Cyncoed ( ); is an affluent and exclusive

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, t ...

in the northeast of

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 ...

, the capital of

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. With many properties in the area fetching over £1 million, Cyncoed is considered to have some of the highest property prices in the country. Cyncoed overlooks the city centre of

, near Roath Park, with views of the surrounding mountains.

Background and development

In 1887

John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, (12 September 1847 – 9 October 1900) was a landed aristocrat, industrial magnate, antiquarian, scholar, philanthropist, and architectural patron. Succeeding to the marquisate at the age ...

offered of

marshland A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

Cardiff Council Cardiff Council, formally the County Council of the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Cyngor Sir Dinas a Sir Caerdydd) is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The principal area and its council were establishe ...

, for use as a public park. In 1894, Roath Park was officially opened to the public. Work initially focused on creating the lake from an area of marshland. In 1915 a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses m ...

was constructed in the lake containing a scale model of the ' Terra Nova' ship to commemorate

Captain Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott, , (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated ''Terra Nov ...

's ill-fated voyage to the

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and othe ...

from Cardiff in 1910. The park's atmosphere today still retains the Victorian elegance and has Conservation Area status. In 1914, the council built Cefn Coed Road, which ran past the original (18th century, and still standing to this day), farmhouse, which allowed small builders to develop houses for coal merchants and exports who worked at the

Coal Exchange The Coal Exchange (also known as the Exchange Building) is an historic building in Cardiff, Wales. It is designed in Renaissance Revival style. Built in 1888 as the Coal and Shipping Exchange to be used as a market floor and office building for ...

. Post

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

developers bought the farmland as Cardiff expanded rapidly, with high quality detached housing being built to access

Cardiff Golf Club 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 Kingdo ...

, which occupied land to the north, and The Cyncoed Tennis Club. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

there was a

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

in the area. Post the war, in the 1950s this area was redeveloped as housing demand grew, and the rural nature of Cyncoed vanished forever, including the development of the Lakeside estate, centered on Celyn Avenue. As of February 2022, Cyncoed had an average property price of £475,126.

Description

Some of the older and larger properties have been demolished and replaced by smaller homes and supplemented with smaller

semi-detached A semi-detached house (often abbreviated to semi) is a single family duplex dwelling house that shares one common wall with the next house. The name distinguishes this style of house from detached houses, with no shared walls, and terraced hous ...

infill. Modern

housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Popular throughout the United States ...

s now surround the area. The surrounding communities are: Features include a small shopping village, a number of churches, and a

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of wor ...

because there is a sizable

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

community living in Cyncoed. Cyncoed Medical Centre is actually just within neighbouring

Pontprennau Pontprennau is a ward and community in the north of the city of Cardiff, Wales, lying north of Pentwyn and Cyncoed, between the village of Old St Mellons and the farmlands east of Lisvane. The community had a population of 7,353 in 2011. His ...

, on the road junction Cyncoed, Pontprennau and Pentwyn, to enable it to serve all three communities. Between Cyncoed and

Llanishen Llanishen (Welsh language, Welsh Llanisien ''llan'' church + ''Isien'' Saint Isan) is a district and Community (Wales), community in the north of Cardiff, Wales. Its population as of the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 17,417. Lla ...

lie two defunct reservoirs. The company which owned this site,

Western Power Distribution Western Power Distribution was the trading identity of four electricity distribution companies in the United Kingdom: WPD South West (operating in South West England), WPD South Wales (in South Wales) and WPD Midlands (two companies, in the E ...

, intended to build houses on Llanishen Reservoir. Local residents campaigned for 15 years to stop the development. Eventually the reservoirs were sold to the steelworks and put back to their intended purpose of steelmaking. The reservoirs have recently been devolved back to the

Welsh Water Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

authority which, after draining and structural inspection, intends to return both to public amenity use.

Education

Primary schools and

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

s provide local education. Rhydypenau Primary School serves most of Cyncoed and is considered one of the best Primary Schools in Cardiff. There is also Lakeside Primary School which was built on Ontario Way, and

Cardiff High School Cardiff High School ( cy, Ysgol Uwchradd Caerdydd) is a comprehensive school in the Cyncoed area of Cardiff, Wales. Stephen Jones has been Headteacher since 2011. It has been rated as Excellent for current performance and Excellent for prospect ...

(used to be called 'Ty Celyn') which serves a large proportion of Cardiff's teenagers. It was built on the site of Celyn Farm, located towards Roath Park. There are campuses of

Cardiff Metropolitan University , image_name = Shield of Cardiff Metropolitan University.svg , image_size = 150px , motto = cy, Gorau Meddiant Gwybodaeth , mottoeng = The most valuable possession is knowledge , established = 2011 – Car ...

and a

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 ...

hall of residence also in the vicinity. As well as a modern hall of residence for

, in 1961 the Cardiff College of Education providing teacher training opened. Various courses are now taught on the Cyncoed campus of

, but it is most famous for its

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

department which has produced various sportspeople from its students, including: Dai Davies;

Lynn Davies Lynn Davies CBE (born 20 May 1942) is a Welsh former track and field athlete who specialised in the long jump. He was the 1964 Olympic champion in the event. He was born in Nantymoel near Bridgend and was a member of the Cardiff Amateur Athle ...

