City Road (Welsh: Heol y Plwca) runs through the Plasnewydd area of Cardiff, Wales. Designated as the B4261, it runs roughly 1 km (0.6 mi) south-southeasterly from the junction of Crwys Road (A469) and Albany Road (known as "Death Junction"), to Newport Road (A4161). It is mostly lined with small shops and business premises. City Road had its own television series, broadcast on BBC Wales.
| B4261 | |
 Just over half way up City Road looking south | |
| Former name(s) | Plwcca Lane, Castle Road |
|---|---|
| Maintained by | Cardiff Council |
| Length | 1.0 km (0.62 mi) |
| Area | Plasnewydd/Roath |
| Postal code | CF24 |
| Coordinates | 51°29′20″N 3°10′05″W / 51.489°N 3.168°W |
| From | Crwys Road / Albany Road (A469) "Death Junction" |
| To | Newport Road (A4161) |
History
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City Road was originally known as Plwcca Lane (Welsh: Alai Plwcca).[1][2] Plwcca meaning dirty, wet, uncultivated land.[2] Alai meaning an alley.[2] In 1830 Plwcca Lane consisted of Roath Castle and six small cottages in two fields,[2] it led to Plwcca Halog,[1] named after the Gallows Field, which was where public executions were carried out.
Plwcca Lane became Castle Road in 1874, which was named after Roath Castle. it ran north south from Cardiff through the settlement of Plasnewydd. Roath and Plasnewydd were absorbed into Cardiff in 1875. Castle Road was renamed City Road in 1905 to mark Cardiff's new city status,[3] after the Parish of Roath was absorbed into the county borough of Cardiff in 1903, as Cardiff already had another Castle Street.[4][5] City Road gained the B4261 number classification in the late 1920s.[6]
The northern point, where five roads (City Road, Richmond Road, Crwys Road, Mackintosh Place, Albany Road) meet, has in later years gained the name "Death Junction", possibly because of its difficulty for pedestrians and motorists, although an alternative explanation is that it was the location of a gallows where criminals were executed. It was the site of the execution of Philip Evans and John Lloyd, two Roman Catholic priests who were hung, drawn and quartered here in 1679. Philip Evans and John Lloyd were canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1970.[7][8]
Description
editThe road has hosted a number of public houses, a cinema and a college campus.
City Road has gained a reputation for its multicultural mixture of restaurants and food takeaways.[9]
TV series
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City Road was the subject of a three-part television series, first broadcast on BBC One Wales in July 2016. The series featured several businesses including a hairdressers, a sex shop and a fitness centre.[10] The series was made in partnership with Made Television[11] and also broadcast on Made in Cardiff.
Notable residents
edit- John Sankey, 1st Viscount Sankey (1866–1948), lawyer, politician and Lord Chancellor, lived here as a child[12]
References
edit- ^ a b "The lost suburbs of Cardiff and the fascinating history behind them". WalesOnline. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Reminiscences of old inhabitants of Cardiff". University of London. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ^ "The History Of Cardiff's Suburbs - Plasnewydd incorporating part of Roath". Cardiffians. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
- ^ "Council Chamber". City of Cardiff Council. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ^ "City Road, Cardiff: suburban thoroughfare". Open University. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ^ "B4261". SABRE Wiki. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ^ "Plasnewydd". thecardiffmuseum.co.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ^ Therese Wynn-Davies (10 March 2011). "Spotlight: History of 'death junction'". theguardian.com. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- ^ Ruth Mosalski (4 November 2015). "Should Cardiff's City Road be rebranded and turned into the city's very own Brick Lane?". Wales Online. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- ^ Cathy Owen (14 July 2016). "The sex shop owner, hairdresser and kick boxer starring in a new TV show about one of Cardiff's best known streets". Wales Online. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- ^ Ian Burrell (13 November 2016). "A new force in broadcasting: the revival of local television". i. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
- ^ "Viscount John Sankey, Lord Chancellor – Roath's top brief". Roath Local History Society. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
External links
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Media related to City Road, Cardiff at Wikimedia Commons