Centenary heritage trail
A circular walk around the history of Hailey Park
centenary heritage trail
Acknowledgements: The Centenary Heritage Trail has been kindly funded by a grant from Transport for Wales. Many thanks also to Cardiff Council for their help with this project, in particular rangers Nic and Gareth with the Parks Department. The research, production and installation of this Centenary Heritage Trail has been the combined effort of Friends of Hailey Park and Parks Department, Cardiff Council.
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1 Povey's field
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Location: Entrance to Hailey Park at Radyr Road
what3words: ///clean.battle.album In front of you, you will see an open field known locally as Povey’s field. The Llandaff Brick and Stone Company stood on Povey’s Field until it was disused by 1898. It was one of local businessman, Solomon Andrews less successful ventures. After WWII, Povey’s Field served as a city refuse tip until the 1970s, when it was capped and left to “green up” as an extended part of Hailey Park's open parkland
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Refuse tip chimney demolition. Date unknown. Reproduced with kind permission of Cardiff Council Glamorgan Archives
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2 Former Glamorganshire Canal
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Location: By the entrance to Hailey Park at Hazelhurst Road near the flats
what3words: ///dish.cages.care |
Black bridge over Glamorganshire Canal, date unknown. The bridge is still in use today crossing Ty-Mawr Road at the north end of Hailey Park. Reproduced with the kind permission of the Museum of Wales.
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Construction on the Glamorganshire Canal began in Merthyr in 1790 to bring coal and metals to Cardiff Docks for export during the Industrial Revolution. By the 1870s, the canal was in decline due to the growth of the railways. It ran along the eastern edge of what is now Hailey Park from Ty Mawr Road to Llandaff lock no. 45, situated near the Cow and Snuffers/Disraeli House. Although the canal was filled in during 1950s, its route within Hailey Park is marked by a row of lime trees that you can see today.
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Glamorganshire Canal, Hailey Park: Aerial View, 1947. Reproduced with the kind permission of the Welsh Government.
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3 The birth of Hailey Park
Location: Next to notice board between tennis courts and bowling green
what3words: ///dress.shrimp.steep
what3words: ///dress.shrimp.steep
Claude and Gertrude Hailey donated land and money to the Council to establish a public park. Claude Hailey spent his career at the Taff Vale Railway and the Cardiff Coal Exchange. He was also a local tennis champion and keen to include a wide range of recreation and sports in the new park, including tennis, bowling, boating and pitch ’n putt golf. This was the birth of Hailey Park, which was officially opened on 3 May 1926.
Photograph of Claude Hailey. Date unknown. Reproduced with the kind permission of the family of Claude Hailey.
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Members of Llandaff North Tennis Club, c1924. Pritchard Family Collection. Reproduced with the kind permission of the Glamorgan Archives.
Second Llandaff Scouts, 1937. Pritchard Family Collection. Reproduced with the kind permission of the Glamorgan Archives.
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4 The old Llandaff Bridge
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Location: former abutment within Hailey Park
what3words: ///harder.foil.drew In front of you are the remains of the old Llandaff Bridge, built of stone in the mid eighteenth century. You can see the other end of the bridge on the opposite side of the river from here. This bridge was replaced during the 1980s by the one you see today, to reduce the risk of flooding to the Mary Street area.
Old Llandaff Bridge from illustrated manuscript. Reproduced with the kind permission of the family of Claude Hailey.
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Illuminated manuscript given in thanks by the City of Cardiff to Mr & Mrs Hailey on 14 June 1926, for the gift of land for recreation. Reproduced with the kind permission of the family of Claude Hailey.
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5 Former Radyr Road ford
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Location: Green triangle where primroses are planted on the river walk
what3words: ///faces.study.gain Radyr Road was a thoroughfare before the 1750s. It led across the Ford of the River Taff and up Radyr Court Road to the church of St John the Baptist, the Inn and Manor House. Over time, the Taff Vale Railway development moved this population centre north towards the area of Radyr station.
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1898 OS map. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland
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6 WW2 allotments to rugby pitches
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Location:
what3words: During WWII, allotments were created in Hailey Park as part of the “Dig For Victory” campaign to combat food shortages due to disrupted transport links. After the war, Hailey Park allotments served workers and communities from local industry. Later rugby pitches were set out and are regularly used by local rugby clubs in the area.
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Aerial photo of WWII allotments in Hailey Park, 1941. Welsh Government RAF Medmenham. Reproduced with the kind permission of the Welsh Government.
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7 Llandaff Loop railway bridge
Location: Next to the Taff Valley Heritage Trail Information Board
what3words: ///squad.slide.froth
what3words: ///squad.slide.froth
The Loop Bridge was constructed in 1900 to provide a bypass loop from the former Radyr marshalling yard on to the Taff Vale Railway at Llandaf Station. The bridge played an important part for industries in the Glamorgan Valleys as it provided a link for distributing coal and other goods. This historical bridge that you can see is all that remains of the Llandaff Loop railway line, which crossed Hailey Park until 1999.
It was reopened as a footbridge in 2013 and links the two sides of the River Taff, Danescourt and Llandaff North. It allows for more accessible walking and cycling opportunities for the local and wider communities of Cardiff.
It was reopened as a footbridge in 2013 and links the two sides of the River Taff, Danescourt and Llandaff North. It allows for more accessible walking and cycling opportunities for the local and wider communities of Cardiff.
Shown are a series of photos showing the construction of the Loop bridge, circa 1900. Reproduced with the kind permission of the Museum of Wales.
8 The Afon Taf Viaduct Grade II Listed
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Location: On the grass triangle as the gravel path bends and splits with track to the bridge
what3words: ///indeed.sketch.ras In front of you, you can see the Afon Taf Viaduct is the only Grade II listed building in Llandaff North. It was a feature of the Taff Vale Railway completed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1841. Along with the platform canopy at nearby Llandaf Station, it is one of the few original visible structures of the Taff Vale line within Cardiff. The Melin Gruffydd Water Pump, built in 1807, can be found a short distance away along a dirt track under the viaduct and alongside the canal feeder.
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Afon Taf Viaduct, 2025. Reproduced with the kind permission of the Friends of Hailey Park.
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Melin Gruffydd Water Pump, 2025. Reproduced with permission of Friends from Hailey Park
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Llandaf Train Station, 2025. Reproduced with permission of Friends from Hailey Park
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