History
Just to the north of the Butchers Arms can be found the Rhiwbina Twmpath. This was originally a castle motte built by the Normans, probably to resist attacks from Welsh enemies coming down the Cwm Nofydd pass, one of the routes to the hills that lie to the north of Cardiff. The pass followed the path of the Cwm Nofydd stream, which you can still see flowing through the fields below the Twmpath.
Although the first Normans invading Britain largely ignored Wales, within a few years they began to encroach into regions such as the lowlands along the south Wales coast. A persistent hostility then arose between the Normans and the Welsh.
The Twmpath is one of eight known mottes that swept across the north of Cardiff, forming an 8 mile arc between two Cardiff rivers, the Ely and the Rhymney. The other mottes are at Treoda and Castell Coch, which are known to have been medieval manors, and Felin Isaf, Morganstown, Ruperra, Tomen-y-clawdd and Gwen-y-domen.
Towards the end of the 11th Century, a band of Normans led by Robert fitz Hamo, Earl of Gloucester, were commissioned by William I to suppress the Welsh in the south Wales lowlands. Many legends have arisen over fitz Hamo's campaign, so what happened is far from certain.
According to the legend, fitz Hamo enlisted the help of a Norman knight named Eynion who was to pretend an alliance with Iestyn ap Gwrgant, King of Glamorgan. The supposed aim of the alliance was to drive the Normans from the shores of Wales back to Robert fitz Hamo's base at Keynsham near Bristol.
The Norman army met Iestyn and Eynion's armies at Rhiwbina in a field near to the present location of the Butchers Arms. After they had joined battle, Eynion withdrew his men and marched to the Gower, where he set up a stronghold which bears his name to this day as Port Eynon.
In more recent times, work on Rhiwbina Garden Village began in 1913 and hundreds of Cardiff City residents clamoured to be part of what was billed as a cleaner, greener lifestyle. Since then the boundaries of Cardiff have greatly expanded until now the outlines of this garden village have long since vanished into the large urban conurbation of the modern city of Cardiff.
Although the first Normans invading Britain largely ignored Wales, within a few years they began to encroach into regions such as the lowlands along the south Wales coast. A persistent hostility then arose between the Normans and the Welsh.
The Twmpath is one of eight known mottes that swept across the north of Cardiff, forming an 8 mile arc between two Cardiff rivers, the Ely and the Rhymney. The other mottes are at Treoda and Castell Coch, which are known to have been medieval manors, and Felin Isaf, Morganstown, Ruperra, Tomen-y-clawdd and Gwen-y-domen.
Towards the end of the 11th Century, a band of Normans led by Robert fitz Hamo, Earl of Gloucester, were commissioned by William I to suppress the Welsh in the south Wales lowlands. Many legends have arisen over fitz Hamo's campaign, so what happened is far from certain.
According to the legend, fitz Hamo enlisted the help of a Norman knight named Eynion who was to pretend an alliance with Iestyn ap Gwrgant, King of Glamorgan. The supposed aim of the alliance was to drive the Normans from the shores of Wales back to Robert fitz Hamo's base at Keynsham near Bristol.
The Norman army met Iestyn and Eynion's armies at Rhiwbina in a field near to the present location of the Butchers Arms. After they had joined battle, Eynion withdrew his men and marched to the Gower, where he set up a stronghold which bears his name to this day as Port Eynon.
In more recent times, work on Rhiwbina Garden Village began in 1913 and hundreds of Cardiff City residents clamoured to be part of what was billed as a cleaner, greener lifestyle. Since then the boundaries of Cardiff have greatly expanded until now the outlines of this garden village have long since vanished into the large urban conurbation of the modern city of Cardiff.