This is a community website for Grangetown in Cardiff, highlighting people, business, community activities, local news and things to do in the area and linking other websites and blogs.
This voluntary project - in connection with Grangetown Community Action - is the free, independent, online presence of the long-running Grangetown News community paper, which has been distributed to 6,500 local homes at least twice a year for 40 years.
E-mail us on grangetowncardiff@yahoo.co.uk if you'd like to help, are local or would like to send any contributions for inclusion, or wish to advertise. Also if you'd like to be included FREE in our DIRECTORY,
You can also follow us on Twitter @grangecardiff and look for Grangetown Community Action on Facebook. We have a growing number of followers and are keen to encourage a social network to promote Grangetown community events, activities, issues, businesses and organisations.
Street of 29 shops says final farewell
It is the end of an era in Court Road, with the demolition of its last corner shop and the end of a story going back 125 years.
Kan and Uma Kanthabalan were the last incumbents of Mas and Co on the junction with Jubilee Street, which closed in July - and finally saw the building disappear this week to make way for a flats development.
"We’ve had some very nice customers and made friends over the last 17 years,” said Uma. “Even the people we banned – who we allowed back!"
Before many people had their own transport and home delivery meant not Amazon but a horse and cart, most Grangetown streets had a variety of shops.
This shop’s history goes back to widow Elizabeth Kerman, the first owner when most houses in Court Road were built in 1894. Hundreds of people were moving into the Saltmead area, as north Grangetown was called, to work in the docks, on the railway and trams and helping to build the new terraced houses sprawling across the booming town.
This Cardiff street directory from 1897 shows Elizabeth Kerman’s shop on the corner with Stoughton Street. Court Road was still unfinished at this point and so the shop is No 52 - it was later re-numbered No 58. There was another grocer’s shop on the opposite corner too. Neighbours were a chemist and a fishmonger. Stoughton Street was renamed Jubilee Street in 1935. Residents petitioned the council to change the name, after silver jubilee celebrations for King George V.
In 1927, when Mabel Hackman was running the grocery, there were an incredible 29 traders in Court Road alone. Mabel’s neighbour was Edward French’s furniture shop on the opposite corner, while there were two fish and chip shops, two tobacconists and newsagents, two butchers and a jeweller. A refreshment rooms stood on the corner of Clare Road.
Albert Axford, a former Navy man, ran the shop in the 1950s and into the 1960s.
But where does the name Mas & Co come from? Apparently, a previous owner was asked to keep the name of the business when they took it over – and it’s been like that ever since.It’s believed it may be made up from the initials of Sajawal Khan and his wife Mary, who took over the shop in the mid 1960s.
Kan and Uma, Sri Lankan by background, came to Cardiff 30 years ago and took over the shop in 2002. Their business motto was “Honest, respectful and friendly”.
Going, going - gone. The demolition of the shop in November.
There were a few tears on the final day, while customers brought flowers, chocolates and good wishes.
The couple had always tried to move with the times
– increasing the range of wine and more recently giving the shop lay-out a revamp and adding a
coffee machine.
But the change in shopping habits – with supermakets Asda, Morrison, Aldi and Lidl within a short drive, as well as late-opening Tesco and One Stop convenience stores within walking distance, meant competition for local independent shops has been fierce.
It became street’s last surviving store after the closure of a cycle shop in the early 1990s.
The couple – who live nearby – also wanted to put their health first. "“I’m really sad we’re closing, but if anything happened to one of us, we wouldn’t be able to carry on," said Uma.
"We’ve had old people who used to come here to buy sweets when they were kids,” said Kan. Three flats will be built on the site.
This is an updated article to the one which is in the latest Grangetown News
Waste enforcement teams are to target Channel View estate as one of the next "hot-spots" for fly-tipping and poorly presented household rubbish.
The council plans "education and enforcement" action.
Around 170 fly-tipping reports were received in Grangetown since last April - that's around half all incidents in the west of the city.
Meanwhile, teams have dealt with 20 separate fly-tipping incidents in Clive Street lane in the same period.
Councillors have also been told that waste workers have dealt with issues in 22 lanes since the beginning of September and "educated" householders or businesses in 788 properties about fly-tipping and waste in the lanes.
Meanwhile, additional afternoon street cleansing in the area has seen Grangetown drop from being "significantly the highest" for litter complaints to being comparable with other inner city neighbourhoods.