;

Gareth Edwards Sir Gareth Owen Edwards CBE (born 12 July 1947) is a Welsh former rugby union player who played scrum-half and has been described by the BBC as "arguably the greatest player ever to don a Welsh jersey". In 2003, in a poll of international ...

; Clive Griffiths; Greg Thomas;

Steve Watkin Steven Llewellyn Watkin (born 15 September 1964) is a former Welsh cricketer who played for Glamorgan County Cricket Club and the England cricket team. A reliable seam bowler who never suffered serious injury despite several lesser niggles, he ...

. As well as top football team Cardiff Metropolitan University F.C. who compete in the

Welsh Premier League The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. Prior to 20 ...

Rhydypennau library

Rhydypennau Library ( cy, Llyfrgell Rhydypennau) is situated near

. Refurbished in 2006–2007, modifications to the entrance included installing automatic doors and replacing existing ramps. New windows were also fitted and fascia boards were replaced. Accessible facilities for disabled people were introduced. There are 4 PCs with free public Internet access and 1 PC in the children's section. Storytime for pre-school children followed by craft activities, and rhymetime for babies and toddlers are organised by the library.

Electoral ward

Cyncoed is both an

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 to ...

, and a

without 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. I ...

in Cardiff. The

is within the

parliamentary constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

of Cardiff Central. It is bounded by

to the northwest;

Lisvane Lisvane ( cy, Llys-faen) is an affluent community in the north of Cardiff, the capital of Wales, located north of the city centre. Lisvane is generally considered to be one of the wealthiest residential areas of Wales, with an average house ...

to the north; Pentwyn to the east;

Penylan Penylan is a district and community in the east of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, known for its Edwardian era period houses and spacious tree lined roads and avenues. Situated to both the north and south of the A48 dual carriageway, it ...

and

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 wa ...

to the south; and

Heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler a ...

to the west. It is represented by three councillors on

. Following the 2017 local elections these were two Liberal Democrat Councillors and one

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Councillor, having previously been three Liberal Democrat since 2004. Following the death of Councillor Wendy Congreve, a by-election was held on 16 July 2019. The seat was retained by Robert Hopkins (Liberal Democrat).

Transport

Cyncoed is served by Cardiff Bus services 28, 28A, 28B, 51, 52 and 53 to and from the city centre. Heath High Level and Heath Low Level railway stations are 0.6 miles southwest. Cyncoed Road runs through Cyncoed, served by Cardiff Bus routes 51 and 53 connect the outer suburbs to the inner city with links to Lakeside,

Roath Roath ( cy, Y Rhath) is a district and community to the north-east of the city centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. There is no community council for the area which is mostly covered by the Plasnewydd electoral ward, and stretches from Adamsdo ...

and the city centre. The 28, 28A and 28B continues to

and Thornhill. Some western parts of the area have access to Heath Low Level railway station, with services northbound to Coryton on the City Line. Heath High Level station is nearby, on the Rhymney Line with services northbound to

Rhymney Rhymney (; cy, Rhymni ) is a town and a community in the county borough of Caerphilly, South Wales. It is within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. With the villages of Pontlottyn, Fochriw, Abertysswg, Deri and New Tredegar, Rhymney ...

via Lisvane & Thornhill and Caerphily. Both lines have services southbound to

Cardiff Queen Street , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Cardiff Queen St. (19366639218).jpg , caption = Cardiff Queen Street seen from the north. , borough = Cardiff, City and County of Cardiff , country = Wales , coordinates = , grid_name = ...

and

Cardiff Central railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Cardiff Central station (26526139271).jpg , caption = 1930s frontage of Cardiff Central station (northern entrance) , borough = Cardiff, City and County of Cardiff , country = Wales , coordi ...

. Celyn Avenue leads west to

and Cyncoed Road leads north to

and south to

Cathays Cathays ( ; Welsh: officially ''Cathays'' but also , 'the constant meadow') is a district and community in the centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is an old suburb of Cardiff established in 1875. It is very densely populated and contain ...

, the city centre,

and

Notable residents

* The poet

Gillian Clarke Gillian Clarke (born 8 June 1937) is a Welsh poet and playwright, who also edits, broadcasts, lectures and translates from Welsh into English. She co-founded Tŷ Newydd, a writers' centre in North Wales. Life Gillian Clarke was born on 8 J ...

lived there for many years.

References

External links

Geograph: Photos of Cyncoed and surrounding area
{{Politics and Government in Cardiff Districts of Cardiff Cardiff electoral wards Communities in Cardiff