Crosskeys ( cy, Pont-y-cymer) is a village,

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 ...

and an

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 ...

Caerphilly county borough Caerphilly County Borough ( cy, Bwrdeistref Sirol Caerffili) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It is governed by Caerphilly County Borough Council. Its main and largest town is Caerphilly. Other towns in the county borough are B ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Etymology

The village was originally named Pont-y-cymer and this remains the official

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

name for the village. The name means ''bridge at the confluence of rivers'', and suggests the area was known as a place to bridge the confluence of the Ebbw and the

Sirhowy Sirhowy () is a village in the Sirhowy Valley () and the county of Blaenau Gwent. It is located north east of Tredegar, north west of Ebbw Vale, and north west of Newport. The A4048 runs near the village. Tourism The area is also known ...

rivers, long before its urban development in the nineteenth century. The English name is taken from the Cross Keys Inn (now known as the Cross Keys Hotel), The English name appears as ''Crosskeys'' on

Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...

maps, and the railway station also uses this spelling. However, many local organisations use the two word spelling, as does

Cross Keys RFC Cross Keys RFC ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Pont-y-Cymer) is a rugby union club located in the Welsh village of Crosskeys. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union, and is a feeder club for the Dragons regional team. History The club achieved first c ...

History

Crosskeys is a South Wales Valleys community, within the historic boundaries of

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

, once part of the

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 ...

community of the

South Wales coalfield The South Wales Coalfield ( cy, Maes glo De Cymru) extends across Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen. It is rich in coal deposits, espe ...

and originally developed as part of

Risca Risca ( cy, Rhisga) is a town in the Caerphilly County Borough and the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in south-east Wales. Risca has a railway station, opened on the Ebbw Valley Railway in February 2008, after a gap of 46 years. It is spl ...

from the 1830s to serve the local mines - first the Black Vein and later the New Risca pits, both of which had large explosions during the later part of the 19th century. The village has a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

on the

Ebbw Vale Line The Ebbw Valley Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Cwm Ebwy) is a branch line of the South Wales Main Line in South Wales. Transport for Wales Rail provides an hourly passenger service each way between Ebbw Vale Town and Cardiff Central, and an hourl ...

. The junction between the main

Ebbw Vale Ebbw Vale (; cy, Glynebwy) is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River in Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr con ...

and

Tredegar Tredegar (pronounced , ) is a town and community situated on the banks of the Sirhowy River in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent, in the southeast of Wales. Within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, it became an early centre of the In ...

roads is called Pennyless Corner as it was a meeting place for unemployed men during the great depression of the 1920s

Amenities

It is now a quiet area complete with a residents' society. It has a large park in the lower part and listed buildings in neighbouring Pontywaun, which is normally considered as part of Crosskeys. Many of the

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

pupils attend nearby Cwmcarn High School. It is also home to

Coleg Gwent Coleg Gwent ( en, Gwent College) is Wales' largest further education college at various locations in the former county of Gwent, South Wales. It has 24,000 students ranging from secondary school leavers to mature students. A wide range of part- ...

's Crosskeys Campus. Additionally, it has a local

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 ...

team,

, and consequently many different age-banded teams such as youth and mini rugby. Crosskeys is close to the Cwmcarn Forest Drive which has extensive

mountain-biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

trails. There is a large local park toward the lower part of the village. The park is home to the local

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

club, again with age-banded youth teams as well as the men's team. There is also a park and a multiple-sports facility. Sirhowy Valley Country Park is also easily accessible from Crosskeys. It is a base for walking or cycling with access to Flatwoods Meadows Local Nature Reserve. There are also mountain bike trails, a traditional working hill farm that is open to school visits, and a small farm trail. Nearby Craig Coch is an ancient mixed woodland.

References

External links

Cross Keys Silver Band
The Cross Keys Silver Band Official Website.
Welsh Coal Mines - every pit, all the historyCrosskeys Rugby Football Club website
All you need to know about Cross Keys RFC. {{authority control Villages in Caerphilly County Borough