Litter build-up can now be reported on the council's Cardiff Gov waste app - and since this facility was introduced in September, in addition to fly-tipping, Grangetown, along with Pentwyn, has had the highest usage. Dog mess and overflowing bins can also be reported.
A number of shops and businesses have also been visited to be given advice on waste management and about safe disposal of oils.
Keep Grangetown Tidy were recently invited to meet officers, with the cabinet member for waste management Michael Michael and local councillor Ash Lister to discuss concerns.
Day-by-day Sunday 17th November: Keep Grangetown Tidy litter-pick, meet 10am, The Marl/Channel View Road. Look out for the Cardiff Rivers maroon truck. All welcome to join in, equipment, gloves and bags provided.
Saturday 23rd November: Christmas Fayre, St Paul's community hall, Paget Street, 12.30pm-3pm. Admission 50p adults, children free. Stalls, refreshments, face painting - and Father Christmas. Growing Street Talk workshop, St Samson's Church hall, 10am-12pm. If you’d like your street to be greener, cleaner and friendlier then find out how you can make things happen right outside your own front door. Inspiring ideas about how you can green your front gardens and street frontages. There’ll be time to exchange ideas with your neighbours and come up with a vision for transforming your street. Plus there’s a raffle to win a garden makeover and free daffodil bulbs to take home. For more information and to book your place - go to growing-street-talk@eventcube.io or contact us on growingstreettalk@gmail.com or our mobile & whatsapp: 07707 879546.
Friday 29th November: Storytelling evening, The Grange pub, from 7.30pm. Tell your story, or read your poem on the theme of 'no regrets.' A free pint for participants.
Saturday 30th November: Pavilion gardens design workshop, Grangetown Hub, drop-in between 10am and 1pm. Join the Welsh School of Architecture, Community Gateway, the Grange Pavilion Project and Creative Cardiff for a morning of designing the Grange Pavilion gardens. Explore sustainable design ideas for all kinds of human and non-human life in the gardens, and find out more about synergetic landscapes, circular economies, and cultural eco-systems. Free for all and open to adults and children. You can regiser here or just turn up.
Saturday 7th December: Keep Grangetown Tidy litter-pick, meet 10am, outside Tramshed Studio (there will also be a free yoga session afterwards for volunteers!), Pendyris Street. Look out for the Cardiff Rivers maroon truck. All welcome to join in, equipment, gloves and bags provided.
The Cinema at Tramshed - Watch for future programme. click here for listings and to buy tickets online.
Regular events: Mondays: Friends and Neighbours (FAN) group at Grangetown Hyb, 9.30am to 10.30am, women-only group at Clare Road Cultural Centre, 33 Clare Rd, 9.30am; and at Ikea, 11am to 12pm Grangetown Community Choir, Cornwall St church hall, 7.30pm-9.30pm. All weclome, relaxed, harmonious environment. £70 for term, from 18th September, payment options available. Email paulinedown7@gmail.com Tuesdays: Exercise for Beginners, Grangetown Health Centre, 10.30am–11.30am. Weekly sessions to improve your mobility/flexibility and get advice on simple
exercise routines that you can do at home. Grangetown Running Club, meets Channel View 6.15pm warm-up for 6.30pm start. Friendly and easy-paced group, ideal for beginners. Cost £1. Meets weekly. 9th Cardiff Brownies and Guides, St Samson's church hall, Pentre Gardens, 6-7.30pm. For girls aged 7-10, 10 to 14. Cardiff Morris, 8pm-10pm, Lyndon Social Club, Clare Road. Welsh Morris dancing club, open to new new dancers and musicians. Long-established group has been meeting weekly for practice sessions in Grangetown for the last two years. New members of any age, gender or ability are welcome to turn up to any practice or contact bagman @ cardiffmorris.org. Sessions are free to join. The practice season runs September to May. During summer months we dance out on Tuesdays in pubs across the city and at weekend folk festivals. Grangetown Book Club, Grangetown Hub, 6pm First Tuesday of each month, December's book - The Commitments by Roddy Doyle. Wednesdays: Baby massage and baby yoga group, Grangetown Hyb, 1pm. Includes Welsh vocab and songs, suitable for babies under nine months. Email: rhian.arwel@meithrin.cymru. Six weeks from start of February.
