translation of St Mellons is Llaneirwg which is made up of Llan, a Welsh word meaning 'enclosure'. Wales was originally evangelised by Celtic monks whose practice was to move into an area, and erect small premises within a fenced area - 'the enclosure'. From here they continued their work and subsequently a church would be erected on the site. The extent of the missionary activity in Wales is shown by the number of place names beginning with 'Llan' which is generally followed by the name of the missionary monk who founded the church in that place. In the case of LLaneirwg,'Eurwg' is the name of a mythical King of Gwent. Eurwg is said to have lived on the hill at St Mellons during the Romano-British era, he and his people were converted to Christianity and baptised in the nearby Rhymney River. Eurwg's church was erected near the site of the former church of 1360 and the area has since been known as Llaneirwg, literally "Church of Eirwg/Eurwg". Governance The modern St Mellons is included in the Trowbridge community and electoral ward which currently has three seats on Cardiff Council. St Mellons (or Trowbridge) does not have a community council and the area falls outside the boundaries of Old St Mellons Community Council. The area The modern St Mellons is included in the Trowbridge community and electoral ward (Old St Mellons combines with neighbouring Pontprennau to become a Pontprennau & Old St Mellons ward). The 2001 Census put the population of Trowbridge as 14,801, the 4th most populated ward in Cardiff. Located on the eastern edge of Cardiff, St Mellons is bordered by the unitary authority of Newport. Facilities The area is home to two major retail complexes. The largest features a Tesco petrol station and superstore, which hit the headlines in January 2010 when it banned customers from shopping in their nightwear, The Willows (SA Brains public house) and a parade of small retail units including a hairdresser, solicitor, betting shop, dentist, fish & chip takeaway and newsagent. Plans for a massive overhaul of the site were approved in March 2009. The plans include demolition of the existing 5,000sq M store and six smaller units, to be replaced by a brand new 11,000sq M store built over a ground floor car park, however due to the economic downturn of recent years, these plans have now been axed. The other complex,