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Pontygwaith, Rhondda
Pontygwaith (Welsh language: "Bridge of work" or "Bridge of the Ironworks") is a small village located in the Rhondda Fach valley in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, in the community of Tylorstown. History Pontygwaith takes its name from a blast furnace built in the early 16th century, though by 1863 it was described as ''a shapeless ruin'' The location of the furnace was at the north end of what today is Furnace Road and the only documented proof of the structure is in a contract drawn up in 1614 between John Hanbury of Pontypool and Richard ap Rhys of Llantrisant for the supply of charcoal to the ''"furnace of Penrees"'' (Penrhys). Elfed Davies, Labour Party Member of Parliament for Rhondda East 1959-74 and who went on to become elevated to the Peerage as Lord Davies of Penrhys, was born at Fenwick Street, Pontygwaith. Pontygwaith was the birthplace of composer Mansel Thomas OBE (1909 – 1986). Transport Between 1849 and 1856, the Taff Vale Railway opened ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhondda (National Assembly For Wales Constituency)
Rhondda is a United Kingdom constituencies, constituency of the Senedd. It elects one Member of the Senedd by the first past the post method of election. Also, however, it is one of eight constituencies in the South Wales Central (Senedd electoral region), South Wales Central Senedd constituencies and electoral regions, electoral region, which elects four additional member system, additional members, in addition to eight constituency members, to produce a degree of proportional representation for the region as a whole. Boundaries The constituency was created for the 1999 National Assembly for Wales election, first election to the Assembly, in 1999, with the name and boundaries of the Rhondda (UK Parliament constituency), Rhondda Westminster constituency. It is entirely within the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Mid Glamorgan. The other seven constituencies of the region are Cardiff Central (Senedd constituency), Cardiff Central, Cardiff North (Senedd constit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Penrhys
Penrhys is a village in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, situated on a hillside overlooking both valleys of Rhondda Fawr and Rhondda Fach. It is situated around 1,100 ft above sea level and is a district of Tylorstown. Until the late 16th century, Penrhys was one of the holiest sites for Christian pilgrims in Wales. The site of Penrhys has a rich religious history dating back to medieval times, though few settlements other than farmsteads can be traced to the area. Penrhys is significant for a medieval monastery, the holy shrine of "Our Lady" built at the holy spring of Ffynnon Fair. During the early 16th century the antiquarian John Leland wrote during his visit to the area that he saw ''"Penrise Village, where the Pilgrimage was"'', suggesting that a settlement had built up in the area. In 1538 the shrine was destroyed during the English Reformation, and the area appeared to fall into decline. With the arrival of industrialisation in the Rhondda Valley during ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tower Colliery
Tower Colliery ( Welsh: Glofa'r Tŵr) was the oldest continuously working deep-coal mine in the United Kingdom, and possibly the world, until its closure in 2008. It was the last mine of its kind to remain in the South Wales Valleys. It was located near the villages of Hirwaun and Rhigos, north of the town of Aberdare in the Cynon Valley of South Wales. History With coal located so close to the surface, it was known by locals to be possible to drift mine coal from Hirwaun common. This activity increased from 1805, until in 1864 the first drift named Tower was started, named after the nearby Crawshay's Tower, a folly built in 1848 and named after Richard Crawshay. In 1941, a new shaft was sunk to a depth of 160 metres. From 1943 until closure, this shaft was used as the main "return" ventilation shaft and for the transport of men. In 1958 Tower No. 3 was driven to meet the No. 4 colliery workings, and was used as the main "intake" airway, conveying coal to the surface and tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mardy Colliery
Maerdy Colliery was a coal mine located in the South Wales village of Maerdy ( cy, Y Maerdy), in the Rhondda Valley, located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, and within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales. Opened in 1875, it closed in December 1990. History Maerdy derives its name from a large farmhouse on a bank of the Rhondda Fach, which became the local meeting place for both court matters and worship. Maerdy is the Welsh language, Welsh word for ''mayor's house''. While other areas of the South Wales coalfield had been exploited up to 50 years earlier, due to the scarcity and difficult access conditions of Rhondda Fach, it remained largely undeveloped. But the demand for steam coal drove development and, in 1874, Mordecai Jones of Brecon and Nantmelyn purchased the mineral rights around the farmhouse and its surrounding lands from the estate of the late Crawshay Bailey for £122,000. Additional capital was provided by a partner, J.R. Cobb (businessm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maerdy Branch
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. Design The branch was wholly designed, being developed from integrating a series of private industrial track railways with the extension of the Taff Vale Railway from the south at . In 1840, the TVR bought the private Ferndale to Maerdy colliery track, and then extended to it from from 1849. Operations Passenger operations began in 1875, serving interim stations from Porth at (opened 1876), Pontygwaith, Tylorstown, and Ferndale. Though the line had opened up to Maerdy the same year (with the sinking & commissioning of Mardy Colliery), it was not until 1889 that the passenger service was extended there from Ferndale. Passenger traffic was neither heavy nor a major contri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taff Vale Railway
