Pontyclun

Last updated

Pont-y-clun
War memorial at Pontyclun - geograph.org.uk - 1011006.jpg
Rhondda Cynon Taf UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Pont-y-clun
Location within Rhondda Cynon Taf
Population8,086 (2011) [1]
OS grid reference SS985832
Principal area
Preserved county
Country Wales
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town PONTYCLUN
Postcode district CF72
Dialling code 01443
Police South Wales
Fire South Wales
Ambulance Welsh
UK Parliament
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament
List of places
UK
Wales
Rhondda Cynon Taf
51°31′18″N3°23′29″W / 51.521588°N 3.391256°W / 51.521588; -3.391256
Pontyclun railway station Pontyclun railway station.jpg
Pontyclun railway station

Pontyclun (or Pont-y-clun) is a village and community located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales.

Contents

Pontyclun translates from the Welsh language as 'bridge [over] the River Clun', the Clun being a tributary of the River Ely that runs through Pontyclun. A bridge crosses the Afon Clun just above its confluence with the Ely.

The village is served by Pontyclun railway station on the South Wales Main Line. It has its own local rugby club.

The village falls under the remit of Pontyclun Community Council, which represents the communities of Brynsadler, Castell y Mwnws, Groes-faen, Miskin, Mwyndy, Pontyclun, Talygarn, and Ynysddu

History

The influx of workers for the iron ore and coal mining industries, and the coming of the South Wales Railway in 1851, changed Pontyclun from a 20-acre (8 ha) farm with just four to five households into a burgeoning Victorian industrial town. The Coedcae Colliery (first listed in 1856) and the Bute iron ore mine (which opened in October 1852) caused the population growth. By 1871, the census returns record an influx of Cornish miners who had suffered from the collapse of the copper mining industry in Cornwall. By 1870 the industries of the area had been expanded by the coming of the Ely Tin Plate Works, The Pipe Works and The Steam Joinery Company. [2]

Administration

The Community Council was formed in 1985 and consists of eleven elected Community Councillors who are all residents of the area. They act on behalf of local people to try and preserve the best aspects of the villages, while also encouraging and supporting developments that will benefit the whole community and ensure that it will continue to thrive. The Community Council monitors all local planning applications and, where appropriate, suggests amendments or submits written objections. Pontyclun

Electoral ward

Pont-y-clun was an electoral ward to Mid Glamorgan County Council [3] electing one county councillor from 1989 and 1993 elections, subsequently (from 1995) becoming a ward to Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, electing two councillors.

Religion

Bethel Baptist Chapel was built circa 1876. Bethel relocated to Bethel Baptist Church Centre on Heol Miskin in 1993. Cwrt Bethel is on the site of the old chapel. St Paul's church, Pontyclun was erected in 1895 as a district church within the Anglican parish of Llantrisant. In 1924, the new parish of Pontyclun and Talygarn was constituted from the parish of Llantrisant. Bethel Baptist Church, Hope Presbyterian Church and St Paul's Church are still active places of worship.

Schools & education

The village is served by Y Pant School, a secondary school with about 1,150 pupils, situated in the village of Talbot Green. In 2000 it was ranked 49th in Wales in terms of its GCSE results (based on 5 GCSEs, grades A-C). Since then, exam results have improved dramatically and according to the latest inspection report from Estyn, the school now has a pass rate of 72% which means it is in equal 19th place in Wales, or in the top 10%. It is also the best performing secondary school in Rhondda Cynon Taf, just ahead of St. John the Baptist School (Aberdare). The village also houses Pontyclun Primary school which achieved above average results in all foundation subjects in the most recent Estyn reports. [4]

Sport

Pontyclun rugby union club Pontyclun RFC.JPG
Pontyclun rugby union club

Pontyclun has both a football and rugby union team. Pontyclun Football Club were formed in 1896 and joined the Football Association of Wales in 1922. Pontyclun Rugby Football Club (otherwise known as the Pontyclun Badgers), were formed in 1886 and joined the Welsh Rugby Union in 1887. Pontyclun has produced at least one Welsh international, Tommy Rees who later played rugby league for Great Britain, and Oldham. Pontyclun also has produced an International Footballer - Keith Pontin (Cardiff City and Wales). Pontyclun also has a Bowls Club established in 1932 as part of the Athletic Club in the heart of the village.

