Dinas Powys (; also spelt "Dinas Powis" in English) is a small town 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, ...

in the

Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg ), often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol ...

, South Wales. Its name means "fort of the provincial place" and refers to the Iron Age hillfort which overlooks the village. Dinas Powys is south-west of the centre 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 ...

and is conveniently situated on the A4055 road from Cardiff to Barry, making it a popular dormitory village for city commuters. It neighbours the larger town of Penarth. Despite the addition of several housing developments over the past fifty years, the old village centre of Dinas Powys still has a mostly unspoiled and almost

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...

feel, retaining a large village common and a traditional village centre complete with a range of small independent shops,

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, restaurants and community facilities. In addition there are shops, garages, small supermarkets, a pharmacy and a veterinary practice on the main Cardiff Road and a selection of shops on the Murch estate, including a post office. According to recent

electoral roll An electoral roll (variously called an electoral register, voters roll, poll book or other description) is a compilation that lists persons who are entitled to vote for particular elections in a particular jurisdiction. The list is usually broke ...

s, the population is in the region of 8,800. This establishes the village as the fifth largest settlement in the Vale of Glamorgan and larger than many chartered towns in the UK.

History

The Neolithic and the Middle Ages

The Dinas Powys area has been populated since prehistoric times. The most ancient artifact found in the area is a

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

Stone Age axe-head, discovered by P. W. Brooks in 1949 and now displayed in the

National Museum Cardiff National Museum Cardiff ( cy, Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd) is a museum and art gallery in Cardiff, Wales. The museum is part of the wider network of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales. Entry is kept free by a grant from the Welsh Gov ...

. The hillfort was, in its time, considered to have great status and wealth. Indeed, in the age of Celtic Christianity, it is known that the residents of Dinas Powys had use of day to day objects from Bordeaux, Athens and Alexandria and, to this day, it remains one of the wealthiest parts of Wales. Entrance Arch 2

The village features substantial remains of a Norman castle and the adjacent Cwm George was the site of the celtic

hill fort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

from which the village takes its name. The hill fort site was excavated by Leslie Alcock of

University College, Cardiff , 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 ...

between 1954 and 1958 and was found to contain evidence of major wooden structures and a large quantity of high-status metalwork and jewellery. There were also glass items and imported pottery dating from the sub-Roman period of between the 5th and 7th centuries. The castle was originally the seat of a Norman noble called Baron de Sumeri or , but the structure went into decline around 1322 when the de Sumeri male family line came to an end. Downtown Dinas Powys - geograph

In the 11th century Dinas Powis was under the control of Sir Reginald de Sully, one of the Twelve Knights of Glamorgan. In 1591, Sir Edward Mansel of Margam wrote his historical document recording ''The Winning of Glamorgan'' and said: : To Sir Reginald de Sully he (Sir Robert Fitz Haymon) gave the castle and town to be called Sully with the Manor of it, and the Manors of St Andrews and Dinas Powys for his Granary and provisions. This Sir Reginald bestowed much land in fee frankliege to his men and came to be a man of wealth and fame. He had at Sully besides his Castle a fair Manor house built after a new manner, where he did live the most of his time, which house as well as the Castle was broke down by Owain Glendowr Later in ''The Winning of Glamorgan'' Mansel records: : The Lordship of Llantwit is described as so fertile that as Glamorgan was called the Garden of Wales was this Lordship called the Garden of Glamorgan ... and it is the flower of all the Country ... and it was very full of goodly villages and Courtly houses, most of them still in remaining. The Lord had in this Lordship a noble Castle at Dinas Powys and one at Barry, with his Court house of Llantwit and Grange house of Boverton, so that in the whole it is a most Goodly Country. Dinas Powis was included in the original medieval Welsh political sub-division called the Cantref Brenhinol (The Royal Hundred) which later became the

commote A commote (Welsh ''cwmwd'', sometimes spelt in older documents as ''cymwd'', plural ''cymydau'', less frequently ''cymydoedd'')''Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru'' (University of Wales Dictionary), p. 643 was a secular division of land in Medieval Wales ...

known as the Hundred of Dinas Powis, which also encompassed

St Andrews Major St. Andrew's Major () is a village and parish in the community of Dinas Powys in the Vale of Glamorgan, between Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Barry and Cardiff in south-eastern Wales. Description The village has a church (building), church which i ...

Michaelston-le-Pit Michaelston-le-Pit ( cy, Llanfihangel-y-pwll) is a village in the Vale of Glamorgan, just to the west of the city of Cardiff, Wales. It is part of the Michaelston-le-Pit and Leckwith community. The community population taken at the 2011 censu ...

, Westra, Penarth, Cogan, Sully,

Lavernock Lavernock ( cy, Larnog) is a hamlet in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales, lying on the coast south of Cardiff between Penarth and Sully, and overlooking the Bristol Channel. Marconi and the first radio messages across open sea Following over ...

and Llandough.

