an influx into the community, including a large contingent from the
The new rail link provided far better communication and transport to the area, making it a more attractive residential prospect, and many workers from Barry and Cardiff moved in. By 1891, the village population had more than doubled to 1,149; ten years later, it was over 2,000. Dinas Powys expanded in two ways: from the railway link towards St. Andrew's Major many imposing and fine houses were built, in contrast to the 'railway suburbs' that grew up along the railway, near the current area of Eastbrook, where the new housing was of more modest proportions.[12]
A few years after the railway was constructed, the main Cardiff Road was developed over the previous unmetalled trackway that followed the route of the railway line. This provided a further burst of population growth and house building.
20th century
A corner of the village
Geography
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2023) |
Dinas Powys is spread across the full width of a wooded valley, with the Cadoxton River running in the valley.[14]
The surrounding soils are mostly a strong, brown, dry earth, useful for arable farming; the growing of various grains contributed to the area being a mostly farming community until the modern era. The substratum under the whole area is a limestone that was likely laid down under a warm ocean in the distant past.[15]
The village has not been able to spread northwards, because of golf courses and protected woodlands between Dinas Powys and Michaelston-le-pit. The freeholders of Cwrt-yr-Ala Estate prevented the two from merging. More recent housing development has taken place in a linear fashion either side of the main Cardiff road and in the direction of Cadoxton and Barry. Cwm George and Cwrt-yr-Ala are woodlands in the area.
Maps over the last hundred years show that Penarth and Dinas Powys have spread and grown closer together. In many places the two communities are only separated by a few hundred yards and a couple of fields; however, no direct road connections have been added, entailing a car journey of several miles via Llandough. The only existing direct road is the medieval, winding single-track Cross Common Road. Another traditional lane crossing, which existed between the current site of the Tesco Express mini-supermarket and the Erw Delyn school at Redlands Heights, Penarth, was closed to through traffic following extensions to the Murch estate in the 1970s.
According to the Environment Agency, in the floods of October 1998 six properties at Dinas Powys were affected. Flooding was caused by the floodwater overtopping the banks of the Cadoxton River among others, restrictions to flow in channels and surcharging of drains.
Governance
The community of Dinas Powys (which includes St Andrews Major and Westra) elects a community council. Uniquely for this part of Wales, the council was dominated by the Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru for over two decades. More recently, this dominance has reduced slightly. In May 2008, the Conservative Party won four additional seats on the community council, all at the expense of Plaid Cymru, including the defeat of Chris Franks.
An
Dinas Powys falls within the Vale of Glamorgan parliamentary constituency and is currently represented in the UK Parliament by the Conservative MP Alun Cairns.
The Senedd constituency of Vale of Glamorgan is represented by Jane Hutt of Welsh Labour.
Demography
The
There are few major employers in the village. The majority of the working population commute to Cardiff, Penarth and Barry.
Landmarks
Local landmarks include Dinas Powys Castle, the village common, and the war memorial on the village green.
Several pubs serve the village, mostly in the village centre; they include the Star, the Cross Keys and the Three Horse Shoes. Other former pubs were the Swan in Eastbrook (which closed permanently in 2007) and the Castle Oak (until 2006 known as the Malthouse), located on the Murch estate, which closed during 2011. The latter site is now operated by Tesco.
The Mount, a late Georgian villa, is a Grade 2 listed building. It was originally a farmhouse called Mount Pleasant and was occupied by the Hurst family, who held the manor of Dinas Powys. The house was extended in the 19th century by the Lee family, who built a new south wing and renamed it the Mount. It was further modified in the Victorian period before being converted into separate dwellings in the 20th century.[18]
Religious sites
St. Peter's Church on Mill Road is the village's main
Dinas Powys is also noted for its 14th century Norman parish church, dedicated to St Andrew. This is located in the hamlet of St Andrews Major, just under a mile away from the village centre. There is also the nearby church of St Michael and All Angels in Michaelston-le-Pit.
There are also two
Education
Dinas Powys has two primary schools, Dinas Powys Primary School (formed in 2015 by the amalgamation of Dinas Powys Infants' School and Murch Junior School) and St Andrews Major Church in Wales Primary School.
