Buildings and structures of note
Pwllgwaun for such a small area is quite famous, in that it is the home of rugby in Pontypridd with the home ground, Sardis Road (or as it is colloquially named the "House of Pain"). Also the area has a connection with Merlin, in as far as he was said to have been helped across a ford in the river here and blessed the area with good fortune. The impressive structure of the local pub (The Merlin) bears his name.
The local mine working beneath the village, known locally as 'Dan's Muck Hole' (sunk in 1875 and closed in 1948) was one of the most shallow in the area, sunk at a depth of only 45 yards, it was a deep mine in all but name. [1] The legacy of its working were a lot of subsidence in the area and as a result many homes were affected. The entrance to the old pit can still be seen behind the home stand at Sardis Road rugby football ground, and is also commemorated by a nearby coal dram. [2]
The main place of worship in the area is the prominent Bethany Baptist Church sited along the banks of the river. Also further south towards the town centre is Mill Street School (today Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Evan James).
Pontypridd is both the county town of Rhondda Cynon Taf in Wales and a community. Often colloquially known as "Ponty", it is 12 miles (19 km) north of Cardiff.
Rhondda Cynon Taf, also spelt Rhondda Cynon Taff, is a county borough in south Wales. It consists of five valleys: the Rhondda Fawr, Rhondda Fach, Cynon, Taff and Ely valleys, plus a number of towns and villages away from the valleys. Results from the 2011 census showed 19.1% of its 234,410 residents self-identified as having some ability in the use of the Welsh language.
Porth is a town and a community in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying in the Rhondda Valley and is regarded as the gateway to the Rhondda Fawr and Rhondda Fach valleys because both valleys meet at Porth. The Welsh word "porth" means "gate". Porth is a predominantly English-speaking community.
Treorchy is a town and community in Wales. Once a town, it retains the characteristics of one. 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.
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.
Llwynypia is a village and community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, near Tonypandy in the Rhondda Fawr Valley. Before 1850 a lightly populated rural farming area, Llwynypia experienced a population boom between 1860 and 1920 with the sinking of several coal mines after the discovery of large coal deposits throughout the Rhondda Valleys.
Abercynon, is both a village and a community in the Cynon Valley within the unitary authority of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. The community comprises the village and the districts of Carnetown and Grovers Field to the south, Navigation Park to the east, and Glancynon to the north.
Ynyshir is a village and community located in the Rhondda Valley, within Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. Ynyshir is pronounced (ənɪs-hiːr) according to the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), and means "long island" in Welsh. The village 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.
Rhondda, or the Rhondda Valley, is a former coalmining area in South Wales, previously in Glamorgan, now a local government district, of 16 communities around the River Rhondda. It embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley and the smaller Rhondda Fach valley – so that the singular "Rhondda Valley" and the plural are both commonly used. In 2001, the Rhondda constituency of the National Assembly for Wales had a population of 72,443; while the Office for National Statistics counted the population as 59,602. Rhondda forms part of Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough and of the South Wales Valleys. It is most noted for its historical coalmining industry, which peaked between 1840 and 1925. The valleys produced a strong Nonconformist movement manifest in the Baptist chapels that moulded Rhondda values in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It is also famous for male voice choirs and in sport and politics.
Dinas is a village near Tonypandy in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Dinas is often referred to as Dinas Rhondda to avoid confusion with Dinas Powys in the Vale of Glamorgan. The word dinas in Modern Welsh means "city", but here it means "hill fort".
Trehafod is a village and community in the Rhondda Valley between Porth and Pontypridd in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, with a population of 698 in the 2011 census.(The earlier name Hafod was altered in 1905 to avoid confusion with Hafod near Swansea. Until then, Trehafod had been part of Hafod).
Nantgarw is a village in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, near Cardiff.
Upper Boat is a village on the southernmost outskirts of the town of Pontypridd, within the electoral ward of Hawthorn, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, and comprises part of the Treforest Industrial Estate. Historically part of Glamorgan, it fell within the parish of Eglwysilan.
Cymmer is a village and community in the Rhondda Valley, Wales. It is so named because of being located at the 'confluence' of the Rhondda Fawr and Rhondda Fach river valleys. Several collieries were opened here in the middle part of the nineteenth century. A coal mine disaster in 1856 resulted in 114 casualties, and the lack of payment of any compensation to the miners' families caused bitter feelings in the community.
Gilfach Goch is a community, electoral ward and small former coal mining village in the Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, south Wales, near the larger community of Tonyrefail. It is situated in the Cwm Ogwr Fach between the Cwm Ogwr Fawr to the west and the Cwm Rhondda to the east.
Cilfynydd is a village in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, a mile from the South Wales Valleys town of Pontypridd, and 13 miles north of the capital city, Cardiff. Cilfynydd is also an electoral ward for the county council and Pontypridd Town Council.
Hopkinstown is a small village to the west of Pontypridd in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, alongside the River Rhondda. Hopkinstown is a former coalmining and industrial community, now a district in the town of Pontypridd within the Rhondda electoral ward. Neighbouring settlements are Pwllgwaun, Trehafod and Pantygraigwen, and the sub-districts of Troed-Rhiw-Trwyn and Gyfeillion.
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.
Graigwen is the name of the large hill and the village or district located thereon, sited to the north of Pontypridd town centre and south of Glyncoch and Ynysybwl in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, and within the ancient parish of Llanwonno (Llanwynno). It falls within the Rhondda and Pontypridd Town electoral wards, and comprises the sub-districts of Pantygraigwen, Penygraigwen, the Whiterock Estate, and Lanwood. It is also bounded by the districts of Pwllgwaun and Hopkinstown.
Ynysboeth is a local community within the Mountain Ash (Aberpennar) postal district of the Cynon Valley in the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, South East Wales.
