is a village and

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 north 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 ...

, Wales, north of the M4 motorway in the Taff Valley. It is notable as the location of the hillside landmark, . The population as of the 2011 census was 1871.

Toponymy

is believed to have obtained its name from the word meaning 'ley land', i.e. 'pasture, grassland or unploughed land'; and , the name of a local family, thus "pasture of ". (See also Tonna.)

Overview

lies in the

River Taff The River Taff ( cy, Afon Taf) is a river in Wales. It rises as two rivers in the Brecon Beacons; the Taf Fechan (''little Taff'') and the Taf Fawr (''great Taff'') before becoming one just north of Merthyr Tydfil. Its confluence with th ...

Valley. Its population was 1946 at the 2001 census. is located near Junction 32 of the M4 motorway, east of

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the medieval bridge over the River Og ...

and west of Newport and the A470 trunk road. It is situated north of

Cardiff city centre Cardiff city centre ( cy, Canol Dinas Caerdydd) is the city centre and central business district of Cardiff, Wales. The area is tightly bound by the River Taff to the west, the Civic Centre to the north and railway lines and two railway s ...

and south of . The surrounding towns and villages are and to the west,

Taffs Well Taff's Well () is a semi-rural village, community and electoral ward located at the south easterly tip of Rhondda Cynon Taf, to the north of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. Known locally as the 'Gates to the Valleys', it is separated from ...

and Caerphilly to the north, and and Whitchurch to the south. became part of Cardiff In 1974 when Cardiff expanded northwestwards. Many consider as the entrance to the South Wales Valleys from Cardiff, with its famous landmark, , on a hillside. The main route to the Valleys, and beyond to Mid Wales, the

A470 The A470 (also named the Cardiff to Glan Conwy Trunk Road) is a trunk road in Wales. It is the country's longest road at and links the capital Cardiff on the south coast to Llandudno on the north coast. While previously one had to navigat ...

, runs alongside the village. To the north of the village is Fforest Fawr, a forest of about run by the

Natural Resources Wales Natural Resources Wales ( cy, Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru) is a Welsh Government sponsored body, which became operational from 1 April 2013, when it took over the management of the natural resources of Wales. It was formed from a merger of the Coun ...

. is separated from the rest of Cardiff by the M4 and the A470 to the south and west and hills and forestry to the east. is considered to be part of the Cardiff North Rural Area. is home to a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, several shops, a football club, a

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

club, a 9-hole

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

course, and

Library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

. The

Taff Trail The Taff Trail ( cy, Taith Taf) is a popular walking and cycle path that runs for between Cardiff Bay and Brecon in Wales. It is so named because it follows the course of the River Taff. Along much of its length, it follows the National Cycl ...

cycle route passes through the village, and it is a popular resting point between sections. The Cardiff Railway once ran through . It passed through a tunnel just beneath . Tongwynlais railway station opened in 1911 and closed in 1931. The nearest station on the

Coryton Line The Coryton Line is a commuter railway line in Cardiff from the city centre to Heath, Birchgrove, Rhiwbina, Whitchurch and Coryton. It was originally opened as part of the main line of the Cardiff Railway. The line is operated by Trans ...

Coryton railway station Coryton railway station serves Coryton and Pantmawr in Cardiff, Wales. It is the terminus of the Coryton Line north of Cardiff Central via Cardiff Queen Street. Passenger services are provided by Transport for Wales as part of the Valley L ...

Radyr railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Radyr Railway Station (geograph 6020896).jpg , borough = Radyr, Cardiff , country = Wales , coordinates = , grid_name ...

is also nearby.

Government

Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament : is in the Cardiff North constituency for the , currently represented by Julie Morgan MS, a member of the Welsh Labour Party. Houses of Parliament : Cardiff North is currently represented by Anna McMorrin MP, a member of the Labour Party. Local Government - City Council : is part of the

Whitchurch & Tongwynlais Whitchurch & Tongwynlais ( cy, Yr Eglwys Newydd a Thongwynlais) is an electoral ward of Cardiff, Wales. It covers some or all of the following areas: Coryton, Tongwynlais and Whitchurch in the parliamentary constituency of Cardiff North. I ...

electoral ward of Cardiff City Council and is represented by 4 councillors all of the

Welsh Labour Party Welsh Labour ( cy, Llafur Cymru) is the branch of the United Kingdom Labour Party in Wales and the largest party in modern Welsh politics. Welsh Labour and its forebears won a plurality of the Welsh vote at every UK general election since 192 ...

. In addition, is also governed by a community council. Local Government - Community Council :There are nine seats on the

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 ...

, which is funded by a precept on council tax bills in and supports a number of local services. Elections are held every five years. The last election was held at the same time as the

2022 Cardiff Council election The 2022 Cardiff Council election took place on 5 May 2022 to elect 79 members to Cardiff Council. On the same day, elections were held to the other 21 local authorities and to community councils in Wales as part of the 2022 Welsh local elections. ...

. The next election is due to be held in May 2027.

Castell Coch

' most notable building is the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

folly In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings. Eighteenth-cent ...

castle called (''Red Castle'') which is open to the public. It was built on top of the ruins of a 13th century castle thought to belong to , a local Welsh ruler. It was rebuilt and transformed in the late 1870s by

William Burges William Burges (; 2 December 1827 – 20 April 1881) was an English architect and designer. Among the greatest of the Victorian art-architects, he sought in his work to escape from both nineteenth-century industrialisation and the Neoc ...

for the 3rd Marquess of Bute.

Places of worship

There is a

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, ...

and two Nonconformist

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

s still open to worshippers in the village: * St Michael and All Angels (Church in Wales) (built 1875–77) * Ainon Baptist Church (built 1832) *Bethesda United Reformed Church (built 1861) There were once two other chapels in the village (both Nonconformist), which have since closed and been converted into private residences.

Music

The band RocketGoldStar wrote a song about the village, recording it on their 1996 album. They recorded it for a

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

Maida Vale Session. Brass Band has been in existence since the 19th century and continues to compete in national competitions as well as performing concerts. Choral Society also does a lot of charitable work and has recently performed in the Czech Republic. The Welsh

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam ...

band

Tigertailz Tigertailz are a Welsh glam metal band from Cardiff. Their 1990 album '' Bezerk'' made the Top 40 on the UK Albums Chart and contained the hit singles "Love Bomb Baby" and "Heaven". The band reformed in 2005. History Formation and early year ...

named a song on Disc 1 of their ''Thrill Pistol'' album " Fly".

Images

File:Castellcoch2.JPG, Castell Coch in autumn.

References

Hutton, J. An Illustrated History of Cardiff Docks. Volume 3: The Cardiff Railway Company and the docks at war. Silver Link 2009

External links

GENUKI page

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Tongwynlais and surrounding area

tongwynlais.org
Community Council website
tongwynlais.com
Independent hyperlocal website * {{authority control Communities in Cardiff Villages in Cardiff