Caerphilly

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coordinates: 51°34′41″N 3°13′05″W / 51.578°N 3.218°W / 51.578; -3.218

Caerphilly
Welsh: Caerffili
Caerphilly shown within Wales
Population	31,060
OS grid reference	ST175975
Principal area	Caerphilly
Ceremonial county	Gwent
Constituent country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CAERPHILLY
Postcode district	CF83
Dialling code	029
Police	Gwent
Fire	South Wales
Ambulance	Welsh
European Parliament	Wales
UK Parliament	Caerphilly
Welsh Assembly	Caerphilly
List of places: UK • Wales • Caerphilly

Caerphilly (Welsh: Caerffili) is a town in the county borough of Caerphilly, south Wales, located at the bottom of the Rhymney Valley, with a population of approximately 31,000. It is a commuter town of Cardiff and Newport. It is about 2-3 miles north of the Cardiff suburbs of Lisvane and Rhiwbina, separated by Caerphilly Mountain. It is traditionally within the county of Glamorgan, on the border with Monmouthshire and it is the largest town in the county borough of Caerphilly, which since 2003 has formed part of the lieutenancy area of Gwent. The town gives its name to Caerphilly cheese, which originated in the area.

Caerphilly Castle

Caerphilly is the site of Caerphilly Castle [1], built between 1268 and 1271, which is the largest castle in Wales, and second largest in Britain (after Windsor).^{[citation needed]} In 1899 the Rhymney Railway built their maintenance facilities; however, the expansion of the population in the nineteenth century was more to do with the increasing market for coal. Caerphilly hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1950.

Caerphilly is featured in the Sex Pistols documentary The Filth and the Fury. Protests and a prayer meeting were held outside the Castle Cinema on the evening of December 14, 1976, when the Pistols were playing a concert there. At this point in time, Caerphilly was one of the few councils that would allow the group to perform (Leeds and Manchester being the others).

Caerphilly is the birthplace of Tommy Cooper,^[1] Martyn Richard Jones, and Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey. It was also home to Nottingham Forest and Wales star Robert Earnshaw, following his family's move from Zambia.

The town has a rugby union club, Caerphilly RFC, who play in Division 1 EAST of the Welsh National League.

During the summer, the town hosts The Big Cheese^[2] festival and a fundraising musical event called Megaday.^[3]

[edit] Transport

The A469 trunk road runs through the town north to south, while the A468 skirts the northern boundary of the town. Caerphilly has two railway stations; Caerphilly at the southern end of the town near the shopping area, and Aber in the western part of the town, both on the Rhymney Line serving Cardiff. A tramway connects the outlying estate of Glenfields with St Cennydd Road as part of the local transport improvement scheme.

Network Rail propose that a new station be built in Energlyn to support residential development in that part of the town^[4].

[edit] Popular culture

Caerphilly is the home of a professional Quidditch team operating within the fictional Harry Potter universe. The Caerphilly Catapults are one of only thirteen Quidditch teams that have been playing in the professional Quidditch League of Britain and Ireland that was established in 1674. The team players wear vertically striped robes of light green and scarlet. They won the 1956 European Cup by defeating the Norwegian Karasjok Kites in the final.^[5]

[edit] See also

Caer

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Caerphilly Net
• Caerphilly RFC
• Mornington Meadows community site
• YouTube: Ali G visits Caerphilly Castle.
• The Caerphilly Woodlands Trust
• Caerphilly Megaday
• The Big Cheese festival
• www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Caerphilly and surrounding area

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Caerphilly.