Quakers Yard ( cy, Mynwent y Crynwyr) is a village in the Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, situated where the Taff Bargoed Valley joins the Taff Valley. Quakers Yard is part 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, tow ...

Treharris Treharris is a small town and community (Wales), community (and electoral ward) in the Taff Bargoed Valley in the south of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, South Wales. It is located about west of Trelewis, from which it is separated by the Taff Ba ...

History

The early place name for the district was 'Rhyd y Grug' or 'The Ford of the Rustling Waters'. This ford was a simple and easy crossing place of the nearby

River Taff The River Taff ( cy, Afon Taf) is a river in Wales. It rises as two rivers in the Brecon Beacons; the Taf Fechan (''little Taff'') and the Taf Fawr (''great Taff'') before becoming one just north of Merthyr Tydfil. Its confluence with the R ...

, close to its junction with the smaller Taff Bargoed river. The ford was replaced in later years by the narrow stone bridge over the River Taff.

Quakers Yard railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Quakers Yard railway station CCTV camera (geograph 4818394).jpg , caption = Quakers Yard railway station in 2016 , borough = Quakers Yar ...

opened in 1858. During the early 17th century those who 'dissented' from the King's Religion were persecuted. This often took the form of imprisonment, or death. By about 1650 a 'dissenting group' of

Baptists Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

, independents and

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

were worshipping at nearby Berthlwyd Farm, Pentwyn (Top of the Hill). The Quakers in turn, soon broke away to establish their own separate community. In the year 1667, these Quakers opened their own Quaker burial ground. It was on a piece of land on the Pantannas Estate and was owned by Mary Chapman. In her will of 1700, she left the burial ground to the Quakers. However, this burial ground was very small as the Quakers did not want to draw attention to it. To find this burial ground now is even harder as a new road in Quakers Yard was built through this site.

Notable people

The Jacobite David Morgan, executed for his part in the

Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Franci ...

, lived at the farm of Penygraig on the hillside north of Edwardsville. One of the most famous British boxers of all time, Jimmy Wilde (1892–1969) was born at

Pentwyn Deintyr Pentwyn Deintyr is a small Welsh community between Quakers Yard and Nelson, Caerphilly. The name Pentwyn Deintyr (= pen twyn (y) deintyr, top of the hill of the tenterhooks) is a link with the early woollen industry in the district. The name origi ...

, Quakers Yard. Known as 'The ghost with the Hammer in his hand', he fought 864 contests and lost on 4 occasions only. He was

Flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of bo ...

Champion of the World (Universal) from 1916 to 1921.

Andrew Coombs Andrew Coombs is a former Wales international rugby union player. His position is back-row forward or lock forward. Career Coombs attended Ysgol Gyfun Rhydywaun, and is a fluent Welsh speaker. He played for Newport Youth and Pontypool RFC befo ...

was born in Merthyr Tydfil and resided in Quakers Yard. He won 10 full international rugby caps between 2013 and 2014, and also captained the Newport Gwent Dragons region. After retirement from rugby he became a rugby pundit with S4C and BBC Television.

Schools

The primary school Ysgol Gymraeg Gynradd Rhyd y Grug was located in the village until pupils were relocated to

Aberfan Aberfan () is a former coal mining village in the Taff Valley south of the town of Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. On 21 October 1966, it became known for the Aberfan disaster, when a colliery spoil tip collapsed into homes and a school, killing 116 ch ...

. The redundant school buildings near the confluence of the rivers in Quakers Yard have been demolished.

Railways

Quakers Yard station is located on the Merthyr Line in Treharris. The station was opened as "Quakers Yard Low Level" 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 ...

in 1858.

Location grid

References

External links

Old Merthyr Tydfil: Quakers Yard
- Historical Photographs of Quakers Yard. {{authority control Villages in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Treharris