Caerau is a

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...

in the west of

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses t ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. Often considered part of

Wenvoe Wenvoe ( cy, Gwenfô) is a village, community and electoral ward between Barry and Cardiff in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. Nearby are the Wenvoe Transmitter near Twyn-yr-Odyn and the site of the former HTV Wales Television Centre at Culverhouse ...

by gully, Heol Trelai is the main road or

avenue Avenue or Avenues may refer to: Roads * Avenue (landscape), traditionally a straight path or road with a line of trees, in the shifted sense a tree line itself, or some of boulevards (also without trees) * Avenue Road, Bangalore * Avenue Road, ...

, lined with large trees. Dominated mostly by private housing, it has the Western Leisure Centre, supermarkets, schools and churches.

History

Caerau, named after the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has ...

word for 'Forts', sits at the base of a hill slope on the edge of Cardiff. In 2012, Caerau Hillfort underwent a dig by archaeological television programme ''

Time Team ''Time Team'' is a British television programme that originally aired on Channel 4 from 16 January 1994 to 7 September 2014. It returned online in 2022 for two episodes released on YouTube. Created by television producer Tim ...

''. The research showed that the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

site consists of a substantial hilltop surrounded by multi-vallate earthworks (rings of banks and ditches) that have been cut through at the southeastern extent by a major road. It also uncovered that Caerau was likely a tribal capital for the Silures, who were powerful local people who strongly resisted Roman incursions into their land. The dig unearthed pottery and armoury that dated back to 1,000 B.C. In 1894, a Roman villa was discovered on the Racecourse and excavations were carried out in 1922. The results showed several outbuildings and bathing facilities used to exist there. St Mary's Church Caerau 1971

The former village of Caerau officially became part of Cardiff in 1922. Many homes and schools were built on the old Ely Racecourse, although enough of it was preserved to become Trelai Park. The historic

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of St. Mary is now in an advanced state of ruin.

Amenities

Caerau features numerous shopping parades. Two large supermarkets (

Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when ...

and

Farmfoods Farmfoods is a British frozen food and grocery supermarket chain based in Cumbernauld, Scotland. It is owned by Eric Herd, and has over three hundred shops in the United Kingdom, of which more than a hundred are in Scotland. History The compa ...

) are located just off

Cowbridge Road West Cowbridge Road West () is a major road in western Cardiff, the capital of Wales and forms part of the A48 road. It divides the districts of Ely and Caerau and connects inner Cardiff to Culverhouse Cross and eventually the M4 motorway via ...

on nearby Treseder Way. The area also has a large

Lidl Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG (; ) is a German international discount retailer chain that operates over 11,000 stores across Europe and the United States. Headquartered in Neckarsulm, Baden-Württemberg, the company belongs to the Schwarz Group, whi ...

store and a small

Lloyds Pharmacy LloydsPharmacy is a British pharmacy company. It has around 17,000 staff and dispenses over 150 million prescription items annually. It is owned by the Aurelius Group. It was formerly owned by the American McKesson Corporation. Overview The co ...

on Careau Lane. Other amenities include a laundrette, pet supply store and multiple newspaper and convenience stores. Caerau Rugby Football Club won the Mallet Cup in 2000 and 2007, and Caerau Football Club was formed in 1955.

Education

Primary Schools: * Millbank Primary School * Pencaerau Primary School * Trelai Primary School * Ysgol Gymraeg Nant Caerau Secondary Schools: *

Cardiff West Community High School Cardiff West Community High School is a secondary school in Ely, Cardiff, Wales, that teaches through the medium of English. Construction Cardiff West Community High School was built on the site of Glyn Derw High School. Although Glyn Derw h ...

* Mary Immaculate High School

Transport

The district is on

Cardiff Bus Cardiff Bus ( cy, Bws Caerdydd) is the dominant operator of bus services in Cardiff, Wales and the surrounding area, including Barry and Penarth. The company is wholly owned by Cardiff Council and is one of the few municipal bus companies to ...

's ''

Capital City Red Capital City Red was the branding of bus services ''17'' and ''18'' in Cardiff. The route runs from the city centre to the west of the city, serving the Canton, Ely and Caerau districts. The service forms part of the wider Cardiff Bus n ...

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

route, with high frequency articulated buses operating on routes 17 ( Ely / Canton /Central Stn) and 18 (Canton/Central Stn) through Caerau. Services 12 (Canton/Central Stn/Splott/Tremorfa) and 13 (Culverhouse Cross/Drope/Ely) also run along Cowbridge Road West ( A48), along the very northern edge of Caerau, which is the main road for the area, linking it to

Culverhouse Cross Culverhouse Cross ( cy, Croes Cwrlwys) is a district straddling the boundary between Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, in the community of Wenvoe. The district is centred on a major traffic roundabout that links West Cardiff to the M4 mo ...

to the west and Ely, Canton and the city centre to the east.

Politics

Caerau is both an electoral ward, and a

of the

City of Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the List of ci ...

. There is no

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. In ...

for the area. The electoral ward of Caerau falls within the

parliamentary constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

of Cardiff West (UK Parliament constituency), Cardiff West. It is bounded by Ely (Cardiff electoral ward), Ely to the northwest; Canton to the northeast; and the Vale of Glamorgan to the south. Caerau has been represented by Labour councillors Peter Bradbury and Elaine Simmons since May 2012. Prior to this, the ward had been represented by Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrat councillors, including previous Lord Mayor Jacqui Gasson who'd served the ward for 24 years.Cardiff council elections: The story in each ward
''YourCardiff'' (Wales Online), 3 May 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2012.

Notable people

* Noel Sullivan, member of early 2000s pop group Hear'Say. * Jason Mohammad, BBC Wales newsreader. * Nicky Piper, (born 5 May 1966) Super middleweight and light heavyweight boxing, boxer. His career was at its peak in the 1990s. * Henry Morgan, 16th century pirate * David Cotterill, Welsh Footballer. * Steve Robinson (boxer), Steve Robinson, World champion boxer

References

External links

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Caerau and surrounding area
{{Authority control Communities in Cardiff