Bedwas, Trethomas and Machen is a

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...

and an electoral ward in the county borough of Caerphilly, constituting the villages of

Machen Machen (from Welsh ' "place (of)" + ', a personal name) is a large village three miles east of Caerphilly, south Wales. It is situated in the Caerphilly borough within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It neighbours Bedwas and Trethom ...

Trethomas Trethomas ( en, Thomastown) is a small village northeast of Caerphilly, southeast Wales, situated in the Caerphilly county borough, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It neighbours Bedwas and Machen, and forms a council ward in co ...

Bedwas Bedwas is a town situated two miles north-east of Caerphilly, south Wales, situated in the Caerphilly county borough, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. Bedwas neighbours Trethomas, Graig-y-Rhacca and Machen, and forms a council ...

, and Upper and Lower Graig-y-Rhacca. It lies in the Caerphilly Basin in the shadow of Mynydd y Grug and Mynydd Machen. All villages in the area grew as a result of the coal mining industry, which carries its legacy on today.

History

Bedwas and Machen Urban District was formed on 1 October 1912 from the parishes of

and Machen Upper, previously part of St Mellons Rural District. In 1935 the boundaries were altered when it exchanged areas with the neighbouring Mynyddislwyn Urban District. The urban district was abolished by the Local Government Act 1972, becoming part of Rhymney Valley District in Mid Glamorgan. On the abolition of the urban district, a community with identical boundaries was formed, and a community council established. On 16 March 1989 the community was renamed Bedwas, Trethomas and Machen. On 1 April 1996 the Rhymney Valley District was itself abolished, and the community has been part of the

county borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent te ...

of Caerphilly since that date. At the 2001 census Bedwas, Trethomas and Machen had a population of 10,428 The urban district council began operating a bus service in 1922. The UDC was one of the smallest municipal bus undertakings in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, with an average fleet size of seven vehicles.A. M. Witton, ''Buses of South Wales'', Manchester, 1982 The bus livery was powder blue and cream. The fleet was merged with those of Caerphilly and Gelligaer UDCs in 1974, when Rhymney Valley District Council was formed.

Present-day

Today the area is quite densely populated, with the exception of the mountain area. There are some transport links, with a bus service from Newport to Bargoed running through the community, and two other services running from Graig-Y-Rhacca to Caerphilly town centre. A school serves the villages, as well a
BTM Brass Band

External links

*

Bedwas and Machen UD at Visionofbritain.org

References

{{coord missing, Gwent History of Monmouthshire Communities in Caerphilly County Borough