City Road, Cardiff


City Road runs through Cathays in Cardiff, Wales. Designated as the B4261, it runs roughly south-southeasterly from the junction of Crwys Road and Albany Road, to Newport Road. It is lined with small shops and business premises.
The road has hosted a number of public houses, a cinema and a college campus. It has gained a reputation for its multicultural mixture of restaurants and food takeaways.

History

City Road was originally known as Plwcca Lane, plwcca meaning dirty, wet, uncultivated land, and alai meaning alley. In 1830 Plwcca Lane consisted of Roath Castle and six small cottages in two fields. It led to Plwcca Halog, named after the Gallows Field, which was where public executions were carried out.
Plwcca Lane became Castle Road in 1874, which was named after Roath Castle. It ran north–south from Cardiff through the settlement of Plasnewydd. Roath and Plasnewydd were absorbed into Cardiff in 1875. Castle Road was renamed City Road in 1905 to mark Cardiff's new city status, after the Parish of Roath was absorbed into the county borough of Cardiff in 1903, as Cardiff already had another Castle Street. City Road gained the B4261 number classification in the late 1920s.

Death Junction

The northern point, where five roads meet, has been nicknamed "Death Junction". One explanation behind this nickname is due to the difficulty for pedestrians in crossing the intersection. Another theory is that the nickname stemmed from the historical Gallows Field, that stood where Richmond Road is today. In 1679 Philip Evans and John Lloyd were hung, drawn and quartered at these gallows. The two Roman Catholic priests were arrested and charged with treason following the aftermath of the Popish Plot. Evans and Lloyd were canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1970. Two plaques mark the site, attached to the NatWest bank on Richmond Road.

TV series

City Road was the subject of a three-part documentary television series, first broadcast on BBC One Wales in July 2016. The series featured several businesses including a hairdressers, a sex shop and a fitness centre. The series was made in partnership with Made Television and also broadcast on Made in Cardiff.