Aberfan Cemetery (Welsh : Mynwent Aberfan) is a cemetery near the village of Aberfan, Merthyr Tydfil. It is one of five cemeteries in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, and is particularly well known for the graves of 144 victims of the Aberfan disaster in 1966, when a colliery coal tip collapsed and killed many people in the village of Aberfan.
The cemetery was opened in 1876, and includes Bryntaf Cemetery, an extension opened in 1913. [1] It covers about 8 acres [1] (3 hectares). The cemetery is Green Flag Accredited. [1] In 2022 the cemetery, together with the memorial garden and the area of the tip and its slide path, were listed on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales. The record of the Grade II* listed site describes it as being "of great national importance and meaning." [2]
As well as a monument to the Aberfan disaster victims, there is also a military monument to seven soldiers drowned in the Bristol Channel in 1888. [3] [4]
The Aberfan disaster was the catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil tip on 21 October 1966. The tip had been created on a mountain slope above the Welsh village of Aberfan, near Merthyr Tydfil, and overlaid a natural spring. Heavy rain led to a build-up of water within the tip which caused it to suddenly slide downhill as a slurry, killing 116 children and 28 adults as it engulfed Pantglas Junior School and a row of houses. The tip was the responsibility of the National Coal Board (NCB), and the subsequent inquiry placed the blame for the disaster on the organisation and nine named employees.
The Taff Trail is a walking and cycle path that runs for 55 miles (89 km) between Cardiff Bay and Brecon in Wales. It is so named because it follows the course of the River Taff. Along much of its length, it follows the National Cycle Network Route 8 that continues to Holyhead, and is substantially off-road.
The River Taff is a river in Wales. It rises in the Brecon Beacons as two rivers, the Taf Fechan and the Taf Fawr before becoming one just north of Merthyr Tydfil. At Cardiff, it empties into the Bristol Channel.
Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was established for the 1983 general election.
Merthyr Mawr is a village and community in Bridgend, Wales. The village is about 2+1⁄2 miles from the centre of Bridgend town. The population of the community at the 2011 census was 267. The community occupies the area west of the Ewenny River, between Bridgend and Porthcawl. It takes in the settlement of Tythegston and a stretch of coastal sand dunes known as Merthyr Mawr Warren. It is in the historic county of Glamorgan.
Bedlinog is a small village located in The Taff Bargoed valley, 10 km (6 mi) north of Pontypridd, 10 km (6 mi) north west of Caerphilly and 10 km (6 mi) south east of Merthyr Tydfil in south-east Wales. It is currently in the south of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, but until 1974 was part of Gelligaer Urban District Council in the county of Glamorgan.
Vaynor is a village and community in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough in Wales, United Kingdom. The population of the community at the 2011 census was 3,551.
Merthyr Vale is a linear village and community in the Welsh county borough of Merthyr Tydfil. Lying on the A4054 road it is on the east bank of the River Taff.
The Cathays Cemetery is one of the main cemeteries of Cardiff, Wales. It is in the Cathays district of the city, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of Cardiff city centre. At 110 acres it is the third largest cemetery in the United Kingdom. It is listed on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
Aberfan railway station served the village of Aberfan, near Merthyr Tydfil in Wales. Opened by the Quakers Yard & Merthyr Railway, a joint Great Western Railway / Rhymney Railway Joint operation, it became part of the Great Western Railway during the Grouping of 1923. Passing on to the Western Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948, it was closed to passengers in 1951.
Aberfan is a former coal mining village in the Taff Valley 4 mi (6 km) south of the town of Merthyr Tydfil, Wales.
Mynydd Merthyr is a broad ridge of high ground between Taff Vale and the Cwm Cynon in the Valleys region of South Wales. It forms the boundary between the unitary authorities of Rhondda Cynon Taff to the west and Merthyr Tydfil to the east.
Cefn-coed-y-cymmer is a small community on the northwestern edge of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough in Wales. It is situated in the neck of land between the rivers Taf Fawr and Taf Fechan at their confluence. The village lies within the community of Vaynor. Immediately to the north of the village is the hill of Cefn Cil Sanws on the southern slopes of which is Merthyr Tydfil Golf Club. The village is bounded both to the north and the west by the Brecon Beacons National Park.
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. In 2022, it had an estimated population of 58,883, making it the smallest local authority in Wales by population. It is located in the historic county of Glamorgan and takes its name from the town with the same name. The county borough consists of the northern part of the Taff Valley and the smaller neighbouring Taff Bargoed Valley. It borders the counties of Rhondda Cynon Taf to the west, Caerphilly County Borough to the east, and Powys to the north.
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough is located in the historic county of Glamorgan in Wales and takes its name from its largest town. The county borough covers an area of 111 km2 (43 sq mi) and had a population of approximately 58,900 in 2021.
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough is located in the historic county of Glamorgan in Wales and takes its name from its largest town. The county borough covers an area of 111 km2 (43 sq mi) and had a population of approximately 58,900 in 2021. There are ten structures on the list of twelve Grade II* listed buildings in Merthyr Tydfil. Two viaducts constructed as part of the Brecon and Merthyr Railway both straddle the borders of neighbouring communities so have separate designations for each of these locations.
The Tribunal of Inquiry into the Aberfan Disaster, chaired by Lord Justice Edmund Davies, was established in 1966 to inquire into the causes of and circumstances of the Aberfan disaster. The report of the tribunal placed the blame for the disaster on the National Coal Board (NCB), naming nine of its staff as having some degree of responsibility.
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough is located in the historic county of Glamorgan in Wales and takes its name from its largest town. The county borough covers an area of 111 km2 (43 sq mi) and had a population of approximately 58,900 in 2021. There are three sites on the register of parks and gardens in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough. Two are listed at Grade II*, and one is Grade II.