Clydach Vale ( cy, Cwmclydach and adjoining ''Blaenclydach'') is a village in the
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, tow ...
of Cwm Clydach, northwest of
Tonypandy
Tonypandy is a town, community and electoral ward located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying in the Rhondda Fawr Valley. A former industrial coal mining town, the town was ...
in 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 ter ...
of
Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the
Rhondda Valley, Wales. It is named for its situation on the
Nant Clydach, a tributary of the
River Rhondda
The River Rhondda ( cy, Afon Rhondda) is a river in South Wales with two major tributaries, Rhondda Fawr (meaning ''big Rhondda'') and Rhondda Fach (meaning ''little Rhondda'').
Description
The river has two major tributaries, the ''Rhondda Fa ...
. The village is deemed part of the Tonypandy built-up area by the
Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament.
Overview
The ONS is responsible for th ...
and comes under the Tonypandy
post town.
Integration of villages
Before the coming of industrialisation, Clydach Vale was a sparsely populated
agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...
area. Records show that in the seventeenth century the area was named Dyffryn Clydach (Clydach Vale), and was divided into two areas, Cwmclydach and Blaenclydach. Those two localities are today very much integrated. The Cwmclydach Community Partnership is made up of groups from both villages (and the wider community), plus the Clydach Vale Countryside Park and Mountain Forestry.
History
In the 1840s
coal mining
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
began in the valley, but this was on a small scale and no pits were sunk at this time. Towards the end of the century there was a marked increase in mining activity, several collieries being opened, including Lefel-Y-Bush (1863), Blaenclydach (1863), Cwmclydach (1864) and Clydach Vale Collieries Nos. 1, 2 and 3.
Industrial conflict
The Clydach Vale collieries would later become synonymous with worker activism within the
South Wales coalfield. Opened in 1872, the Clydach Vale colliery No. 1 was originally sunk by Osbourne Riches and Samuel Thomas and, by 1894, was served by the
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 stag ...
. Following the death of Thomas in 1879, his sons became managing partners and, in 1895, formed Cambrian Colleries Ltd. The Cambrian Collieries were a focus for disputation between active
trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
s such as the
South Wales Miners' Federation and the Cambrian Combine, a business network of mining companies, formed to regulate prices and wages in south Wales. A bitter clash between them resulted in the 1910
Tonypandy Riot.
Colliery disasters
On 10 March 1905, an explosion occurred at the
Cambrian Colliery
The Cambrian Colliery was a large coal mine that operated between 1872 and 1967 near Clydach Vale in the Rhondda Valley, south Wales. It is notable for its huge production and for two infamous explosion disasters, in 1905 and 1965, in which a tota ...
No.1. The explosion was heard for miles around the valleys and resulted in the loss of 33 lives and serious injury to 14 others. The accident happened between the day and night shifts, otherwise the death toll would have been far higher.
[Clydach Vale history]
on website of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council
On 25 November 1941, seven men were killed and 53 were injured when a trolley transporting miners down a sharply sloping shaft ran out of control.
The incident happened at the 'Gorky' drift mine, with ninety men and boys taking the spake, an open-sided trolley fitted with cross planks for seating and a central overhead handrail as a holding point, down to the workings 525 yards below. The surface engineman suffered a temporary blackout and the manual brake was disengaged, causing the spake to quickly build up speed. Most of the injuries and fatalities were to miners who leapt from the spake and were thrown back under the trolley due to the narrowness of the drift shaft.
On 17 May 1965, a third major
accident occurred at the Cambrian Colliery. An explosion caused by
firedamp
Firedamp is any flammable gas found in coal mines, typically coalbed methane. It is particularly found in areas where the coal is bituminous. The gas accumulates in pockets in the coal and adjacent strata and when they are penetrated the releas ...
, after poor ventilation allowed a build-up of flammable gas, killed 31 miners. The ignition point was later identified as an electric arc on an open switch-panel which was being worked on. This was the last major mining disaster in South Wales history.