A sudden expansion

By 1833, Dinas Powys barely existed, but was still larger than nearby Penarth, until Penarth amalgamated with Cogan and Llandough to form a new Town Board. However, St. Andrews Major was at the time substantially larger than Dinas Powis, but even added together their population was still only 474 in total. The village population had remained almost static at about 300-400 people until the second half of the 19th century when there was an influx into this thriving rural community, including a large contingent from the

West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Glo ...

. The growth of the coal industry saw the first passenger train arrive in Dinas Powys on Sunday, 20 December 1898, and thereafter the population increased rapidly. The new rail link was laid at the bottom end of the Dinas Powys valley and provided a rapid link to the new docks that had been built in Cardiff, Barry and Penarth to handle the expanding coal trade from the South Wales valleys. At that time the only features below St Andrews Major were the small hamlet of Dinas Powis, the rail line, Cadoxton Brook and a number of small farms. Dinas Powys war memorial (6 August 2008)

Dinas Powys war memorial (6 August 2008)

The new rail link provided far better communication and transport to the area making it a more attractive residential prospect and many workers from Barry and

moved into the Dinas Powys area. As quickly as 1891, the village population had already more than doubled to 1,149 and by the turn of the century ten years later, had expanded to over 2,000. The village expanded in two ways as from the railway link towards St. Andrew's Major many imposing and fine houses were built, in contrast to the 'railway suburbs' that grew up along the railway, near the current area of Eastbrook, where the new housing was of more modest proportions. Just a few years after the railway was constructed, the main Cardiff Road was developed over the previous unmetalled trackway that followed the route of the railway line. This provided a further burst of population growth and house building.

In the 20th century

A corner of the village

common land Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person who has a ...

was sold to the Barry Docks and Railway Company for the sum of £160. The then Lord of the Manor and ex-military survivor of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Major General Henry Lee donated an additional sum of £30 and in 1935 the combined fund was used to upgrade the small green in the centre of the village, known locally as the Twyn, with a War Memorial.

Geography

Dinas Powys village is spread across the full width of a traditional wooded valley, with the Cadoxton River running in the

river valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ...

. The surrounding

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debri ...

s within the village bounds are mostly a strong, brown, dry earth, well adapted for arable farming and the growing of grains of all kinds that contributed to the area being a mostly farming community until the modern era. The substratum under the whole area is a

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

that was likely laid down under a warm ocean at some stage in the distant past. Dinas Powys village centre

The village has not been able to spread northwards, because there were (and still are) golf courses and protected woodlands between the village and Michaelston-le-pit. The freeholders of Cwrt-yr-Ala Estate prevented the two from merging. More recent housing development has taken place in a linear fashion either side of the main Cardiff road and in the direction of Cadoxton and Barry. Cwm George and Cwrt-yr-Ala are woodlands in the area. It is obvious by comparing variously aged maps that over the last hundred years Penarth and Dinas Powys have spread and grown closer together. In many places the two communities are only separated by a few hundred yards and a couple of fields, although no direct road connections have been added entailing a roundabout car route of several miles via Llandough. The only existing direct road is the medieval and winding single track 'Cross Common Road'. Another traditional lane crossing that existed between the current site of ''Tesco Express'' and the current Erw Delyn school at Redlands Heights, Penarth was closed to through traffic following extensions to the Murch estate in the 1970s. According to the Environment Agency, in the October floods of 1998 only six properties at Dinas Powys were affected. Flooding was caused by the floodwater overtopping the banks of the Cadoxton River among others and ordinary watercourses, restrictions to flow in channels and surcharging of drains.

Governance

The

(which includes St Andrews Major and Westra) 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 ...

. Uniquely for this part of Wales, the community council was dominated by the

Welsh nationalist Welsh nationalism ( cy, Cenedlaetholdeb Cymreig) emphasises and celebrates the distinctiveness of Welsh culture and Wales as a nation or country. Welsh nationalism may also include calls for further autonomy or self determination which includes ...

party

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. Plaid wa ...

for over two decades. More recently, this dominance has reduced slightly. In May 2008, the Conservative Party won four additional seats on the community council, all at the expense of Plaid Cymru, including the defeat of Chris Franks. An electoral ward in the same name exists, for elections to the county council. This ward mainly covers Dinas Powys but also stretches north to Michaelston. The total population of this ward taken at the 2011 census was 7,799. Dinas Powys falls within the Vale of Glamorgan parliamentary constituency and is currently represented in the UK Parliament by

Alun Cairns Alun Hugh Cairns (born 30 July 1970) is a Welsh Conservative Party politician serving as the member of Parliament (MP) for Vale of Glamorgan since 2010. He served as Secretary of State for Wales from 2016 to 2019. He was previously a membe ...

