Aberdare Park ( Welsh: Parc Aberdâr) is a well-preserved Victorian public park located in the village of

Trecynon Trecynon is a village near Aberdare situated in the Cynon Valley, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It dates from the early nineteenth century and developed as a result of the opening of the Aberdare Ironworks at Llwydcoed in 1800. Etymology The s ...

, near the town of Aberdare in South

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. The park is designated Grade II* on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.

History

The park occupies nearly fifty acres (20 ha). It opened on 27 July 1869. It was landscaped and planted by William Barron, who had laid out many parks in England. The park was created at the instigation of Rees Hopkin Rhys. In April 1948, 33-year old Polish national Jerzy Strzadala was murdered in Aberdare Park in a case that is still unsolved. In 1956 the National Eisteddfod was held in the park. A gorsedd circle was erected to commemorate this event; the stone circle is still remaining.

Motorcycling

There is a circuit of public roads within the park which is used for motorcycle road racing. Races were held until 1964, with 15 starters in each race. Racing resumed on 24 June 1978."Coop's guest appearance". ''

Motorcycle News ''MCN'' or ''Motor Cycle News'' is a UK weekly motorcycling newspaper published by Bauer Consumer Media, based in Peterborough, United Kingdom. It claims to be "the world’s biggest weekly motorcycle newspaper". The title was founded in lat ...

'', 8 February, 1978, p.7. Accessed 18 April 2022 This is one of only four anti-clockwise motor racing layouts in the UK; the others are Oliver's Mount, Blyton Raceway and Rockingham Speedway. It is said to be one of the best and hardest to master, despite its relatively short length. It is also one of only two street circuits in regular use on the UK mainland, the other being Oliver's Mount. The annual Aberdare Park National Road Races are now held on the circuit. They are usually held over a weekend in July.

Sculpture

Visitors to the park are greeted by the prominent sculpture of Sir William T. Lewis (Lord Merthyr). Unveiled in 1913, the sculptor was

Thomas Brock Sir Thomas Brock (1 March 184722 August 1922) was an English sculptor and medallist, notable for the creation of several large public sculptures and monuments in Britain and abroad in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His mos ...

Trees

The park contains a mixture of native and exotic trees, most of which date back to the Victorian era. The following trees can be found at the park. *Araucariaceae: ''

Araucaria araucana ''Araucaria araucana'' (commonly called the monkey puzzle tree, monkey tail tree, piñonero, pewen or Chilean pine) is an evergreen tree growing to a trunk diameter of 1–1.5 m (3–5 ft) and a height of 30–40 m (100–130 ft). ...

'' (monkey puzzle tree) *Birch: ''

Betula pendula ''Betula pendula'', commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in southern Europe, it is only found ...

'' *Beech: ''

Fagus sylvatica ''Fagus sylvatica'', the European beech or common beech is a deciduous tree belonging to the beech family Fagaceae. Description ''Fagus sylvatica'' is a large tree, capable of reaching heights of up to tall and trunk diameter, though more ...

'' *Cedars: ''

Cedrus atlantica ''Cedrus atlantica'', the Atlas cedar, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae, native to the Rif and Atlas Mountains of Morocco (Middle Atlas, High Atlas), and to the Tell Atlas in Algeria.Gaussen, H. (1964). Genre ''Cedrus''. Les ...

'', ''

Cedrus libani ''Cedrus libani'', the cedar of Lebanon or Lebanese cedar (), is a species of tree in the genus cedrus, a part of the pine family, native to the mountains of the Eastern Mediterranean basin. It is a large evergreen conifer that has great reli ...

'' *Hawthorn: ''

Crataegus monogyna ''Crataegus monogyna'', known as common hawthorn, one-seed hawthorn, or single-seeded hawthorn, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. It is native to Europe, northwestern Africa, and West Asia, but has been introduced in ...

