The courtyard of Llandaff Bishop’s Palace, looking toward the gatehouse

Fifteen-Minute Heritage

Exploring Llandaff with Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas

I think 15-minute heritage is a brilliant concept, because it makes us realise that heritage isn’t just about big castles and sites we have to travel to visit, but it’s in the streets and green spaces that are literally on our doorsteps. 

The war memorial for the Cathedral School and Llandaff village. Unveiled in 1924, the figures were sculpted by Sir William Goscombe John RA
01 / 04
The late thirteenth-century gatehouse of Llandaff Bishop’s Palace overlooks the south-eastern end of the Cathedral Green
The inner face of the late thirteenth-century gatehouse of Llandaff Bishop’s Palace
Looking out through the vaulted gate passage of Llandaff Bishop’s Palace
1

Old Bishops Palace at Llandaff

My daily run takes me past the ruins of the  Old Bishops Palace at Llandaff . It was once an important place at the centre of a medieval landscape, but although it was built like a small castle, it couldn’t withstand Owain Glyndwr’s forces in 1404 – after their attack, only the gatehouse was habitable.  

View looking west toward the south-west tower of Llandaff Cathedral, which was rebuilt to a new design by John Prichard between 1867 and 1869
Llandaff Cathedral — view looking east along the south aisle of the nave toward the chapter house
Moulding stops depicting phases in the history of Llandaff Cathedral inserted during George Pace’s restoration of Llandaff between 1949 and 1960. These can be found on the two south aisle windows to the west of the chapter house
The early thirteenth-century west door of Llandaff Cathedral
The fine late twelfth-century Norman doorway leading into the south aisle of the nave of Llandaff Cathedral
2

Llandaff Cathedral

I also muse on the chequered history of the cathedral as I pass. There is such a confusion of architectural styles, a reminder of its great age, but also of how it has come through storms and wars, renewed and enriched each time. 

By 1900, this railway bridge carried the Llandaff Loop railway line over the River Taff, connecting the Taff Vale Railway on east side of the river with the Penarth Railway on the west. One side of the bridge was removed after the line was reduced to a single track in the mid-1960s. The line was closed by 2000 and in 2013 the bridge was reopened as a public footway linking Hailey Park with the Radyr side of the River Taff
Two piers of the railway bridge that once carried that Llandaff Loop railway line across the River Taff. One side of the bridge was removed after the line was reduced to a single track in the mid-1960s
Once a railway bridge carrying the Llandaff Loop over the River Taff, in 2013 it was reopened as a public footway
3

Old Taff Vale Railway bridge

At the northernmost point of my run, I cross the Taff on an old railway bridge, which once carried the Llandaff Loop of the Taff Vale Railway between Radyr and Llandaff.  Given a new lease of life as a footbridge, it takes me...

4

Hailey Park

...into Hailey Park, which is another lovely green space to run through. It has been a park since 1926, so it has a history too. 

I love this part of Cardiff, where I have spent a great deal of my time over the last 25 years. There is so much history here to discover, but I have a special fondness for the River Taff, which reminds me of the River Conwy and my roots in north Wales.  

Find out more

© Crown Copyright 2020