| Type | Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Tabloid |
| Owner(s) | Trinity Mirror |
| Publisher | Media Wales |
| Editor-in-chief | Simon Farrington |
| Editor | Wayne Nowaczyk |
| Founded | 1899 |
| Political alignment | Labour |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | 10, Market Street, Pontypridd, Mid Glamorgan, CF37 2ST |
| Circulation | 12,494 (August 2008) |
| Website | Rhondda Leader |
The Rhondda Leader is a weekly newspaper distributed in the Rhondda Valleys, South Wales. The tabloid newspaper is published on a Wednesday by Media Wales which is owned by the UK's largest newspaper corporation, Trinity Mirror. Part of the Celtic Weekly Newspapers series, which publishes eight other titles in South Wales, the Leader was founded in 1899.
The Rhondda Leader was first published in 1899 and nine years later became the Rhondda Leader, Maesteg, Garw and Ogmore Telegraph.
The Porth Gazette was published from 1900 to 1944 and during that period there was a newspaper called the Rhondda Socialist. The Rhondda Gazette was also in circulation from 1913 to 1919 while the Rhondda Clarion was being read in the late 1930s.
The Porth Gazette and Rhondda Leader was published from 1944 to 1967 while also published in Pontypridd during those years was the Rhondda Fach Leader and Gazette.
In more recent years the Rhondda Leader and Pontypridd & Llantrisant Observer combined before the Rhondda Leader again became a separate edition.
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.
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.
The Rhondda line is a commuter railway line in South Wales from Cardiff to Treherbert. The line follows the Merthyr line as far as Pontypridd, where it then diverges to continue along the Rhondda Valley.
Porth railway station is a railway station serving the town of Porth in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is located on the Rhondda Line.
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".
National Welsh Omnibus Services was a bus company which operated in south-east Wales and in the Forest of Dean area of Gloucestershire from 1978 to 1992. It used the trading name National Welsh and its Welsh equivalent Cymru Cenedlaethol.
Celtic Weekly Newspapers is a series of seven weekly newspapers published in south Wales by Media Wales Ltd, part of Reach plc.
Media Wales Ltd. is a publishing company based in Cardiff, Wales. As of 2009 it was owned by Reach plc. It was previously known as the Western Mail & Echo Ltd.
David Watts Morgan,, who later in life hyphenated his name to Watts-Morgan, was a Welsh trade unionist, a Labour politician, and a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1918 to 1933.
The Maerdy Branch was a railway branch line in South Wales. Financed and operated by the Taff Vale Railway, on amalgamation it became part of the Great Western Railway in 1923. Designed and mainly operated as a coal mining freight railway, its creation and demise was wholly defined by the South Wales Coalfield.
Owen Morgan, also known by his bardic name Morien was a Welsh journalist, historian and writer of books on the subject of neo-druidism. Morgan was heavily influenced by the writings of both Iolo Morganwg and Myfyr Morganwg, and much of his writing has been challenged by fellow academics.
Rhondda Tramways Company operated a tramway service in Rhondda, Wales, between 1904 and 1934.
The Pontypridd and Rhondda Valley Tramway operated a tramway service in Pontypridd and Porth between 1888 and 1902.
Idris Williams was an educationalist, prominent Congregationalist, and Liberal councillor for the Cymmer division of the Glamorgan County Council, South Wales.
Pontypridd Urban District Council was a local authority in Glamorgan, Wales. It was created in 1894 as a result of the 1894 Local Government of England and Wales Act. The Council existed until 1973 and replaced the Pontypridd Local Board of Health which had functioned for some years. Its boundaries were set in 1894. Initially, the Council had eighteen members but this number was increased in the 1930s, as a result of the increase in population. There were initially six wards, namely Cilfynydd, Graig, Pontypridd Town, Rhondda, Trallwn and Treforest; a seventh ward, Rhydyfelin, was added in the 1930s.
Porth Community School is a Community School located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. The school was formed in 1973 by the amalgamation of two leading grammar schools, Porth County Girls and Porth County Boys, along with the amalgamation of the Secondary Modern Schools of Llwyncelyn, Trealaw and Ynyshir. Porth is now described as a good school and the previous Porth Infants and Porth Juniors schools have all moved to the Porth Community School to form the new school. Children of various ages attend the school, ranging from 3–16 years old.
Frank James Hawkins, MC was an international rugby union forward who played international rugby for Wales and club rugby for Canton RFC and Pontypridd RFC.
