The village and the surrounding area is the community of which we are a part and to which we seek to be ‘salt and light’.
Tongwynlais lies to the north of Cardiff at the entrance to the Taff vale, with the distinctive Castell Coch standing sentinel above it. The M4 motorway separates us from the city – something that helps to preserve our distinct identity as a village.
Ask people here what ‘Tongwynlais’ means and you are quite likely to get a range of answers. While there doesn’t seem to be a definitive one, something along the lines of ‘the stream in the fair fallow land (or meadow)’ is as plausible as any - [ton, tonnen nm/f , tonnau pl: grassland , unploughed land, sward; gwyn adj, gwen fem. adj, gwynion pl: white or fair; mutated form of glais, glas nm: stream].
The village probably started as a small collection of houses linked to the original castle (or vice versa, of course!) but expanded rapidly with the coming of the Glamorganshire canal in the late eighteenth century. Growth was also generated by the Melingriffith Tinplate works at Whitchurch, which developed from an earlier iron works of the early part of that century. At one time much of the land was owned by the Lewis family of Greenmeadow House, the mansion that stood where the Greenmeadow housing estate stands today.
Today Tongwynlais has grown to about 650 houses and just under 2000 residents but still retains its ‘village’ feel.
Ask people here what ‘Tongwynlais’ means and you are quite likely to get a range of answers. While there doesn’t seem to be a definitive one, something along the lines of ‘the stream in the fair fallow land (or meadow)’ is as plausible as any - [ton, tonnen nm/f , tonnau pl: grassland , unploughed land, sward; gwyn adj, gwen fem. adj, gwynion pl: white or fair; mutated form of glais, glas nm: stream].
The village probably started as a small collection of houses linked to the original castle (or vice versa, of course!) but expanded rapidly with the coming of the Glamorganshire canal in the late eighteenth century. Growth was also generated by the Melingriffith Tinplate works at Whitchurch, which developed from an earlier iron works of the early part of that century. At one time much of the land was owned by the Lewis family of Greenmeadow House, the mansion that stood where the Greenmeadow housing estate stands today.
Today Tongwynlais has grown to about 650 houses and just under 2000 residents but still retains its ‘village’ feel.
Amenities
Tongwynlais has good provision of services: a thriving and popular Primary School, doctor's and dentist's surgeries, a chemist, a Post Office and a part-time library, as well as a small number of local shops (although thirty years ago there were perhaps a dozen more) and a supermarket within walking distance. Of the seven pubs that once existed here only two remain, while the five churches have become three.
Additionally we have venues for community activities in the Village Hall, the smaller Tanyard and the Legacy Hotel. For the children there are two playgrounds and for those older and energetic we have a large park with both rugby and football pitches, as well as a nine-hole par-three golf course.
Local links:
Doctor 02920 810311 http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sites3/home.cfm?orgid=665
Dentist 02920 811431 http://www.tondental.co.uk/
Chemist 02920 813343 http://www.tongwynlaispharmacy.co.uk/
School 02920 810383 http://www.tongwynlaisprm.cardiff.sch.uk/
Additionally we have venues for community activities in the Village Hall, the smaller Tanyard and the Legacy Hotel. For the children there are two playgrounds and for those older and energetic we have a large park with both rugby and football pitches, as well as a nine-hole par-three golf course.
Local links:
Doctor 02920 810311 http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sites3/home.cfm?orgid=665
Dentist 02920 811431 http://www.tondental.co.uk/
Chemist 02920 813343 http://www.tongwynlaispharmacy.co.uk/
School 02920 810383 http://www.tongwynlaisprm.cardiff.sch.uk/
Assorted pictures of Ton (click to enlarge)
