Rhydyfelin
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Rhydyfelin (, ''Mill Ford'') is a large village (originally known as Rhydfelen) and part of the community of Pontypridd Town, about two miles to its south east of
Pontypridd () (colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng (Trallwn) and Treforest (). The ...
, in the county borough of
Rhondda Cynon Taf Rhondda Cynon Taf (; RCT; also spelt as Rhondda Cynon Taff) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It consists of five valleys: the Rhondda Fawr, Rhondda Fach, Cynon, Taff (Welsh: ''Taf'') and Ely valleys, plus a number of towns and vil ...
. It is on the eastern bank of the
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 the
A470 The A470 (also named the Cardiff to Glan Conwy Trunk Road) is a trunk road in Wales. It is the country's longest road at and links the capital Cardiff on the south coast to Llandudno on the north coast. While previously one had to navigat ...
, and historically was in the parish of Eglwysilan.


History

Rhydyfelin grew from a rural hamlet to a thriving village in the 19th century, due to its location on the
Glamorganshire Canal The Glamorganshire Canal in South Wales, UK, was begun in 1790. It ran along the valley of the River Taff from Merthyr Tydfil to the sea at Cardiff. The final section of canal was closed in 1951. History Construction started in 1790; being ...
which took iron from
Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...
to the city of
Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
, and linking to this Dr Richard Griffiths' canal and tramway which took coal from the
Rhondda Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley ('' ...
Valleys. Also of note was the nearby Iron and Tin works at
Treforest Treforest ( cy, Trefforest) is a village in the south-east of Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is situated in the Treforest electoral ward, along with the village of Glyntaff (or Glyn-Taf). It is part of the Pon ...
. Other minor works included an ironworks on the site of the tram shed buildings. Neighbouring villages are
Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...
,
Treforest Treforest ( cy, Trefforest) is a village in the south-east of Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is situated in the Treforest electoral ward, along with the village of Glyntaff (or Glyn-Taf). It is part of the Pon ...
and
Glyntaff Glyntaff is a small village to the south-east of Pontypridd, in the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales situated in the Treforest ward along with the village of Trefforest. Education Glyntaff is the location of the University of South Wa ...
. The village is split into two electoral wards: the lower, largely historic part of the village is in Hawthorn Ward along with the settlement of
Upper Boat Upper Boat ( cy, Glan-Bad) is a village on the southernmost outskirts of the town of Pontypridd, within the electoral ward of Hawthorn, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, and comprises part of the Treforest Industrial Estate. Historically part of Glamorga ...
, which comprises some of the nearby Treforest Estate, while the largely social housing of the estates of upper Rhydyfelin are in the ward of Rhydyfelen Central and Ilan. Rhydyfelin is also known as Rhydfelen, which means ''Mill ford'' in the
Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...
. The original name was Rhydfelen, and the version "Rhydyfelin" is believed to be a corruption. Rhydyfelin was once served by two railway stations: one on the Cardiff Railway, and one on the Pontypridd, Caerphilly and Newport Railway. After the
Grouping Grouping may refer to: * Muenchian grouping * Principles of grouping * Railways Act 1921, also known as Grouping Act, a reorganisation of the British railway system * Grouping (firearms), the pattern of multiple shots from a sidearm See also ...
, the former Cardiff Railway halt became Rhydyfelin Low Level Halt and the halt of the Pontypridd, Caerphilly and Newport Railway became Rhydyfelin High Level Halt. The halts closed in 1931 and 1953 respectively. The Church of St Luke is in the Church in Wales Parish of Rhydyfelin, Diocese of Llandaff.


Population

The populations of the Central Rhydyfelin ward and Hawthorn wards, which together serve Rhydyfelin, were 4,672 and 3,652 respectively (8,324 in total) in the 2001 Census (the 2009 electorates were 3,084 and 2,781, respectively) out of the total 33,000 residents for Pontypridd as a whole.


Governance

Rhydfelen was the name of 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 ...
to
Mid Glamorgan County Council Mid Glamorgan County Council () was the upper-tier authority for the Welsh county of Mid Glamorgan between its creation in 1974 and its abolition in 1996. History Local government in England and Wales was reorganised in 1974 under the Local Govern ...
between 1989 and 1996. Until 1996 Rhydfelen Central and Rhydfelen Lower were wards to Taff-Ely Borough Council. It is now split between the electoral wards of Hawthorn and of central Rhydfelen, with the more prosperous and historic lower Rhydyfelin falling within the Hawthorn ward to the south.


Notable residents

Rhydyfelin was home to guitarist
Lee Gaze Lee James Gaze (born 21 May 1975 in Pontypridd, Wales) is a Welsh musician. He is the lead guitarist, and also one of the founding members, of the Welsh/American alternative rock band No Devotion and previously a member of the Welsh rock band L ...
of the band
LostProphets Lostprophets (stylised as lostprophets) were a Welsh rock band from Pontypridd, formed in 1997 by singer and lyricist Ian Watkins and guitarist Lee Gaze. The band was founded after their former band Fleshbind broke up. They later recruited Mike ...
.


Places of interest

The village is on the 55 mile
Taff Trail The Taff Trail ( cy, Taith Taf) is a popular walking and cycle path that runs for between Cardiff Bay and Brecon in Wales. It is so named because it follows the course of the River Taff. Along much of its length, it follows the National Cycl ...
from
Brecon Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the coun ...
to
Cardiff Bay Cardiff Bay ( cy, Bae Caerdydd; historically Tiger Bay; colloquially "The Bay") is an area and freshwater lake in Cardiff, Wales. The site of a former tidal bay and estuary, it serves as the river mouth of the River Taff and Ely. The body of w ...
. The view from lower Rhydyfelin of Eglwysilan mountain shows the locally known 'Monkeys Tump'.


Education

The first Welsh language secondary school in South Wales,
Ysgol Gyfun Rhydfelen Ysgol Garth Olwg (previously named Ysgol Gyfun Rhydfelen and Ysgol Gyfun Garth Olwg), English Garth Olwg School is a Welsh-medium comprehensive school in the village of Church Village near Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf ...
, was established at Rhydyfelin in 1962. It closed in 2006 when it was relocated to Church Village and renamed Garth Olwg. Schools in Rhydyfelin include
Cardinal Newman RC School Cardinal Newman Roman Catholic Comprehensive School ( cy, Ysgol Uwchradd Gatholig Cardinal Newman) is an English speaking Roman Catholic comprehensive school in the village of Rhydyfelin near Pontypridd, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, United King ...
(Roman Catholic),
Hawthorn High School Hawthorn High School ( cy, Ysgol Uwchradd Y Hawthorn) is an English-medium comprehensive school in the village of Hawthorn near Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It was filmed by the CBBC CBBC (initialised as Chi ...
(English medium), Heol-Y-Celyn Primary School (Welsh and English medium). It is the former home of
Coleg Morgannwg Coleg Morgannwg (English: ''Glamorgan College'') is a former further education college located at four main campuses across Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. In 2013, Coleg Morgannwg merged with Ystrad Mynach College to become Coleg y Cymoedd. The col ...
(English medium further education college) and Glantâf infants school (English medium).


References

*J. Hutton. ''The Newport Docks and Railway Company''. Silver Link. 1996.


External links


www.geograph.co.uk - photos of Rhydyfelin and surrounding arearhondda-cynontaff.gov.uk - Rhydyfelin on the local council website
{{authority control Villages in Rhondda Cynon Taf Pontypridd