Markham is a small village in the South Wales Valleys in

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 ...

, to the northeast of

Bargoed Bargoed ( cy, Bargod) is a town and community in the Rhymney Valley, Wales, one of the South Wales Valleys. It lies on the Rhymney River in the county borough of Caerphilly. It straddles the ancient boundary of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, wit ...

. The B4511 road links to Markham from

Aberbargoed Aberbargoed is a town in the Caerphilly County Borough, County Borough of Caerphilly, Wales. Aberbargoed once contained the largest ever colliery waste tip in Europe, although this has now been reclaimed and turned into a country park. The town i ...

and joins the

A4048 road List of A roads in zone 4 in Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European isla ...

to the north of Argoed. The

Sirhowy River The Sirhowy River (Welsh language : ''Afon Sirhywi'') is a river in Wales and a tributary of the Ebbw River. Sources The Sirhowy River has its source on the slopes of Cefn Pyllau-duon above Tredegar. After flowing through Siôn-Sieffre's Res ...

flows to the east of the village. The village's population was around 1,495 people in 2011.

History

The area was formerly known as ''"Berllan Llwyd"'' and this name appears on tithe maps until the twentieth century. The name would seem to mean "The Grey/Brown Orchard" and was also the name of a farm whose land the modern village was built on. The modern Miners Institute and Welfare Club occupy the site of the farm buildings. The nature of the area was dramatically changed when the Markham Steam Coal Company opened Markham Colliery in 1913. The mine cost £600,000 to sink, but the company also planned and built a new village which would house around 1,000 workers. This village quickly became known as ''Markham'' by both

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 ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

speakers. The planned village was seen as an attractive place to live, as exemplified by the often stated belief that Markham was the first mining village to have a bath in every property. Markham Institute was funded by the colliery workers and built in 1928 on land formerly belonging to the Berllan-Llwyd farm. Today Markham is a district of 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, ...

of Argoed.

Landmarks

At the heart of the village is an active Congregational Chapel. It celebrated its centenary in 2016. A Welfare Hall was built during its time as a mining village, which also housed a cinema. Today the hall is still used as a Social Club. The village's primary school, Markham Primary School, is a feeder school for Blackwood Comprehensive School. Markham RFC currently play in the WRU Swalec League Five South East. Markham RFC have won the Cyrus Davies Cup three times. They have also been semi-finalists of the Worthington Districts Cup three times.

Notable people from Markham

Gerwyn Price Gerwyn Stephen Price (born 7 March 1985) is a Welsh professional darts player and former professional rugby union and rugby league player. Nicknamed "The Iceman", he competes in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), where he is cu ...

— 2021 World Champion and three-time

Grand Slam of Darts The Grand Slam of Darts is a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation and is known as the Cazoo Grand Slam of Darts for sponsorship purposes. The PDC also invited the best performing players from its rival, the British Dart ...

champion and the first Welshman to win a PDC televised major. He is a 6-time major champion and the number one player in the world according to the rankings as of September 2022. * Matthew Webley - Founder o
Wootzoo
A social media platform for parents, clubs and coaches.

References

{{authority control Villages in Caerphilly County Borough 1913 establishments in Wales