Aberbargoed

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Aberbargoed
Caerphilly UK location map.svg
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Aberbargoed
Location within Caerphilly
Population9,184 
OS grid reference SO155005
Principal area
Preserved county
Country Wales
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town CAERPHILLY
Postcode district CF81
Dialling code 01443
Police Gwent
Fire South Wales
Ambulance Welsh
UK Parliament
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament
List of places
UK
Wales
Caerphilly
51°41′48″N3°13′26″W / 51.6968°N 3.2240°W / 51.6968; -3.2240
Bedwellty Road, Aberbargoed Bedwellty Road, Aberbargoed - geograph.org.uk - 1050494.jpg
Bedwellty Road, Aberbargoed

Aberbargoed is a town in the County Borough of Caerphilly, Wales. Aberbargoed once contained the largest ever colliery waste tip in Europe, [2] although this has now been reclaimed and turned into a country park. The town is within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire.

Contents

Toponymy

Aber refers to a "confluence" or "mouth" of a river and bargod is a "border". [3]

Mining

Coal mining operations in Bargoed Colliery started in 1897 when the Powell Duffryn Steam Coal Company started to sink the shaft. In 1901, the "Ras Las" nine-foot seam was discovered at a depth of 625 yards. The north and south shafts were completed. In November 1903, Sir Alfred Thomas, M.P. for East Glamorgan, started the engines to raise the first four trams of coal. By 1910, the pit was employing 1,943 miners and was the largest coal mine in the Rhymney Valley. On 10 December 1908, it broke the world record for production when a ten-hour shift produced 3,562 tons of coal. It further broke its own record on 23 April 1909 when 4,020 tons were raised in a ten-hour shift. Bargoed Colliery closed on 4 June 1977. By this time, only 360 men were employed there.

Population

The population of Pont Aberbargoed was 351 in the census of 1851. Aberbargoed reached a peak in 1961 of 5,157, and had dropped to 3,882 according to the 1991 Census. [4]

Modern Day

The coal-mining waste tip that lay between Bargoed and Aberbargoed once towered to a height of 400 feet in the 1970s. The local school had a Plant a tree in '73 campaign in an attempt to make it more pleasurable on the eye. The tip has now been levelled and the area has been reclaimed with walkways. The colliery has gone and is now home to an ambulance station and various small industries. There are also developments with a new retail outlet in the area where the tip once stood.

The large tip at Bedwellty is still there, but has been grassed over and now looks much like the surrounding countryside. Aberbargoed now has an extensive area of grasslands that are protected due to the finding of the rare marsh fritillary butterfly, Euphydryas aurinia in the marshy area north of where Bedwellty School once stood. Recently the A469 Bargoed bypass was constructed through the park.


Notable people

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonc yr Hafod</span> Country park in Wrexham County Borough

Bonc yr Hafod is a country park, on the former site of Hafod Colliery, near Johnstown and Pentre Bychan in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. The country park is centred on a former spoil tip hill, known locally as "Picnic Mountain", rising up 150 metres (490 ft). The country park is 90 acres (0.36 km2) in size of mainly woodlands and grasslands. The park is home to one of the largest community woodlands in North East Wales.

References

  1. 1 2 "The Parliamentary Constituencies and Assembly Electoral Regions (Wales) Order 2006". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  2. ↑ "the largest ever man made colliery waste tip in Europe". www.caerphilly.gov.uk. 9 February 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
  3. ↑ "Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru". Archived from the original on 29 July 2014.
  4. ↑ "Population figures from 1991 census". www.welshicons.org. 8 February 2011. Archived from the original on 1 January 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2011.

Bibliography

James, Paul (2002). The History of Bargoed, Gilfach and Aberbargoed in Photographs, Vol. 3. Old Bakehouse Publications. ISBN   1-874538-64-6.
Gelligaer Historical Society (1972). Gelligaer. Gelligaer Historical Society.

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