Conservation Volunteers of St.Mellons & Trowbridge
Hendre Lake
Brief History
St.Mellons & Trowbridge
27,000 years ago the Severn Estuary was formed after the last period of glaciation.
9000 - 13,000 years ago the climate rapidly warmed melting the Ice covering the area and by 6000BC the coastline had reached close to its current position
St.Mellons & Trowbridge form part of the Wentloog Levels, an area with low-lying wetlands adjoining the north bank of the River Severn. Together with the Caldicot Levels to the east, they form the historical and biodiverse area called the Gwent Levels .
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Around 8000 years ago during the Mesolithic or middle Stone Age small groups of humans began to exploit the area in the dryer summer months Later, during the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages, there is evidence of more settled activities, including the building of more permanent structures & small settlements
The exploitation of the Levels changed with the arrival of the Romans. In AD 48 Roman legions reach the border of Wales and begin to conquer the Welsh tribes, the dominant tribe in South Wales was the Silures.
Eventually, in 75 AD, the Silures were subdued according to Roman sources, it remains unclear whether the tribe was defeated militarily or came to a peace agreement.
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The coastal marshes were now subject to a highly organised attempt to reclaim the land through construction of embankments, drains and sluices. Such enclosed marshes were easier to manage and farm
Following the departure of the Romans in the 5th century, Britain entered the Dark Ages, a time of warring petty kingdoms. The Levels were largely abandoned, the drainage system failed, and the land reverted back to wild wetland.
It was not until the arrival of the Normans 600 years later that another concerted attempt was made to tame the Levels. In 1133, the Norman Lord of Caerleon granted land for the building of a monestery on the high ground of Goldcliff Newport. To improve the land, the monks repaired and extended the Roman network of sea defences and ditches, forming the pattern of reed-fringed reens & small fields
In 1541, Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries ended 400 years of monastic control of the Levels. Previously Henry VIII had recognised the value of floodplain grasslands and passed “The Act of Sewers”, creating Commissioners and Courts of Sewers to oversee the maintenance of sea walls and drainage ditches. The Commissioners, appointed from local landowners and powerful families, had the power to raise taxes to pay for works and issue fines to compel landowners and tenants to carry out maintenance works.
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Great Flood of 1607
On 30th January 1607 sea walls either side of the Severn Estuary were overwhelmed by flood waters. In the areas we know today as Trowbridge & St.Mellons many farms were at near sea level and hence were some of the worst areas of Cardiff hit, many farms were decimated.
Sea water contaminated the soil resulting in some farms taking over 5 years to return to operation.
St Mellons Parish Church, Old St Mellons
The Grade II listed church was built in the 14th Century
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Old St.Mellons was in the historic county of Monmouthshire and consisted of a village hall, church, several pubs and shops. The village served as a small commercial centre reliant on farming and travel with the inns catering for travellers using the old Roman Road between Cardiff and London .
The current church was built in the 14th century, many of the local dwellings date back to the 19th century .
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The area has four pubs situated in close proximity aligning Newport Road . The pubs were able to gain extra business on weekends by exploiting the Wales Sunday Closing Act 1881. This Act prohibited the sale of alcohol in Wales on the Sabbath, St Mellons was at the time part of Monmouthshire (England) where the act did not take effect until 40 years later
Coach House pub & restaurant, Old St Mellons the oldest part of this building possibly dates from the 17th century
Photo 50378154 © Ondrejschaumann | Dreamstime.com
In 1881 there were 94 farms in the parishes of St Brides Wentlooge, Peterstone, Rumney and St Mellons the lush grassland of the Levels made them extremely suitable for milk production. During the early twentieth century the Wentloog Level developed into a substantial milk producing area .
After the Second World War 1939 – 1945 more houses were needed and in later years housing development replaced farms in Rumney/Llanrumney
In the mid 1960s the housing development extended to build Trowbridge estate on the low lying land to the east of Rumney, taking land owned by the farms of Trowbridge Mawr and Trowbridge Bach
The Newbridge Pub was built in 1966, which ties in with the old pub sign depicting the Seven Bridge, built in 1966
Flats off Greenway Road Trowbridge typical of the period building design
Historically in Monmouthshire St Mellons became part of South Glamorgan and Cardiff in 1974.
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As the expansion of Cardiff spread east, Hendre Lake was built in the 1970s to avoid flooding of the proposed new developments. The newer much larger area of St.Mellons with modern housing and business parks continued to be built in the late 20th and early 21st centuries
Modern Homes on Brython Drive St.Mellons viewed from Willowbrook Drive
Photo © John Thorn (cc-by-sa/2.0)
After 1996 the St.Mellons community was divided and renamed as Old St Mellons and Pontprennau, with the newer area of modern housing and business parks to the south of Newport Road retaining the St Mellons name.
In 2015, responsibility for the management of the Levels passed to Natural Resources Wales.
