By 1900, over 150 grand houses had been built on the land, largely owned by the Bute Estate, lining the road from Llanishen church to the railway station, and along the road running south towards Cardiff. This rise in the number of residents in the suburban village resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of passenger trains on the Rhymney Railway`s line. In 1871 there were only three daily trains in each direction which stopped at Llanishen - by the 1890`s there were over fourteen.
Station Road became the home for many influential members of Cardiff society - major figures from commerce, industry, religion and politics. Amongst the earliest residents along Station Road were:
The influence of these early residents can be gauged from Thomas Ensor`s obituary in the local newspaper in 1895. It stated how "he had been one of the first to build a villa residence at Llanishen, and his example was soon followed by many others with the result that the district surrounding the pretty little village was quickly dotted with handsome mansions."
The table below shows how the population of the suburb had passed the thousand mark by the turn of the century.
The Growth of population in Llanishen 1881 - 1901 1881 463 1891 691 1901 1212