The village has been in existence for at least 1500 years and an Iron Age hill fort is the oldest feature in the locality, so there were people in the vicinity dating back to pre-recorded history.
The oldest existing village feature is the church, the current building dating from the 14th century. Go to the Historical Society page to read about our history and the Society’s activities.
Lisvane Historical Society
Lisvane Historical Society was established in January 2006 with the aim of undertaking research into the history of the village and to preserve current information. The Society’s success will, to a degree, depend on the support residents give in providing documents, photographs and verbal accounts of village life over the years.
One of the aims of the Society is to build a comprehensive collection of photographs, documents, articles, magazines, books and memories on subjects relevant to Lisvane for existing and future generations to enjoy. If you have any information about Lisvane, please forwarded to Gillian Lawson, 45, Ridgeway, Lisvane, Cardiff. CF14 0RS. Tel 02920753868 or email lisvanehistory@btinternet.com. Information will be scanned into our system and returned.
Next Event
Monday 21st September at 14.30 pm in Lisvane Library
Several people said they were unable to attend the Historical Society’s Festival event on 25th June, so we will show the films again on 21st September.
The films are:
- Mrs Turner in the garden of Ty Gwyn in the 1930s;
- A burst water main in Holly Grove and well as several clips from sports events in Lisvane from 1969 to 1981;
- The Lisvane Players rendering of Hiawatha (1980s?)
- St Denys Bells and Clock, showing repairs to the bells’ mechanism as well as the replacement of one of the bells and the placing of the clock on the church tower (1997 to 1999).
Also
- The Life of Cherry Orchard, a film of the building and early days of Cherry Orchard House from 1939 to 1944 (which we showed a few years ago).
Unfortunately, the quality of the Hiawatha film deteriorates towards the end, so if anyone else has a copy that may be better, please let us know.
If you want to come, please put your name on the sheet in the Library so we can keep track of numbers.
We are sure there must be other films out there (GoKart races, anyone?), also we have heard that the Gardening Club made their own version of The Flowerpot Men, which we would love to see. If your film is no longer playable because you have not got the right equipment any more, then there are companies which specialise in transferring films to modern media. We may be able to help with this.
Previous Event
On Thursday 25th June, at 7.30 p.m in Lisvane Memorial Hall (Small Hall) as part of the Lisvane Festival, Lisvane Historical Society showed some films of Lisvane. These date from the 1930s to the 1990s.
(We’re sure there must be more films in the community! If you have any films of Lisvane that you would be willing to share, please let us know.)
Gill Lawson and Sue Johnson
Future meetings will be advertised in the Lisvane LINK.
Recent Talks were
Monday 27 April 2026 – Taff and the Tide, 10,000 years of Cardiff by Scott Bees, an archaeologist of ACE-Action in Caerau and Ely.
Monday 22nd February 2026 – The History of the Old School by Sue Johnson.
Lisvane Time Line To view the events in Lisvane’s history, click on the link: Lisvane Timeline
Topics researched to date are:-
Lisvane War Memorial
E. Turner and Sons
The Turner family were responsible for the construction of a series of notable buildings including the City Hall, the Law Courts, the former Glamorgan County Hall and the Technical College (later re-named the Bute Building), Cardiff Royal Infirmary, the General Post Office, the Cardiff Exchange, the Central Free Library, the National Provincial Bank and many more landmark buildings. We have copies of photographs, the majority of which are over 100 years old and are of outstanding quality. Our grateful thanks to Glamorgan Archives for their assistance with this project. The Timeline of Turner buildings may be viewed by clicking Here.
Llanishen Mill and Coed y Felin
Caerphilly Railway Tunnel and People of the Railway
Lisvane Public Houses – Lisvane Lost Pubs, The Black Griffin, The Ty Mawr The Cottage and the Pentre Gwilym
Capel Gwilym Chapel.
Lisvane Blacksmiths.
Lisvane Community Council
Lisvane Community Association
Lisvane Memorial Hall
Lisvane Old School
In addition to the above we have an archive of material on the village and would be happy to assist in any research.
If you have any information on these topics or any pictures, we would be very pleased to receive them and in particular any films taken in the village.
– The LHS holds a complete set of Link magazines but are missing a few issues of
the Newsletters. If you have kept one of the following Newsletters we would be
grateful if you would let us scan your copy.
1967 – January February and May.
Can you add anything to our archive? Email: lisvanehistory@btinternet.com
| Click on the following headings for some of our local stories: |
Llanishen Mill once stood on the corner of what are now Millrace Close and Clos Melyn Dwr. A photograph of the Old Mill is shown above (courtesy Mr D Lerman). Please let us know if you have any further pictures of the mill or any other information.
Thank you for your support.