Creigiau is a dormitory settlement in the north-west of

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, the capital of

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. The village currently has about 1,500 houses and a population of approximately 5,000 people. Prior to 2022 The Cardiff

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

covering the village was Creigiau & St Fagans. Following the recommendations of the

Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales The Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru () is a Welsh Government sponsored body, responsible for defining local government boundaries and Senedd constituency boundaries in Wales, also known as . The Commission was established originally as ...

the ward was merged with Pentyrch to form the new ward of "Pentyrch and St Fagans" effective from the 2022 Cardiff Council election. The village has a strong Welsh-speaking community, and along with Pentyrch has one of the largest clusters of Welsh-speakers in Cardiff. 23.4% of the village speaks Welsh.

History

Creigiau's former industrial centre was a quarry, which opened in the 1870s and closed in 2001. The village was linked to Cardiff and Barry by the Barry Railway's railway station, located on the eastern edge of the village, which was closed as part of the

Beeching cuts The Beeching cuts, also colloquially referred to as the Beeching Axe, were a major series of route closures and service changes made as part of the restructuring of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain in the 1960s. They are named ...

. The Welsh language has always had a strong presence in Creigiau and the majority of its inhabitants still spoke Welsh in 1890. In the mid-1970s, housing estates sprang up to accommodate commuters. A further large housing estate was built during the 1980s to further accommodate the growing number of commuters wanting to live in the village. This estate is still locally known as "the new estate" or "lower Creigiau". Creigiau became part of the

Unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

of Cardiff in 1996 following Local Government reorganisation.

Castell-y-mynach

Castell-y-mynach is a late medieval manor house, reputedly built in the fifteenth century. It was remodelled in the early seventeenth century and contains seventeenth and eighteenth century wall paintings. The house is now surrounded by a modern housing development.

Creigiau Pottery

A pottery studio was set up by Reg and Jean Southcliffe in 1947 as the Southcliffe Ceramic Company, renamed to Creigiau Pottery in 1948. Creigiau produced domestic tableware in either a pale grey glaze, or their best-known copper

lustreware Lustreware or lusterware (the respective spellings for British English and American English) is a type of pottery or porcelain with a metallic glaze that gives the effect of iridescence. It is produced by metallic oxides in an Ceramic glaze, over ...

. A distinctive Creigiau piece is their

kitsch ''Kitsch'' ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as Naivety, naïve imitation, overly eccentric, gratuitous or of banal Taste (sociology), taste. The modern avant-garde traditionally opposed kitsch ...

Welsh Pie Dragon, a lustreware pie funnel in the shape of a

Welsh dragon The Welsh Dragon (, meaning 'the red dragon'; ) is a heraldic symbol that represents Wales and appears on the national flag of Wales. Ancient leaders of the Celtic Britons that are personified as dragons include Maelgwn Gwynedd, Mynyddog Mwynf ...

rather than the usual bird. In 1962, Tom also took over the Claypits Pottery at Ewenny, nearby to the Ewenny Pottery. He renamed it Vale Pottery, after the

Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( ), locally referred to as ''The Vale'', is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf t ...

, it later being renamed again under new owners as Helyg Pottery.

Governance

Creigiau was formerly an

to Taff Ely Borough Council. In 1995 Creigiau became part of Cardiff and the ward elected a

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...

councillor, Delme Bowen, to

Cardiff Council Cardiff Council, formally the County Council of the City and County of Cardiff () is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Administrative divisions of Wales, principal areas of Wales. The principal area and its council were established ...

(Cardiff's first Plaid Cymru councillor for 23 years). Since 1999 Creigiau has been covered by a new ward, Creigiau & St Fagans.

Amenities

Local amenities include a bilingual primary school, which teaches through the medium of both Welsh and English, a golf club, a convenience store with a post office, a recreation ground managed by village residents (home of local archery, cricket, football, petanque and tennis clubs), a GP surgery, and local pub called 'The Creigiau Inn'.

Transport

A few bus routes serve the area, mainly operated by Stagecoach and Cardiff Bus A new Rapid Transit Line could be built from Creigiau to St Mellons in Cardiff, via Cardiff City Centre and the Welsh Parliament by 2024. Plans for the South Wales Metro include this line as part of the "Cardiff Crossrail Project", which could also mean the line could be extended further.

References

External links

Photos of Creigiau and surrounding area
{{authority control Former electoral wards of Cardiff Villages in Cardiff