Church Road

What was the original name of the winding road, starting at the Plough Inn, passing the Fox & Hounds pub and the (old) St Mary’s Church? There’s no guidance on the 1841 Tithe Map, nor the OS map of 1880. From older newspaper articles, there is reference to residents living in Church Street and Church Road. Perhaps we’ll never know.

By the latter part of the nineteenth century Whitchurch village was growing, and the open fields opposite the Plough Inn were changing. The vicarage had been built by 1875, and a new churchyard (to replace the very full old graveyard) had been opened on Penlline Road with a high stone wall and lychgate by the early 1880’s. The new St Mary’s Church was built by 1885.

The OS map of 1901 then shows a completely new road constructed, running across the open fields from the Plough towards Heol Don. On this map, the road is called Church Road and the winding original as ‘Old’ Church Road. In the parish council records of the time there is a suggestion that the new road be called ‘New Road’.

The sketch below suggests what Whitchurch village was beginning to look like with the construction of the new road. The shops and houses opposite the Plough were still being built, and the junction of the new Church Road at its western end with Heol Don had a traffic island, steering all the traffic eastwards.

The Taff Vale Railway station in Llandaff Yard had already been built by the 1840’s, and the only route to Whitchurch was either across the ancient footpath by Village Farm, or via Heol Don and Velindre Road (both very rural tracks – no houses then!). So, the new road linked Whitchurch and Llandaff Yard in a much more direct way. In fact, on the OS map of 1901 the main road through Llandaff Yard is called ‘Whitchurch Road’.

There were only 4 houses built on the new Church Road at the Heol Don end on the 1901 OS map, and one of them has a date plaque of 1885, so there was already a bit of a road early on. The ancient footpath from the village to Llandaff Yard and Radyr was still shown running parallel just a field way.

By 1920, Church Road had fashionable Victorian and Edwardian villas along the complete length, ultimately making it the conservation area we have today. The well-known photograph below was probably taken about 1910 looking west, with a few more houses and the acetylene street lamps.

The parish council clearly saw the new Church Road as being special and had plans to plant trees along its length. However, at their November 1904 meeting they agreed that the trees would be brought from Church Road to be planted in the new Library Park instead!

Does anyone know any history of the new Church Road or of any of the families who moved in?

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