Cardiff People First, Grangetown Hub Cafe, 1pm-3pm. A chance to meet project worker Dawn over a cuppa in the cafe, chat, make new friends or try new things. Project run by local charity working with people with learning difficulties. Cardiff Dance Stars - Ballet and Lyrical Dance, ages 4-6, 4pm; Modern and Lyrical Dance, ages 7-12, 5pm - at Grangetown Hub, Havelock Place. Qualified dance classes for children, www.cardiffdancestars.weebly.com Welsh Taster and Beginners courses, Channel View leisure centre, 7pm-9pm. Introduction to Welsh - particularly aimed at parents with children at Welsh-medium school. From October/November 2017 until July and October 2018. Cost £177, intalments possible. Pub Quiz, The Grange Pub, 8.30pm. Weekly quizzes, with a different quiz-master every week. Thursdays: The Great Brains Speed Quiz, The Cornwall pub, 8pm. First Thursday of every month. Prizes. Fridays: Grangetown Food Bank, Grangetown Baptist Church, Clive Street, 12pm-2pm. Weekly foodbank, organised by Cardiff Foodbank Grangetown FAN group, Salvation Army - Women only. Starting at 10am with an English language class then 11am for a FAN meeting. Fluent English speakers welcome too! Grangetown Local History Society, first Friday of the month, 2pm, Glamorgan Archives, Leckwith Close, Leckwith, by Cardiff City Stadium. Free, a chance to share stories, memories, work on project, talks. See www.grangetownhistory.co.uk. Grangetown Afterschool Club/Full Circle Education, Grange Pavilion, Grange Gardens, 3.30pm-5pm. Brand new girls club, perfect for girls who love arts and crafts, games, music, photography, sports and making friends. If you would like any more information, please email: Nikki@FullCircleEducation.org Cardiff Dance Stars - Acro and Gymnastic Dance, ages 5-12, 4.15pm; at Grangetown Hub, Havelock Place. Qualified dance classes for children, www.cardiffdancestars.weebly.com Cook At Church, St Paul's Community Hall, 5.30pm-7.30pm - first Friday of month. For children aged 10 and 11 to learn cooking skills and have fun
Email your local events to grangetowncardiff@yahoo.co.uk. For regular events, meetings and classes - including a listing for Grangetown Library Hub - see our directory. |
New book traces how Grangetown was built
Grangetown author and local historian Ray Noyes has produced a new book, which charts the history of the neighbourhood's development - with particular emphasis on its rapid growth in the Victorian era. Ray was born and brought up in Grangetown but his career in engineering took him away from the area, including abroad. He is secretary of Grangetown Local History Society.
Q How long did it take to build the Grangetown we now know? Most of Grangetown was built over 30 years, with some houses along the Taff and Avondale Road area added in the twentieth century once flood defences had been built along the Taff. Corporation Road was once a flood barrier which is why it is slightly higher than the houses and Grange Gardens on one side.
Q When and where did it all start? Construction started in 1857, at the same time as Penarth Docks. Grangetown was intended to house workers at Penarth harbour and docks as well as in an iron works and the gas works. With no public transport until 1873, workers had to live near their work. Penarth was easier to get to than Cardiff and Grangetown belonged to Penarth. It could have been name Clivetown after the Windsor-Clive family who built most of it.
Q How many of those original houses survive or were rebuilt? The vast majority of the original small terraced houses still exist, except for the very earliest ones that were on Oakley Street, Knole Street and Hewell Street. The National School and police station have also gone, they were some of the earliest public buildings.
Q Where does your own particular fascination with construction and engineering come from? My fascination with the history of Grangetown as an engineer is in its construction techniques. Discovering it was once a marsh on a thick bed of clay made me wonder how on earth it was done. It was not the best place to build anything and for centuries no-one dared. During construction, foundations and even entire buildings (Such as the main school) began to sink. As an engineer this caught my imagination, knowing that all had to be done by hand, without machinery. Even the roads and drains began to sink and eventually 22,000 tons of gravel had to be used to stabilise them, all quarried, transported and broken up by hand. The Marl Field is named after the clay beneath it which was quarried there in a large excavation so big it was used as a stadium.
Q Are there any buildings in the area you're particularly fond of? The buildings I am most fond of may come as a surprise. I love the many stables and cart sheds that were built at the time and are now mostly used as garages but some have been converted into small houses.
Urban Development in the Victorian Era: A Case Study of Grangetown, Cardiff, 1100-1900 is available from Wordcatcher Publishing for £15, and will also be on Amazon. Ray, who is secretary of Grangetown Local History Society, is also happy to order copies which he can bring along to its monthly meetings.
Read more about Grangetown streets here
The Grange darts team aims high after beating rivals The Lansdowne
By Tom Sargent
The Grange darts team were formed in 2017 and have just started their third season in the Cardiff and Whitchurch Darts league.