'' *Maples: '' Acer palmatum'', ''

Acer campestre ''Acer campestre'', known as the field maple, is a flowering plant species in the family Sapindaceae. It is native to much of continental Europe, Britain, southwest Asia from Turkey to the Caucasus, and north Africa in the Atlas Mountains. It has ...

'', '' Acer platanoides'', '' Acer pseudoplatanus'' *Pines: '' Pinus nigra'', ''

Pinus wallichiana ''Pinus wallichiana'' is a coniferous evergreen tree native to the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountains, from eastern Afghanistan east across northern Pakistan and north west India to Yunnan in southwest China. It grows in mountain valle ...

'' *Poplar: ''

Populus nigra ''Populus nigra'', the black poplar, is a species of cottonwood poplar, the type species of section ''Aigeiros'' of the genus '' Populus'', native to Europe, southwest and central Asia, and northwest Africa.Flora Europaea''Populus nigra''/ref> ...

'' 'Italica' *Oaks: ''

Quercus robur ''Quercus robur'', commonly known as common oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus. It is widel ...

'', '' Quercus ilex'' *Cherries: ''

Prunus serrulata ''Prunus serrulata'' or Japanese cherry is a species of cherry tree that grows naturally in Japan, China, and Korea, and it also refers to a cultivar produced from ''Prunus speciosa'' (Oshima cherry), a cherry tree endemic in Japan.Toshio Katsu ...

'' *Chestnuts: ''

Castanea sativa ''Castanea sativa'', the sweet chestnut, Spanish chestnut or just chestnut, is a species of tree in the family Fagaceae, native to Southern Europe and Asia Minor, and widely cultivated throughout the Temperate climate, temperate world. A substa ...

'' *Redwoods: ''

Sequoiadendron giganteum ''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' (giant sequoia; also known as giant redwood, Sierra redwood, Sierran redwood, California big tree, Wellingtonia or simply big treea nickname also used by John Muir) is the sole living species in the genus '' Sequoiad ...

'', ''

Sequoia sempervirens ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coastal ...

'', ''

Metasequoia ''Metasequoia'', or dawn redwoods, is a genus of fast-growing deciduous trees, one of three species of conifers known as redwoods. The living species '' Metasequoia glyptostroboides'' is native to Lichuan county in Hubei province, China. Althou ...

'' *Spruce: ''

Picea sitchensis ''Picea sitchensis'', the Sitka spruce, is a large, coniferous, evergreen tree growing to almost tall, with a trunk diameter at breast height that can exceed 5 m (16 ft). It is by far the largest species of spruce and the fifth-larg ...

'' *Willows: ''Salix'' 'Chrysocoma' *Yew: ''

Taxus baccata ''Taxus baccata'' is a species of evergreen tree in the family Taxaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe (including Britain and Ireland), northwest Africa, northern Iran, and southwest Asia.Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain ...

Gallery

Image:Gorsedd-Stones-Aberdare-Park-by-AberdareBlog.jpg, Gorsedd stones as used for the National Eisteddfod Image:AberdareCarnival-AberdareBlog.jpg, Participants during Aberdare Carnival Image:Lord Merthyr Thomas Brock by Aberdare Blog.jpg, Lord Merthyr sculpture by

Image:Spiritofindustry.jpg, The Spirit of Industry statue which replaced the original fountain Image:Aberdare Park Bandstand 16th March 2019 Photo by Darren Wyn Rees.jpg, Bandstand at Aberdare Park, refurbished in 2019 to celebrate 150th Anniversary of Park opening Image:Aberdare Park Boating Lake Darren Rees.jpg, Aberdare Park Boating Lake Image:Rainbow over Trecynon, view from Aberdare Park.jpg, Rainbow over Trecynon, view from Aberdare Park

References

{{reflist

External links

Aberdare Road Races

Aberdare Park Photos on Flickr
Parks in Rhondda Cynon Taf Registered historic parks and gardens in Rhondda Cynon Taf park

History

Motorcycling

Sculpture

Trees

Gallery

See also

References

External links