Trehafod | |
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Location within Rhondda Cynon Taf | |
Population | 698 (2011) [1] |
OS grid reference | ST044909 |
Principal area | |
Preserved county | |
Country | Wales |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | PONTYPRIDD |
Postcode district | CF37 |
Dialling code | 01443 |
Police | South Wales |
Fire | South Wales |
Ambulance | Welsh |
UK Parliament |
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Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament |
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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. [2] (The earlier name Hafod [3] was altered in 1905 to avoid confusion with Hafod near Swansea. Until then, Trehafod (first record of the name is found in 1851) had been part of Hafod). [4]
Administratively, Trehafod is split between the electoral division of Cymmer (Rhondda) to the west and Rhondda (Pontypridd) to the east. A former coalmining community, the village is now the site of the Rhondda Heritage Park, a tourist attraction commemorating the Rhondda Valley's coalmining culture and local history.
Spelling variants found in the past are Trehavod (an English spelling, using "v" instead of "f") and Trefhafod (a hypercorrect Welsh form, using the conservative literary form "tref" instead of the colloquial, and more modern literary form, "tre").
The 1847 tithe map of the area shows a number of farms on the area that was to become Trehafod; these were named Hafod Uchaf, Hafod Ganol, and Hafod Fawr. It was from these farms that Trehafod was to take its name.
"Hafod" is a Welsh word literally meaning "summer dwelling", and refers to an upland farm (from the practice of taking cattle up the hillside from the valley floor to graze in the summer months) (haf = summer, bod = dwelling, with soft mutation of [b] to [v] of the second element (bod) after a noun used as an adjective equivalent in attributive position (haf)).
Tre (literally “town”) was used in the eighteen-hundreds in industrial areas for a street or streets of workers’ housing (equivalent to English “town” or “ville”, which are used similarly).
Trehafod railway station lies on the Rhondda Line which follows the River Rhondda. The railway line and river border the village on either side.
Trehafod is now most famous for the Rhondda Heritage Park, formerly known as the Lewis Merthyr Colliery, which at the peak time for coal mining production was one of the most productive collieries in the South Wales Coalfield.
Trehafod also boasts Barry Sidings Countryside Park, which is known colloquially as "the lakes" in reference to the park's two ponds. Barry Sidings is a popular destination for local families and dog walkers; its features include nature paths, a small waterfall, ducks, carp, frogs, and a café. Largely situated in Trehafod, the park feeds into Pontypridd and is frequented by walkers heading there.
The village has frequently suffered flooding from the river, the most serious of which claimed the life of an Afon Street resident in 1960.[ citation needed ] (Afon is Welsh for 'river'.) Flooding also occurred in 1921, 1929, and 1979, after which the Rhondda River bank was reinforced. "The 1979 flood overtopped the banks of the River Rhondda just downriver from Trehafod, and floodwaters entered the low-lying areas of Colliery Street and Great Street, flooding many properties. A major river improvement scheme was completed in 1985, but the village has still suffered significant flooding since, including in February 2020. [5]
Pontypridd is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, approximately 10 miles north west of Cardiff city centre.
Rhondda Cynon Taf is a county borough in the south-east of 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.
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, it is regarded as the gateway connecting the Rhondda Fawr and Rhondda Fach valleys due to both valleys meeting at Porth. The Welsh word "porth" means "gate". Porth is a predominantly English-speaking community.
The River Taff is a river in Wales. It rises as two rivers in the Brecon Beacons; the Taf Fechan and the Taf Fawr before becoming one just north of Merthyr Tydfil. Its confluence with the River Severn estuary is in Cardiff.
Abercynon is a village and 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. 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.
Rhondda, or the Rhondda Valley, is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and 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. The area forms part of the South Wales Valleys. From 1897 until 1996 there was a local government district of Rhondda. The former district at its abolition comprised sixteen communities. Since 1996 these sixteen communities of the Rhondda have been part of Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough. The area of the former district is still used as the Rhondda Senedd constituency and Westminster constituency, having an estimated population in 2020 of 69,506. 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 known for its male voice choirs and in sport and politics.
The River Rhondda is a river in South Wales with two major tributaries, Rhondda Fawr and Rhondda Fach.
Cwmdare is a village very close to Aberdare, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. The village's history is intertwined with coal-mining, and since the decline of the industry in the 1980s, it has become primarily a commuter base for the larger surrounding towns of Aberdare and Merthyr Tydfil and Pontypridd, as well as the cities of Cardiff and Swansea.
Trehafod railway station is a railway station serving the township of Trehafod 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".
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.
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.
The Taff Bargoed is a river and valley near Pontypridd in South Wales, and lies off the Abercynon roundabout on the A470 road, and is approximately 14 miles from Cardiff. The main settlements are Nelson, Edwardsville, Quakers Yard, Treharris, Trelewis, and Bedlinog. The valley is situated where the three County Boroughs of Caerphilly, Rhondda Cynon Taff, and Merthyr Tydfil meet.
Richard Griffiths (1756–1826) was a Welsh industrial pioneer. Griffiths is notable for building the first recognised transport links into the Rhondda Valley paving the way for future coal exploration into one of the world's richest coal fields.
Ynysboeth is a suburban area in the community of Abercynon, in the Cynon Valley, Rhondda Cynon Taf, South East Wales.
Trallwn is a district, and as Trallwng, an electoral ward, within the town of Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, sited along the banks of the River Taff and falling within the historic parish of Eglwysilan. Trallwn comprises the subdistricts of Coedpenmaen (Coed-Pen-Maen), Ynysangharad and Pontypridd Common. Until recently Trallwn was also home to the famous Brown Lenox (Newbridge) Chain & Anchor Works at Ynysangharad, which was recently demolished. Also at Ynysangharad are some of the last remains of the Glamorganshire Canal which was used to transport coal and iron from the South Wales Valleys to the city of Cardiff. Ynysangharad is also home to Pontypridd's War Memorial Park - Ynysangharad Park.
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.
Owing to the inconvenience caused in the postal arrangements by the duplication of the name Hafod, a letter was addressed by the clerk of the Pontypridd Council to the Postmaster-General asking that the district under the Council's area should be known as Trehafod. At a meeting of the Council on Tuesday afternoon, the Postmaster intimated that the change would take place on and after January 1st, 1905.