The Taff Vale Railway (TVR) was a standard gauge railway in South Wales, built by the Taff Vale Railway Company to serve the iron and coal industries around Merthyr Tydfil and to connect them with docks in Cardiff. It was opened in stages in 1840 and 1841. In the railway's first years, the coal mining industries expanded considerably and branches were soon opened in the Rhondda valleys and the Cynon Valley. The conveyance of coal for export and for transport away from South Wales began to dominate and the docks in Cardiff and the approach railway became extremely congested. Alternatives were sought and competing railway companies were encouraged to enter the trade. In the following decades further branch lines were built and the TVR used " motor cars" (steam railway passenger coaches) from 1903 to encourage local passenger travel. From 1922 the TVR was a constituent of the new Great Western Railway (GWR) at the grouping of the railways, imposing its own character on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Library Of Wales
The National Library of Wales ( cy, Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru), Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million books and periodicals, and the largest collections of archives, portraits, maps and photographic images in Wales. The Library is also home to the national collection of Welsh manuscripts, the National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales, and the most comprehensive collection of paintings and topographical prints in Wales. As the primary research library and archive in Wales and one of the largest research libraries in the United Kingdom, the National Library is a member of Research Libraries UK (RLUK) and the Consortium of European Research Libraries (CERL). At the very core of the National Library of Wales is the mission to collect and preserve materials related to Wales and Welsh life and those which can be utilised by the people of Wales fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mansel Thomas
Mansel Treharne Thomas, (12 June 1909 – 8 January 1986) was a Welsh composer and conductor, who worked mainly in South Wales. He was one of the most influential musicians of his generation, known as a composer, conductor and adjudicator. He was for many years employed by the BBC and promoted the careers of many composers and performers. He himself wrote vocal, choral (mixed, female, children's and male voices), instrumental (solo and chamber), band and orchestral music, specialising in setting songs and poetry. Many of his orchestral and chamber music pieces are based on Welsh folk songs and dances. Biography He was born on 12 June 1909 in Pontygwaith near Tylorstown, Rhondda, in a house in Llywellyn Street, where a plaque was later placed by the Rhondda Civic Society. At the age of sixteen, he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music, where he studied under Benjamin Dale. He joined the BBC in 1936, but interrupted his career to serve in World War II. From 1946 u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lord Davies Of Penrhys
Gwilym Elfed Davies, Baron Davies of Penrhys (9 October 1913 – 28 April 1992) was a Welsh Labour Party politician. Born in Pontygwaith, Rhondda to Welsh-speaking parents, David and Miriam Elizabeth Davies, Elfed was educated at the Tylorstown Rhondda Elementary School before becoming a coal miner. Davies joined the South Wales Miners' Federation, and was chair of its Tylorstown Lodge from 1934, then treasurer from 1940, and secretary from 1954. From 1958 to 1959, he was the chair of the Aberdare and Rhondda District of the National Union of Mineworkers (UK). Davies was active in the Labour Party, serving on the executive of the Rhondda East Divisional Labour Party, and the Rhondda Borough Labour Party. From 1954 to 1961, he served on Glamorgan County Council. He was elected as member of parliament (MP) for Rhondda East at the 1959 general election, and from 1964 until 1968, was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Ray Gunter, the Minister of Power. Davies served in Parl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elfed Davies, Baron Davies Of Penrhys
Gwilym Elfed Davies, Baron Davies of Penrhys (9 October 1913 – 28 April 1992) was a Welsh Labour Party politician. Born in Pontygwaith, Rhondda to Welsh-speaking parents, David and Miriam Elizabeth Davies, Elfed was educated at the Tylorstown Rhondda Elementary School before becoming a coal miner. Davies joined the South Wales Miners' Federation, and was chair of its Tylorstown Lodge from 1934, then treasurer from 1940, and secretary from 1954. From 1958 to 1959, he was the chair of the Aberdare and Rhondda District of the National Union of Mineworkers (UK). Davies was active in the Labour Party, serving on the executive of the Rhondda East Divisional Labour Party, and the Rhondda Borough Labour Party. From 1954 to 1961, he served on Glamorgan County Council. He was elected as member of parliament (MP) for Rhondda East at the 1959 general election, and from 1964 until 1968, was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Ray Gunter, the Minister of Power. Davies served in Parli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charcoal
Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, called charcoal burning, often by forming a charcoal kiln, the heat is supplied by burning part of the starting material itself, with a limited supply of oxygen. The material can also be heated in a closed retort. Modern "charcoal" briquettes used for outdoor cooking may contain many other additives, e.g. coal. This process happens naturally when combustion is incomplete, and is sometimes used in radiocarbon dating. It also happens inadvertently while burning wood, as in a fireplace or wood stove. The visible flame in these is due to combustion of the volatile gases exuded as the wood turns into charcoal. The soot and smoke commonly given off by wood fires result from incomplete combustion of those volatiles. Charcoal burns at a higher temper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhondda Cynon Taf
Rhondda Cynon Taf (; RCT; also spelt as Rhondda Cynon Taff) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It consists of five valleys: the Rhondda Fawr, Rhondda Fach, Cynon, Taff (Welsh: ''Taf'') 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. The county borough borders Merthyr Tydfil County Borough and Caerphilly County Borough to the east, Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan to the south, Bridgend County Borough and Neath Port Talbot to the west and Powys to the north. Its principal towns are - Aberdare, Llantrisant with Talbot Green and Pontypridd, with other key settlements/towns being - Maerdy, Ferndale, Hirwaun, Llanharan, Mountain Ash, Porth, Tonypandy, Tonyrefail and Treorchy. The most populous individual town in Rhondda Cynon Taf is Aberdare ( cy, Aberdâr) with a population of 39,550 (2011), followed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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