The village has no
Sports and recreation
The recreation area at the village common, administered by Dinas Powys Community Council, is home to several sports teams. Rugby was played on the common in 1882, when a group of young farm workers challenged players at the new Gwalia Brickworks.[23] Dinas Powys Rugby Club is located on the common and plays in the WRU League 1 East Central.[24] The club has won the East District cup on two occasions, and the 2nd XV (known as the Dingos) won the Mallett cup in 2016.[citation needed] Organised sports are also played on Parc Bryn-a-don and the Murch Playing Fields.
Dinas Powys Football Club became the first in the Vale of Glamorgan to achieve the Football Association of Wales' Club Accreditation Scheme Bronze Award.[citation needed]
Dinas Powys Golf Club was founded in 1914 and has views over the city of Cardiff and Cardiff Bay.
Dinas Powys Cricket Club was established in 1882. The club fields three sides in the Welsh Club Cricket Conference, playing their home league matches at Parc Bryn y Don. There is also a Midweek League side and a Sunday friendly side, playing home matches on the village common. The club also has a junior section.
There has been an active branch of the Pony Club in the village since 1975. There are also many voluntary organisations, including a large Scout group.
Filming
The 2021 ITV television drama series Hollington Drive was filmed in Dinas Powys, in the luxury housing estate on Ardwyn Walk.
Transport
The village has two railway stations, one at either end of the village: Eastbrook station is at the Cardiff end and Dinas Powys station at the Barry end. Both stations are on Network Rail's Barry branch line, with passenger trains operated by Transport for Wales.
Notable people
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2023) |
The following people live, or have previously lived, in Dinas Powys:
- John Smith – former Labour Member of Parliament
- Ray Smith (1936–1991) – actor
- Huw Justin Smith (1965–2007) – son of Ray Smith and better known as Pepsi Tate, bass guitarist of the Welsh glam metal band Tigertailz
- Dave Edmunds (born 1944) – recording artist and record producer
- Sarah Loosemore (born 1971) – tennis player
- Donna Edwards – actress
- Noel Johnson – radio actor
- Jeremy Colman – former Auditor General for Wales
- Charlotte Church – singer and TV personality
- Hannah Mills – Olympic medalist sailor
References
- ^ "Community population 2011". Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
- ISBN 978-0-19-960908-6.
- ^ "DINAS POWYS FORT, PREVIOUSLY CWM GEORGE OR CWRT-YR-ALA CAMP". Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ ISSN 0003-598X.
- ISBN 978-0-7200-0354-3. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ISBN 978-0-8264-7886-3. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ISBN 978-0-203-02216-0. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ Margam Abbey; Llandaff (Diocese) (1891). Cartæ et alia munimenta quæ ad dominium de Glamorgan pertinent ...: 441-1300. Priv. Print. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ "Dinas Powys castle history". The Daily Telegraph. 8 September 2001. Archived from the original on 22 April 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ Hobson Matthews, John (1903). "The Winning of Glamorgan: Documents". Accessed via Britishhistoryonline.ac.uk. pp. 6–47 (Volume 4). Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ Lewis, Samuel (1845). A Topographical Dictionary of Wales. S. Lewis. p. 475. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ "The Barry Railway". Trackbed.com. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ a b "About Dinas Powys". Dinas Powys Orchestra. Archived from the original on 11 February 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ Williams, Stewart; Denning, R. T. W. (1963). Stewart Williams' Glamorgan historian. D. Brown. p. 169. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ Alcock, Leslie; University of Wales. Board of Celtic Studies (1963). Dinas Powys: an Iron Age, Dark Age, and medieval settlement in Glamorgan. University of Wales Press. p. 1. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 9 April 2015.
- ^ "Neighbourhood Statistics". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
- ^ "The Mount - Dinas Powys - Vale of Glamorgan - Wales | British Listed Buildings". www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
- ^ Knight, Charles (1854). The English cyclopaedia: a new dictionary of Universal Knowledge. Bradbury and Evans. p. 933. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ "St Peters Church, Dinas Powys". The Church in Wales St Peter, Dinas Powys St Andrew, St Andrews Major. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
- ^ "Church of St Peter, Dinas Powys". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-7083-1234-6. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ "Dinas Powys seek Forwards Coach". Cardiff Blues. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ "League 1 East Central". Welsh Rugby Union | Club & Community. Retrieved 18 January 2023.