Gabalva House

Back in March we looked at some of the forgotten houses in the area. One of those mentioned was Gabalva House

According to Matthew Williams, in his book ‘Lost Houses of Cardiff’, Gabalva House was one of the most mysterious and distinguished of the lost houses of Cardiff

Gabalva was situated just south of the parish boundary between the Glamorganshire Canal and the River Taff, and was just inside the Llandaff parish. The house was set near the bank of the river within landscaped grounds populated with many trees. The old OS map of 1875 below shows Gabalva and its extensive grounds. It probably included all of the land between the canal and the river

Llandaff Cathedral was on the opposite bank, so there must have been splendid views

It was near an old ford linking Llandaff to the Whitchurch parish. Terry believes this was the old funeral way to Llandaff Cathedral. In ancient times it’s possible that this was also a Roman road to the north

The house was ancient, dating from the 1580s, possibly built for a branch of the Herbert family (who also owned The Friars in Cardiff). We don’t know what this house looked like

It was so close to the river; it has been suggested that it was periodically subject to flooding

The original house was demolished and rebuilt during the early 1800s in a 16th century style. This was a mansion, three-storeys high, with dormers and steeply pitched roofs The coloured sketch gives a flavour of what it might have looked like at the time. It is very similar in appearance to St Fagans Castle

In 1809, Gabalva was leased to Sir Robert Lynch-Blosse Bt. Is this where the road name comes from?

The grounds extended to over a hundred acres and had two entrances. One off Llandaff Yard, through an entrance lodge. A second entrance was off Llys-Talybont to the east, and had a long carriageway along the river. Terry suggests that there had long been a connection with Llys-Talybont house, hence the carriageway. Ifor Bach lived at Llys-Talybont, the ancient home for the local Welsh chieftains, hundreds of years earlier

In the 19th century, Gabalva had a 2-acre walled kitchen garden with heated greenhouses including a ‘peachery’ (Velindre grew pineapples in their hot houses). As well as extensive stabling, it had dog kennels too, so it probably had connections with the local hunt

An advertisement offering Gabalva for sale, dated 1839, stated that the house had 16 bedrooms, a spacious drawing room, dining room, library and billiard room. The entrance courtyard could accommodate 5 carriages! Clearly, the largest house in the area by far. I wonder if it was sold?

In his book, Matthew Williams has some fascinating illustrations of the house and grounds, and is well worth a read

However, by the late 19th century, Gabalva was in decline. A history of absentee owners with tenants had only accelerated its decline

Acquired by the Marquis of Bute in 1890s (only to extend his castle lands) he showed little interest in the house. By 1900, the entrance lodge had disappeared, and by 1940, it had become Gabalva Farm, tenanted by a Mrs Beynon

Sadly, Gabalva was demolished in the 1950s for the Gabalfa housing estate. What a lost opportunity, imagine what the area would look like today if the canal still ran through it, with the lock-keeper’s cottages and the old mansion!

Gabalfa Primary School now sits on the site of the old house, with the Lydstep flats next door

It’s interesting to note that in the1580s, and the first mention of Gabalva, Elizabeth I was on the throne, Sir Walter Raleigh had just circumnavigated the globe, and just a few years later there was the Spanish Armada!

 

  Back