The pub team are currently playing in Divsion 1, the second level of a three-tier league.
They got the 2019/20 season underway at the Canton Wolfpack in a tough match up where they lost 8-1 to a strong team.
In week two they faced The Bluebell who were formed largely of players who had been playing in the Premier Division last time out. Here, they lost again but improved the scoreline.
At the end of September they finally got off the mark in a cracking game of darts at The Lansdowne pub in Canton. With three 180s on the night and a 100 and 106 finish both teams showed some real quality. Andy Williams struck a 106 out in his singles match whilst Martin Grist also took out a 100 finish too.
We hope to bring you more monthly updates from your local darts team thoroughout the year. Any interested players can come to matches (meet at The Grange pub) around 7.30pm on Monday nights or on Sunday afternoons around 5pm when there is usually a practice game.
White brothers can't stop Grange Cup exit
Grange Albion 3-4 Cwm Welfare
Match coverage by Tom Sargent
Grange Albion lost an entertaining League Cup tie at home to a much-improved Cwm Welfare on Saturday afternoon.
Read more of the match report here
Toy shop is latest indie shop venture
The latest in a new string of independent shops has opened, giving a boost to the main Grangetown shopping district.
The Honeycomb is a toy and children’s book shop in Clare Road.
Owner Maia Banks, who has a background in education, wants to go beyond just opening a business and, perhaps with a cue from the nearby Wild Thing cafe, wants to forge strong links with the neighbourhood she’s become a part of.
"My desire to start this toy shop has grown out of a want to engage with the local Grangetown community,” she told Grangetown News.
Read more on our local businesses page
Grangetown News autumn edition out
The autumn edition of Grangetown News is out!
It includes news on the progress of the £1.6m Grange Pavilion, including an exclusive first interview with the newly-appointed manager.
We have features on one long-running shop that has closed - and a new business which has opened. A look behind the scenes at Grange Albion football club - and we will be also catching up (if we can!) with the folks involved with Run Grangetown.
There is also a special farewell message from Grangetown vicar Father David Morris.
There is now an online version here - and we are appealing for volunteer deliverers, especially for streets in North Grangetown and off North Clive Street.
Please email grangetowncardiff@yahoo.co.uk or go to our Trello board to register an interest in delivering.
Copies are distributed to 6,500 homes, shops and businesses. It is also be available in Grangetown Hub, local shops, venues and pubs and you will be able to view an online version above.
Grangetown News was shortlisted for a community news award in the 2019 Wales Media Awards in what is the publication's 40th year.
The newspaper - with website and social media presence - was chosen by the judges in the community news category. Can we take this opportunity of thanking all our readers, contributors, volunteer deliverers and advertisers for all their help and support over the years.
Now called Grangetown News, the first edition of the new-look 16-page full-colour tabloid newspaper came out in May 2016. Published by Grangetown Community Action, it has been a quarterly magazine format since 1978. In March 2019, it was shortlisted in the community news category in the Wales Media Awards.
Thanks for all those who have contributed and advertised - and also to our volunteer deliverers. If you can help deliver - email grangetowncardiff@yahoo.co.uk
Should you have a local news story or would like to tell the community about your organisation or school then our paper is a perfect way of reaching people!you are a local business/organisation who would like to advertise to the local community our paper is an ideal place to place an advert.
Our rates are listed below:
1/8 page - £40
1/4 page - £70
1/2 page - £110
1 full page - £200
1 full back page - £250
The Grangetown News is still printed 100% in COLOUR, but is printed in a tabloid format, making your articles and adverts larger than ever! This is a pilot project which will hopefully allow us to increase readership through spreading more positive, local news stories. The editions are 16 pages. All articles submitted should be in a Word document (or jpeg for images / designed adverts - All images to be supplied high-quality 350dpi, colour pictures converted to CMYK) and sent to grangetowncardiff@yahoo.co.uk.
If you would like to discuss advertising in the Grangetown News, please feel free to contact grangetowncardiff@yahoo.co.uk, or call Ashley on 07572875804.
As well as more local news stories, there are features on local businesses and also sport. The paper has also been designed by Grangetown residents. Online versions of the features - with more photos - will also be put up later on this website But it's not too late if you want to get involved:
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Council BIG Cardiff Cardiffians
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city map Cardiff Pubs Real Cardiff © Grangetown Community Action and webmaster 2019. Last updated November 16th
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