[
]
1910 flood disaster
At about 4.00 p.m. on Friday 11 March 1910, the lives of one adult and five children were lost when pent-up water from an abandoned coal mine burst through into the village. The mountainside seemed to give way, 'as though from a volcanic eruption' and a torrent of water together with huge amounts of earth, boulders and other debris swept down the hillside. Directly in the path of this torrent lay Adams Terrace and, according to contemporary newspaper reports, the first house it encountered 'was in a moment completely wrecked like a pack of cards' and its occupants Mrs. Elizabeth Ann Williams and her ten-week-old baby girl perished.
A three-week-old baby boy also died. The newspaper went on to state that, 'Altogether eleven houses and a shoemaker's shop were wrecked, one being completely washed away'.
Rushing down to the valley floor, the torrent inundated the Clydach Vale School and trapped hundreds of children. The time coincided with the homecoming of many miners at the ending of a shift and an immediate rescue effort by them and the school's staff saved all but three of over 950 children.[ In particular, headmaster Robert Ralph Williams displayed extraordinary bravery in battling the flood and saving many children, for which he was later awarded the Albert Medal.
A brass wall plaque was placed in the school in recognition of the discipline and heroism of the staff in organising the rescue. In preparation for the 2010 centenary of the disaster, another plaque, with names of the dead, was installed at the school together with a montage of photographs showing the aftermath of the flood.
]
Governance
The electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...
of Cwm Clydach is coterminous with the boundaries of the community. There is no community council for Cwm Clydach. The ward elects a county councillor to Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council
Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council ( cy, Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Rhondda Cynon Taf) is the governing body for Rhondda Cynon Taf, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The council headquarters are located in the community of Cwm Clydach o ...
. With the exception of 1999-2004 (when it was represented by Plaid Cymru) it has been represented by the Labour Party. Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council has its main offices in the community, at The Pavilions on the Cambrian Industrial Park.
Cwmclydach Countryside Park and mountain forestry
Clydach Vale Countryside Park lies between Cwmclydach's two lakes and is a haven for birds, flowers and butterflies. Two main routes are available for walkers and cyclists, with several access routes on to the surrounding mountains.
Sport
Clydach Vale is home to football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team Cambrian & Clydach Vale B. & G.C, who play in the Cymru South
The Cymru South is a regional football league in Wales, covering the southern half of the country. It has clubs with semi-professional status and together with the Cymru North, it forms the second tier of the Welsh football league system.
The fi ...
. The village also has a rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
club.
Notable people
:''See :People from Clydach Vale''
* Lewis Davies, librarian and philanthropist
* Rhys Davies, novelist, born at 6 Clydach Road, Blaenclydach
* Tommy Farr, heavyweight boxing champion
* Donald Houston, stage, film and TV actor
* Glyn Houston
Glyn Houston (23 October 1925 – 30 June 2019) was a Welsh actor best known for his television work. He was the younger brother of film actor Donald Houston.
Early life
Glyndwr Desmond Houston was born at 10 Thomas Street, Tonypandy, Glamorgan ...
, film and TV actor
* Dr David Jenkins CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
, a former Librarian of the 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 boo ...
, born in adjoining Blaenclydach
* Lewis Jones, political activist, writer of ''Cwmardy'' and ''We Live''
* Tom Norris, Welsh heavyweight boxing champion
* Liam Williams, British and Commonwealth super-welterweight boxing championLiam Williams
at BoxRec. Accessed 4 April 2017
Images of Clydach Vale
Impacts on landscape and society of a century of coal mining are not fully obliterated, though surrounding slagheaps have been greened by environmental programmes. Former miners' cottages are renovated as low-cost housing for a new generation of young families.
Image:clydv_head.jpg, The head of the vale
Image:clydv_high.jpg, Terraced housing
Image:clydv_hill.jpg, A typical steep hill
Image:Tommyfarr.jpg, Tommy Farr, famous son
Image:Blaenclydach Llwynypia Forest.jpg, Llwynypia Forest, Blaenclydach
References
{{authority control
Villages in Rhondda Cynon Taf
Rhondda Valley
1905 disasters in the United Kingdom
1910 disasters in the United Kingdom
1941 disasters in the United Kingdom
1965 disasters in the United Kingdom