MP, a member of the Conservative Party. Jane Hutt, a resident of Barry, represents the Vale of Glamorgan in the

National Assembly for Wales The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Go ...

(Labour Party). Until May 2017, ward representatives to the Vale of Glamorgan Council were: Val Hartrey, Keith Hatton, Chris Franks (all members of Plaid Cymru) and Chris Williams (formerly a Plaid Cymru member, but now sitting as an Independent). In the May 2017 elections, all four seats were won by the Conservatives, Vince Driscoll, Andy Robertson, Rob Crowley and Steve Griffiths. Losses were also seen in the community council for Plaid, as the Conservatives even more seats in those elections.

Demography

The

United Kingdom Census 2001 A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194. The 2001 UK census was organised by the Office for Nationa ...

records the

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

as being 8,512.

Electoral roll An electoral roll (variously called an electoral register, voters roll, poll book or other description) is a compilation that lists persons who are entitled to vote for particular elections in a particular jurisdiction. The list is usually broke ...

information since that date indicates the village now has a population of 8,790. There are little in the way of major employers in the village. The majority of the working population commute to Cardiff, Penarth and Barry. The United Kingdom Census of 2011 recorded the usual population as being 7,490.

Landmarks

Of note is Dinas Powys Castle, the village common, and the war memorial on the village green. Several

pub 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 was ...

s serve the village, mostly in the village centre, and include ''The Star'', ''The Cross Keys'', and ''The Three Horse Shoes''. ''The Swan'' in Eastbrook closed permanently in 2007. Across the other side of the railway lines is ''The Castle Oak'' (until 2006 known as ''The Malthouse'') located on the Murch estate near a small parade of shops. The Castle Oak closed during 2011. The site is now operated by

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

. Dinas Powys is also noted for its sports clubs which are documented below. The Mount was originally a farmhouse called Mount Pleasant and was occupied by the Hurst family who held the manor of Dinas Powys. The house was extended in the 19th Century by the Lee family who built a new South wing and renamed the house The Mount. It was further modified in the Victorian period before being converted into separate dwellings in the 20th century. The Mount is a grade 2 listed building due to it being a late Georgian villa which retains much of its architectural character.

Religious sites

St Peter's Church, Dinas Powys - geograph

St. Peter's church on Mill Road is the main

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The p ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

within the village while the

Roman Catholic 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 let ...

congregation worships at St. Mary's church on Edith Road. St Peter's Church was built in order to replace the old "Iron Church" in the village square in 1929–1930. The previous "Iron Church" serviced as a Chapel of ease for St. Andrews since 1881 but could only hold 180 worshippers. The Foundation Stone was laid on St. Peter's Day on the 29 June 1929 and was consecrated on 15 October 1930. The Church was designed by the notable Glamorgan architect, J Coates Carter, and was built after his death. Much of the masonry was re-used from the recently demolished Cyfarthfa iron and steel works. St Peter's Church is currently a grade two listed building. Dinas Powys is also noted for its 14th century Norman parish church, dedicated to

St Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Pete ...

. The building is located in the hamlet of

, just under a mile away from the Dinas Powys village centre. Additionally there is the nearby church of St Michael and All Angels in

. There are also two Methodist chapels within the village, one is a small "tin Tabernacle" in the Eastbrook area, at the top of Chapel close, opposite Eastbrook Railway station; the larger Methodist Church backs on to Station Road where, until May 2008 its front entrance was, the entrance has now been relocated to the access off Mount Road, on the edge of the common. Dinas Powys

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

Church meet in the Parish Hall on Britway Road, and Bethesda Chapel is on Fairoaks. There is also a small Presbyterian church in the Highwalls Road area called Ebenezer Presbyterian Church.

Education

Dinas Powys technically has no secondary school of its own but was home to one half of Penarth’s St Cyres Comprehensive School. The "Dinas Site" was the smaller of the two existing facilities and contained the locally living lower school students from year seven to year nine, representing ages 11 to 14, while upper school for the older children is located on Redlands Heights in Penarth. However, the St Cyres lower school in the village closed in 2012, and was replaced by a larger single redeveloped site located in Penarth. The village also has two other schools: Dinas Powys Primary School (formed in 2015 by the amalgamation of the Dinas Powys Infants school and the Murch Junior School) and St Andrews Major

Primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

Sports and recreation

The extensive recreation area at the village Common, administered by Dinas Powys Community Council, is home to several established sports teams. The first

Rugby Football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...

was played on the Common at Dinas Powys, in 1882. It is said that a group of young farm workers challenged a group of players at the new Gwalia Brickworks and thus history was made. Dinas Powys Rugby Club located on the Common, plays in Division 1 East of the WRU league, the club has enjoyed much success in recent seasons winning several promotions and winning the East District cup on two occasions in the past three seasons as well as the 2nd XV known affectionately as the Dingos winning the Mallett cup in 2016. Organised sports are also played on Parc Bryn-a-don and the Murch Playing Fields within the village. Dinas Powys golf club - geograph

