Roath ( cy, Y Rhath) is a district 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, villag ...

to the north-east of the

city centre A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 ...

, capital of

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

. 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. ...

for the area which is mostly covered by the

Plasnewydd Plasnewydd (meaning ''New Manor'' or ''New Place'' in English) is an electoral ward (and formerly the name of a community) of Cardiff, Wales. It falls within the parliamentary constituency of Cardiff Central. It is bounded by the electoral war ...

electoral ward, and stretches from

Adamsdown Adamsdown ( cy, Waunadda or ) is an inner city area and community in the south of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. Adamsdown is generally located between Newport Road, to the north and the mainline railway to the south. The area includes ...

in the south to

Roath Park Roath Park ( cy, Parc y Rhath) Cardiff, Wales, is one of Cardiff's most popular parks, owned by Cardiff County Council and managed by the Parks Section. It retains a classic Victorian atmosphere and has many facilities. The park has recently bee ...

in the north.

Description

Albany Road post office - 1974950 - geograph

Its main shopping streets are Albany Road,

City Road City Road or The City Road is a road that runs through central London. The northwestern extremity of the road is at Angel where it forms a continuation of Pentonville Road. Pentonville Road itself is the modern name for the eastern part of L ...

, and Wellfield Road. The area is characterised by its several tree-lined avenues and

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 Edward ...

terraced streets. Roath houses a very diverse population including a large number of students, being very close to the main university campuses, a large ethnic minority population and many young professionals. Parts of Roath are among the most affluent districts of Cardiff, although subdivision of the large Victorian properties is starting to occur in the areas at the south end of the district. Its close proximity to the city centre, its number of local amenities, churches, shops and restaurants and

public house 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 wa ...

s and the famous

make it a popular area to live.

History

''Y Rhath'' (Rahat, Raath 13th c.) is likely a development of the Brythonic word for ramparts, cognate with the Irish word ''

ráth Ringforts, ring forts or ring fortresses are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Bronze Age up to about the year 1000. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are also many in South Wale ...

'' (earthwork, fortification), the latinised form of this word (''Ratae'') appears elsewhere in Roman Britain (such as

Ratae Corieltauvorum Ratae Corieltauvorum or simply Ratae was a town in the Roman province of Britannia. Today it is known as Leicester, located in the English county of Leicestershire. Name ''Ratae'' is a latinate form of the Brittonic word for "ramparts" ( ...

). This may suggest a pre-existing

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 mostly appl ...

settlement, likely on the site of the old manor house which was surrounded by earthworks and a ditch for centuries. Alternatively, it could derive from the name given to the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

settlement in Cardiff, ''Ratostabius''. Roath Court is a nineteenth-century villa on the site of the medieval manor house of Roath. Since 1952 it has been a funeral home. Its Georgian portico, designed by

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his ...

in 1766 for Bowood House, Wiltshire, was moved there in 1956. St Margaret's Church, Roath

Roath contains the Church of Saint Margaret of Antioch, built in 1870 on the site of an earlier

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

chapel and the new Gothic revival church. Designed by

Llandaff Llandaff (; cy, Llandaf ; from 'church' and '' Taf'') is a district, community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, whose ...

architect

John Prichard John Prichard (6 May 1817 – 13 October 1886) was a Welsh architect in the neo-Gothic style. As diocesan architect of Llandaff, he was involved in the building or restoration of many churches in south Wales. Personal history John Prichard ...

on a Greek Cross plan, the latter was financed totally by the third Marquess of Bute, in spite of his conversion to Catholicism in 1868. Inside is an opulent mausoleum housing tombs of nine members of the

Bute Bute or BUTE may refer to: People * Marquess of Bute, a title in the Peerage of Great Britain; includes lists of baronets, earls and marquesses of Bute * Lord of Bute, a title in medieval Scotland, including a list of lords * Lucian Bute (born ...

family, including the first marquess and his two wives. The tower of St Margaret's was finally completed in 1926. Roath once had a railway station on the South Wales Main Line, but this closed in 1917. Prior to the 2010s the community was known as

, though was renamed as Roath, being a name that was more widely recognised.

Notable buildings and amenities

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

, Engineering Building * Roath Library * St Margaret's Church (and the Bute Mausoleum) *Mackintosh Sports Institute (formerly Plasnewydd) * The Mansion House, Richmond Road, used as the mayor's residence for much of the 20th century. * The Gate Arts Centre, Keppoch Street *James Summers Funeral Home, Roath Court * Shah Jalal Mosque, Crwys Road (formerly Capel Crwys) * Trinity Methodist Church *Albany Primary School *Roath Park Primary * St. Martin's Church, Albany Road *Hodges' Residence and the Dewmisters Crib * St. Edward's Church, Blenheim Road *

St. Peters RFC St Peters Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team from the district of Roath, in Cardiff, South Wales. The club plays their home games at the Harlequins Playing Field, located off Newport Road. It is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union, and is a ...

* Plasnewydd Community Hall * Saint Peter's RC Primary School

Festivals and events

Since 2009 the annual Made in Roath arts festival has taken place in October. The event showcases art, music, performance and literature in a variety of venues including peoples' homes. Between 2013 and 2016, local organisers Wayne Courtney and Nathan Wyburn have hosted the 'Roath Bake Off' festival in St Andrews United Reformed Church, Roath. In December 2018, the duo announced that the event would be revived for 2019 as part of the campaign to raise funds for the church it is held in.

Notable people

William Cope, 1st Baron Cope William Cope, 1st Baron Cope, (18 August 1870 – 15 July 1946), known as Sir William Cope, Bt, between 1928 and 1945, was a Welsh Conservative Party politician, who was also notable as an international rugby union player for Wales. He was ...

, politician and international rugby player *

Lionel Fanthorpe Robert Lionel Fanthorpe, FCollP, FRSA, FCMI (born 9 February 1935) is a retired British priest and entertainer. Fanthorpe also worked as a dental technician, journalist, teacher, television presenter, author and lecturer. Born in Dereham in No ...

Peter Finch Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (28 September 191614 January 1977) was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio. Born in London, he emigrated to Australia as a teenager and was raised in Sydney, where he worked in vaudeville ...

writer and poet * Boyd Clack Writer, actor and playwright * Brian Hibbard Musician * William Erbery (1604-1654), curate of St Woolos, Newport between 1630 and 1633 then Vicar of St Mary's Church in Cardiff before being forced to leave his post due to his Puritanism. He established the first nonconformist congregation in Cardiff * Maureen Rees, British reality TV star (b. 1942) *

John Sankey, 1st Viscount Sankey John Sankey, 1st Viscount Sankey, (26 October 1866 – 6 February 1948) was a British lawyer, judge, Labour politician and Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, famous for many of his judgments in the House of Lords. He gave his name to t ...

– Labour politician and

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. T ...

. Grew up in Castle Road (now City Road).

References

External links

RoathCardiff.net
Community news and information about Roath in Cardiff
Geograph.co.uk
photos of Roath and surrounding area
Roathcardiff.com
History and photos of Roath
Madeinroath.com
Arts festival and community project in Roath
roathlocalhistorysociety.org
Local history society focussing on the Ecclesiastical Parish of Roath {{coord, 51, 29, 28, N, 3, 09, 38, W, type:city(2000)_region:GB, display=title Communities in Cardiff Districts of Cardiff