Early history

The Welsh language name Llys-faen means 'Stone Court' (llys – court and faen/maen – stone). There have been several alternative spellings in the English language over the centuries such as Lysvayen, Lucyvene, Llisuine, Lyssefayn, Lysfayn, Lucyvine, Lucyvenye, Lucyveny, Leysvayen, Les Ffayne and Lliffeni. The village probably settled on the present name from around 1630.

Each early Welsh kingdom was divided into lesser administrative units, cantrefs, which were further subdivided into cymydau (commotes). In each commote the royal taxation house was a large building made almost certainly of stone because it had to be permanent, weather proof and thief proof. The commote of Cibbwr/Kibbor was on land between Cefn Onn ridge and the coast and most historians agree that Llys-faen was its administrative centre, although Roath has also staked a claim. There is now no indication of the actual whereabouts of the Llys Faen or Stone Court, although various theories have been advanced.

The earthworks at Graig Llwyn is held^{[by whom?]} to be the oldest artificial feature in Lisvane, proposed by several archaeologists to be the remains of an Iron Age stronghold. No definite date or purpose can yet be confirmed for this earthwork.

At the start of the 13th century the parish lands of Llanishen and Lisvane had been divided into Norman manors that were expected to provide food for the castle garrisoned at Cardiff. The southern facing slopes of the ridge above Lisvane with their rich agricultural land soon became the grain growing area for the supplies which were transported to Roath Mill for processing.

There is a local legend that Oliver Cromwell once stayed at the Black Griffin Inn,^[4] prior to the Battle of St Fagans in May 1648 and that the Cromwell family once lived there briefly. There is no evidence to support this, though Cromwell must have lodged somewhere, but it is more likely that the Inn's only Cromwellian association is with soldiers of Cromwell's Model army. Cromwell was, however, of Welsh ancestry (his real name was Williams) and his great-grandfather came from this area.

The Tŷ Mawr

Tŷ Mawr is a historic house on the Graig slope overlooking the village. It was built as a farmhouse in the 18th to early 19th century^[5] and was in the estate of the Lewis family. In 1900 part of the estate was let to Lisvane Golf Club, who established a 9-hole course there but two years later, the club moved to Radyr, taking the clubhouse with them. From just after the Second World War, the fox hounds of the local Lisvane Hunt were kennelled at Tŷ Mawr until it became a public house in the 1960s.

The Llanishen and Lisvane Hunt had several homes over the years with the hunts most latterly setting off from Llan Farm on Graig Llwyn Road. The village hunt disbanded around 1997 on the death of the then hunt Master.

There is a local tradition that for a period during the 1800s, Erw-wen, on Rudry Road, was also a pub or beer house, possibly called the Red Cow, although no documentary proof has been found.

Lisvane and the Cold War

A few yards away from the Ordnance Survey's triangulation point on the Graig stands Lisvane's only Cold War nuclear bunker. During World War II the Royal Observer Corps (ROC) observation post stood on the Graig with its clear views over the village and the city of Cardiff. The volunteer ROC observers spotted many German Luftwaffe raids approaching across the channel and activated the air raid warnings in the Cardiff area. In early 1966 a protected nuclear fallout shelter (or bunker) was completed on the site for the ROC (OS Grid Ref: ST 1898 8508), who by the 1960s had switched from above ground aircraft spotting to underground operations with instruments to detect nuclear explosions and warn the public of approaching radioactive fallout in the event of nuclear war.

The only time post members had been mobilised and volunteers spent nearly ten days underground was during the Cuban Missile Crisis as the government prepared the country for potential outbreak of war. The Lisvane nuclear bunker was abandoned by the ROC in 1991 when the Corps itself was disbanded with the end of the Cold War and as a result of recommendations in the governments Options for Change review of UK defence. The Lisvane nuclear bunker still exists but it was purchased by a mobile phone communications company who built a radio mast inside the fenced compound and sited some of their equipment in the underground facility.

Notable domestic architecture

Several properties in Lisvane are listed for their historical and architectural significance by Cadw. Ty Gwyn on Lisvane Road was built as the personal residence of builder James E. Turner of E. Turner and Sons and is listed Grade II. The firm was responsible for much of the construction of Cardiff's Cathays Park civic centre.^[6] It was latterly the home of financier Julian Hodge.^[7] Lisvane House on Mill Road was built in the Arts and Crafts style by architect Edwin Seward.^[8] The Dingle is toward the upper end of Mill Road. It was designed by Percy Thomas, and is also listed Grade II.^[9]

Community Council

The village has an elected community council which is funded by a precept on council tax bills in the local area. It provides support to a number of community services. The council currently has ten councillors (9 Independent, 1 Conservative) with elections held every five years. The last election was held at the same time as the 2017 Cardiff Council election and the next election is due in May 2022.^[10]

Cardiff Council ward

Since 1999 the electoral ward of Lisvane has elected one councillor to Cardiff Council, namely David Walker for the Conservative Party.^[11] Before 1999, Lisvane was, with St Mellons and Pontprennau, part of the ward of Lisvane and St Mellons, which elected a single councillor to Cardiff Council. At the 1995 election, Lisvane and St Mellons was the only ward in Cardiff to elect a Conservative councillor.^[11] By 1999, the growth of Pontprennau led to the establishment of a separate ward of Pontprennau and Old St. Mellons, which elects two councillors, and Lisvane became a ward on its own.

The ward was bounded by those of Caerphilly county borough to the north; Pontprennau & Old St. Mellons to the east; Pentwyn to the southeast; Llanishen and Cyncoed to the south; and Rhiwbina to the west.

Following a boundary review and a projected population increase, the new community of Thornhill will be transferred from the Llanishen ward to Lisvane, effective from the 2022 Cardiff Council election. The ward will be renamed "Lisvane and Thornhill" and elect three councillors.^[12]

Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament

The Senedd representative for Cardiff North is Welsh Labour MS Julie Morgan.

Westminster

Lisvane lies within the parliamentary constituency of Cardiff North, which has been represented since 2017 by Anna McMorrin (Labour).

Geological structure

The surrounding soils 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. Soils were further enriched over the millennia by alluvial deposits from the meandering River Taff and other smaller tributaries. The substratum under the whole area is a limestone and lime shale that was likely laid down under a warm ocean at some stage in the distant past and subsequently ground down by glaciers during the last ice age around 18,000 years ago.

M4 motorway

The neighbouring suburbs are Llanishen to the south, Thornhill to the west, Pontprennau to the east, and Lisvane's effective northern border is the M4 motorway. The M4 corridor around Cardiff was announced in 1971 as a replacement for a northern link road that had been on the statutes since 1947 but never built. The northern 'Lisvane route' for the M4 was eventually chosen after a number of public enquiries and objections from village residents. The new motorway was completed and opened in July 1980.

The Graig

The Graig is a hill situated north of Lisvane. It borders on Caerphilly. There is also a quarry near the Graig which is now abandoned. The Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Walk runs along the top of the Graig, and has some very good walks and mountain biking routes. Particular favourites for locals include routes to the east to Rudry and the Maenllwyd Inn, and to the west to Caerphilly mountain, The Travellers Rest, and further on to Tongwynlais, Castell Coch and the Taff Trail.