Dinas Powys Football Club became the first in the Vale of Glamorgan to achieve the ''Club Accreditation Programme Bronze Award'' set by the Football Association of Wales Trust Technical Department. Dinas Powys Golf Club was founded in 1914 and is considered to be one of the finest courses in Wales, with views over the city of Cardiff and Cardiff Bay. The tennis club and coaching is also considered one of the finest in the Vale of Glamorgan. Dinas Powys Cricket Club were established in 1882. They field a 1st, 2nd & 3XI side in the Welsh Club Cricket Conference, playing their home league matches at Parc Bryn y Don, and also run a Midweek League side and a Sunday friendly side, playing home matches on the spiritual home of the club, Dinas Powys Common. The club also has a healthy junior section, running sides at Under 9, Under 11, Under 13 and Under 15. There has been an active branch of the

Pony Club Pony Club is an international youth organization devoted to educating youth about horses and riding. Pony Club organizations exist in over thirty countries worldwide. Origins Pony Club began in Great Britain in 1929 when the Institute of the ...

in the village since 1975. There are many voluntary organisations active within the village and available for the active participation of residents, including a large Scout group.
The 2021 ITV television drama series Hollington Drive was filmed here, in a luxury housing estate on Ardwyn Walk, off the Penn-Y-Turnpike Road.

Transport

The village has two

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 prep ...

s, one at either end of the village with Eastbrook station at the Cardiff end and Dinas Powys station at the Barry end. Both stations are on the same Network Rail's Barry branch with passenger trains operated by

Transport for Wales Transport for Wales (TfW; cy, Trafnidiaeth Cymru; cy, TrC, label=none) is a not-for-profit company owned by the Welsh Government and managed at arms length by its appointed board. TfW oversees the Transport for Wales Group (TfW Group) consi ...

as at October 2018. Monday to Saturday daytimes there is a fifteen-minute frequency northbound to Cardiff Central and beyond. Southbound three trains per hour to Barry Island, plus an hourly service to Bridgend via Rhoose. Note that although these two stations are geographically in the Vale of Glamorgan, the official Vale of Glamorgan Branch starts at Barry and terminates at Bridgend.

Notable people

* John Smith - Former Member of Parliament (Labour Party) lives in the village * Ray Smith (1936–1991) - The versatile Welsh actor who most famously played Chief Superintendent Gordon Spikings in TV's Dempsey & Makepeace lived in the village. * Huw Justin Smith (1965–2007) brought up in Dinas Powys, son of Ray Smith and better known as

Pepsi Tate Pepsi Tate (10 March 1965 – 18 September 2007) was the bass guitarist of Welsh glam metal band Tigertailz, who made the Top 40 in the UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (f ...

, bass guitarist of Welsh glam metal band

Tigertailz Tigertailz are a Welsh glam metal band from Cardiff. Their 1990 album '' Bezerk'' made the Top 40 on the UK Albums Chart and contained the hit singles "Love Bomb Baby" and "Heaven". The band reformed in 2005. History Formation and early year ...

. * Dave Edmunds (born 1944) - the successful Welsh recording artist, popular singer, rock guitarist and high-profile record producer lived near the Common in Dinas Powys with his family during the 1970s and early 1980s *

Sarah Loosemore Sarah Loosemore (born 15 June 1971) is a retired professional tennis player from Wales. She is now a qualified solicitor. Born in Cardiff but brought up in Dinas Powys by solicitor father John (Grandy) and tennis coach mother Pam (Nanny), Loo ...

(born 1971) - tennis player, at 17 the youngest British woman to play at the Wimbledon championships, raised in the village *

Donna Edwards Donna Fern Edwards (born June 28, 1958) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2008 to 2017. The district included most of Prince George's County, as well as part of Anne Arundel County. She is a member of the ...

(born in Merthyr Tydfil)- double BAFTA winning actress, lives in Dinas Powys * Noel Johnson - 1916 -1999 the radio voice of Dick Barton special agent on the BBC resided in the village * Jeremy Colman - the disgraced former Auditor General for Wales, lived in the village * Charlotte Church - Singer and TV chat show host moved to the village in July 2010 *

Hannah Mills Hannah Louise Mills, (born 29 February 1988) is a British competitive sailor and two-time world champion in the Women's 470 class, having won in 2012 and 2019. Mills won a silver medal for Team GB with her crew Saskia Clark in the 2012 Olymp ...

- British sailor, Olympic gold and silver medalist, from Dinas Powys

References

External links

Dinas Powys websiteDinas Powys FC website
{{authority control Villages in the Vale of Glamorgan Communities in the Vale of Glamorgan