St Fagans ( ; cy, Sain Ffagan) 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, tow ...

in the west of the city 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 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 ...

. It is home to the St Fagans National History Museum.

History

The name of the area invokes Saint

Fagan Fagan or Phagan is also a Norman-Irish surname, derived from the Latin word 'paganus' meaning ‘rural’ or ‘rustic’. Variants of the name Fagan include Fegan and Fagen. It was brought to Ireland during the Anglo-Norman invasion in the twelfth ...

, according to

William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury ( la, Willelmus Malmesbiriensis; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as "a ...

a second-century missionary to Wales but for whom there is no reliable historical evidence. In 1648, the

Battle of St Fagans The Battle of St Fagans was a pitched battle during the Second English Civil War in 1648. A detachment from the New Model Army defeated an army of former Parliamentarian soldiers who had rebelled and were now fighting against Parliament. B ...

took place close by.

Description

To the south lies the village of

Michaelston-super-Ely Michaelston-super-Ely is a village, to the west of the city of Cardiff, Wales. Its Welsh name is Llanfihangel-ar-Elai (where ''llan'' church + ''Mihangel'' Saint Michael + ''Elai'' River Ely). It is approximately half a mile from the boundar ...

, and to the east the suburb of Fairwater. The community includes Rhydlafar to the north. St Fagans lies on the

River Ely The River Ely ( cy, Afon Elái) is in South Wales flowing generally southeast, from Tonyrefail to Cardiff. The river is about long. The Ely's numerous sources lie in the mountains to the south of Tonypandy, near the town of Tonyrefail, ri ...

, and previously had a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

on the

South Wales Main Line The South Wales Main Line ( cy, Prif Linell De Cymru), originally known as the London, Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway or simply as the Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway, is a branch of the Great Western Main Line in Great Britain. ...

, and currently there is a

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, overpass ...

. The village is home to St Fagans National History Museum (formerly called the ''Welsh Folk Museum'' and the ''Museum of Welsh Life'') which includes St Fagans Castle and gardens. St Mary's Church in the village dates from the 12th century, with an 18th-century tower. St Fagans Old Rectory is another important Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

nearby. St Fagans is home to St Fagans Cricket Club. In 2017 construction started on a new Cardiff suburb of 7,000 houses, named

Plasdwr Plasdwr () is the name given to a planned new suburb of approximately 7,000 homes in the north of Cardiff, Wales. Construction by lead developer Redrow Homes started in 2017. Background Plans were submitted in December 2014 for "Plasdwr" (meaning ...

, on countryside between St Fagans, Fairwater and Radyr.

Local government

St Fagans elects a

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 ...

of up to nine community councillors. The council is funded by a precept on local council tax bills and supports a number of local facilities and services. Elections are held every five years.

2017 Community Council Election

Six candidates stood for nine seats during the 2017 Cardiff Council election. All candidates were therefore elected unopposed, with three other seats filled through councillors being co-opted by members of the community council.

2022 Community Council Election

The next election is due to be held in May 2022.

References

External links

*
Official St Fagans Community Council Website
ILP {{authority control Saint Fagans Communities in Cardiff