Culverhouse Cross () is a district straddling the boundary between

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 ...

and 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 ...

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 ...

, in the

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

Wenvoe Wenvoe () is a village, Community (Wales), community and electoral ward between Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, 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 T ...

. The district is centred on a major traffic roundabout that links West Cardiff to the

M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is the third longest motorway in the United Kingdom, running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh ele ...

and is home to a number of different retail outlets, and formerly ITV Wales's headquarters.

History

According to place-name etymologist Deric Meidrum John, there has been a crossroads at Culverhouse Cross for some centuries, originally at the intersection of the Cardiff to

Cowbridge Cowbridge () is a market town in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately west of the centre of Cardiff. The Cowbridge with Llanblethian community and civil parish elect a town council. A Cowbridge electoral ward exists for elections to ...

turnpike and the road between the parishes of

St Fagans St Fagans ( ; ) is a village and Community (Wales), community in the west of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is home to the St Fagans National History Museum. History The name of the area invokes Saint Fagan (Saint), Fagan, according ...

and

. He states that a farmhouse by the name Culverhouse existed nearby and that the word Culver refers to a pigeon. The Welsh equivalent name ''Cwrlwys'' was apparently recorded in 1776. Research at

British History Online ''British History Online'' is a digital library of primary and secondary sources on medieval and modern history of Great Britain and Ireland. It was created and is managed as a cooperative venture by the Institute of Historical Research, Universit ...

shows that the word Culverhouse may also refer to a dovecot. The Coedarhydyglyn estate, seat of numerous local prominent men from 1767 onwards, is located at the top of Tumble Hill above the crossroads. TV Centre Cardiff

Significant commercial and retail development of the area began in 1984 when HTV, the local commercial television contractor at that time, established television headquarters, studios and related facilities near the village of

. Renamed ITV Wales, the company downsized and relocated to

Cardiff Bay Cardiff Bay (; colloquially "The Bay") is an area and freshwater lake in Cardiff, Wales. The site of a former tidal bay and estuary, it is the river mouth of the River Taff and River Ely, Ely. The body of water was converted into a lake as part ...

in 2014, and the entire Culverhouse Cross studio, technical and office complex was demolished in April 2015.

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

was the first store to be built in Culverhouse Cross in 1986, preceding a decade of rapid development in the suburb because of its accessible location. Demolition of the old Tesco superstore began in March 2007 and operated out of a temporary structure while a new Tesco Extra was built in its place. This opened on 22 October 2007.

Retail parks

All of the district's retail parks are situated on or very close to the main roundabout. Valegate Retail Park forms around the

A48 A48 may refer to: * A48 motorway (France), a road connecting the A43 and Grenoble * A48 road (Great Britain), a road connecting Gloucester, England and Carmarthen, Wales * Autovía A-48, a motorway under construction connecting Cadiz and Algecira ...

westbound exit of the roundabout towards

and

Bridgend Bridgend (; or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge over the River Og ...

. Brooklands Retail Park is situated between the A4232 southbound and the A4050 exits of the roundabout. Wenvoe Retail Park forms around the

eastbound exit of the roundabout. There is a large B&Q store opposite.

Roundabout exits

* A4232(S):

Centre and

Penarth Penarth ( , ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately south of Cardiff city centre on the west shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay. Penarth is a Seaside resort#Brit ...

, Leckwith,

, Cardiff International Sports Village and

Cardiff City Stadium The Cardiff City Stadium () is a stadium in the Leckwith, Cardiff, Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales. It is the home of Cardiff City F.C., Cardiff City and the Wales national football team, Wales national team. Following expansion of the Ninian S ...

* A4050 to Barry,

Dinas Powys Dinas Powys (; also spelt "Dinas Powis" in English) is a town and community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. Its name means "fort of the provincial place" and refers to the Dinas Powys hillfort, Iron Age hillfort which ...

and Cardiff International Airport *

(W)

– St. Nicholas,

Bonvilston Bonvilston () is a village in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The village is situated on the A48 road, A48 about four miles east of Cowbridge and near the Welsh capital city of Cardiff. The population in 2011 was 392. History It is named after ...

– and

, Dyffryn Gardens and The Downs *A4232(N) M4 Junction 33 –

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community (Wales), community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which d ...

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

, Newport,

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

*A48(E) Cardiff West, Ely, Canton, Caerau, St. Fagans Culverhouse Cross map

Public transport

Culverhouse Cross is served by Cardiff Bus and

First Cymru First Cymru is an operator of bus services in South West Wales. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. With its headquarters previously in Swansea, it is now part of the First Wales and West region which also covers Bristol, Bath, Somerset, Bath and ...

. *Service 96 (provided by the Vale of Glamorgan Council) serves Cardiff City Centre and Barry *Service X2 (FirstBus) goes to Cowbridge and Bridgend *The T9 express service between Cardiff city centre, Cardiff Bay and Cardiff Airport passes through Culverhouse Cross, but does not make scheduled stops The nearest

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

, although not particularly close, is Waun-Gron Park in Fairwater. The bus services from Culverhouse Cross, however, provide a direct service to

Cardiff Central railway station Cardiff Central () is a major station on the South Wales Main Line. It is located in the capital of Wales, Cardiff, down the line from London Paddington, via , and measured via . It is one of the city's two urban rail network hubs, along wi ...

References

{{Vale of Glamorgan Economy of Cardiff Districts of Cardiff Shopping centres in Wales British television studios Television in Wales Shopping in Cardiff ITV offices, studios and buildings Retail parks in Wales