Pontyclun also has a number of other sports clubs including Pontyclun Flyers (Cycling) and Pontyclun Road Runners (Running)

Crown Brewery

The South Wales & Monmouth United Clubs Brewery Co. Ltd. purchased the small family brewery owned by D & T Davies in 1919. This Company had been formed to supply the expanding number of Workingmen's Clubs, which were having difficulties with supply of beer from the many local breweries throughout the area. The Sunday Closing (Wales) Act of 1881 had fuelled the expanding number of clubs that did not have to close on Sunday, as was the case with public houses.

By 1936 the brewery was producing 500 barrels per week, which continued to increase to 900 in 1938. This growth was halted by the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 but when the war ended in 1945 the growth took off again. By 1954 the old brewery had been replaced by a completely new building that was big enough to produce the 1,200 barrels per week that the clubs demanded at that time. In 1984 Bob Smith was head brewer for the company and was only the fifth in the 65 years the company had been trading. In 1988 Crown merged with Wales' oldest brewery, Buckley's of Llanelly to form the Crown Buckley Brewery. In the spring of 1999, after 80 years of trading, the brewery closed following the takeover of the company by Cardiff based Brains Brewery.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llantrisant</span> Human settlement in Wales

Llantrisant is a town in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying on the River Ely and the Afon Clun. The three saints of the town's name are SS. Illtyd, Gwynno, and Dyfodwg. Llantrisant is a hilltop settlement, at an altitude of 174 m (571 ft) above sea level. The town is home to the Royal Mint.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treorchy</span> Human settlement in Wales

Treorchy is a town and community in Wales. Once a mining town, it retains such characteristics. Situated in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in the Rhondda Fawr valley. Treorchy is also one of the 16 communities of the Rhondda. It includes the villages of Cwmparc and Ynyswen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf</span> Town in Cynon Valley, Wales

Mountain Ash is a town and former community in the Cynon Valley, within the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, with a population of 11,230 at the 2011 Census, estimated in 2019 at 11,339. It includes the districts and villages of Cefnpennar, Cwmpennar, Caegarw, Darranlas, Fernhill, Glenboi and Newtown, all within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Aberdare lies about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) north-west, Cardiff 19 miles (31 km) south-east, and Penrhiwceiber a mile to the south-east. It divides into two communities : West covers the town centre and the districts of Miskin, Darranlas, Fernhill and Glenboi, and East the districts of Cefnpennar, Cwmpennar, Caegarw and Newtown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ynysybwl</span> Human settlement in Wales

Ynysybwl is a village in Cwm Clydach in Wales. It is situated in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, roughly 15 miles (24 km) north-north-west of Cardiff, 4 miles (6 km) north of Pontypridd and 16 miles (26 km) south of Merthyr Tydfil, and forms part of the community of Ynysybwl and Coed-y-Cwm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ynyshir</span> Village and community in Rhondda, Wales

Ynyshir is a village and community located in the Rhondda Valley, within Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. The name of the village means "long island" in Welsh and takes its name from a farm in the area, falling within the historic parishes of Ystradyfodwg and Llanwynno (Llanwonno). The community of Ynyshir lies between the small adjoining village of Wattstown and the larger town of neighbouring Porth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferndale, Rhondda Cynon Taf</span> Town in Wales

Ferndale is a town and community located in the Rhondda Valley in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Neighbouring villages are Blaenllechau, Maerdy and Tylorstown. Ferndale was industrialised in the mid-19th century. The first coal mine shaft was sunk in 1857 and Ferndale was the first community to be intensively industrialised in the Rhondda Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beddau</span> Human settlement in Wales

Beddau is a large former mining village situated within the South Wales Valleys around 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from Llantrisant and 4 miles (6.4 km) from the larger town of Pontypridd in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penrhiwceiber</span> Human settlement in Wales

Penrhiwceiber is a small Welsh village and community in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf that lies south of the town Aberpennar and north of the village of Tyntetown, and is one of many villages that lies within the Cynon Valley. Prior to 1870 the area was heavy woodland, but the opening of the Penrhiwceiber Colliery in 1878 saw its rapid expansion into a thriving village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penywaun</span> Human settlement in Wales

Penywaun is a community, electoral ward and north-western suburb of Aberdare in the Cynon Valley within the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. At the 2011 census, the population of the ward was registered as 3,063.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talbot Green</span> Human settlement in Wales

Talbot Green is a town just north of the M4 motorway, in the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales in the United Kingdom. The town is part of Llantrisant Community Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llanharry</span> A village in Rhonda Cynon Taff, Wales

Llanharry is a village, community and electoral ward in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miskin</span> Human settlement in Wales

Miskin is a village approximately 2 miles (3 km) south of Llantrisant in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales.

Llantwit Fardre is a large village and community situated on the A473, Pontypridd to Bridgend, road near the Welsh towns of Pontypridd and Llantrisant. Llantwit Fardre is also the name of the old parish and the community area that takes in the villages of Llantwit Fardre, Tonteg and Church Village. It is in the county of Rhondda Cynon Taf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church Village</span> Village in Rhonda Cynon Taf, Wales

Church Village is a large village in the historic parish and community of Llantwit Fardre, located within the Taff Ely district of the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in Wales. The village is centrally located being around 4 miles (6.4 km) from the local principal towns of Llantrisant to the southwest and Pontypridd to the north and is situated around 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Cardiff city centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tonteg</span> Human settlement in Wales

Tonteg is a village around 3.7 miles (6 km) from Pontypridd, south Wales. It is 9 miles (14.5 km) north west of Cardiff and four miles (6.5 km) north east of Llantrisant. The village is within the community of Llantwit Fardre. Tonteg is to the north west of the Garth Mountain, on the west side of the River Taff valley, at the top of a hill known locally as Powerstation Hill. The hill gets its name from the Upper Boat power station which was situated at the bottom of the hill until it was demolished in 1972. Tonteg is next to Church Village and the boundaries between the two villages are blurred. A significant part of the Treforest Industrial Estate falls within the Willowford area of Tonteg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afon Clun</span> River in Wales

The Afon Clun is a 14-mile (23 km) long tributary of the River Ely, in the counties of Cardiff and Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Its bedrock is predominantly of sandstone. Beginning on the western slope of The Garth the river is fast-flowing, in clear shallow water with a hard substrate, flowing to the south of Llantrisant and generally west to its confluence with the River Ely at Pontyclun, falling 715 feet (218 m) over its course.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhiwsaeson</span> Village in Wales

Rhiwsaeson is a village and district of the principal town and community of Llantrisant with the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in South Wales. It is located on the south easterly outskirts of the town, along the Afon Clun, south of the A473 and near the village of Groes-faen (Pontyclun) and Creigiau within northwest Cardiff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Registered historic parks and gardens in Rhondda Cynon Taf</span> List of buildings in county borough of Wales

Rhondda Cynon Taf is a county borough in South Wales. It is located to the north-west of Cardiff and covers an area of 424 km2 (164 sq mi). In 2021 the population was approximately 237,500.

References

  1. ↑ "Community population 2011" . Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  2. ↑ "Pontyclun".
  3. ↑ "The County of Mid Glamorgan (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1988". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. 2 March 1988. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  4. ↑ "Welcome to Estyn | Estyn". www.estyn.gov.wales.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.