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Llwydcoed is a small village and community north of the Cwm Cynon, near the town of
Aberdare Aberdare ( ; cy, Aberdâr) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tyd ...
, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, with a population of 1,302 as of 2011 census.


History

The village initially developed in the Tregibbon area, where in 1801 workers' housing was built by Thomas ap Shencin ap Gibbon of Fforchaman Farm. Other early housing was built at Miner's Row, Founder's Row and Scales Houses. The names of these streets betray their early origins; the Scale family were among the founders of the works and remained partners until 1846. In the second half of the 19th century a new period of growth was instigated by the development of the
coal industry Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when de ...
in the area. Matthew Wayne Esq. of the Gadlys Ironworks opened the Dyllas Colliery in 1840 and in 1849 Ysguborwen Colliery was sunk by Samuel Thomas and Thomas Joseph. Among the houses built in this period were those at Moriah Place, Horeb Terrace and Grey's Place. Exhibition Row was built in 1851 and was named Exhibition Row in honour of the
Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary The Crystal Palace, structure in which it was held), was an International Exhib ...
held at Crystal Palace that year.


Industry

The Aberdare Ironworks were established at Llwydcoed in the early nineteenth century and in 1823 were taken over by
Rowland Fothergill Rowland Fothergill (1794- 19 September 1871) was an ironmaster in South Wales, whose main industrial interests lay in the Aberdare district. He was high sheriff of Glamorgan in 1850. He was the son of Richard Fothergill. Prior to acquiring pro ...
. Ownership later passed to his nephew,
Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...
. Eight public houses were open in Llwydcoed at this time. They were The Earl Grey, Fox and Hounds, Red Cow, Corner House, The Mason's, Miner's Arms, the Dynevor Arms and the Croes Bychan. At that time stop tap was midnight and a local essayist recounts the boisterous nature of the revelries. "It is said that more beer was lost (wasted) when the furnaces, coal mines and iron-ore undertakings were being worked, especially at the start of the month, and on pay Saturday Night, than is being drunk now." (Unknown Author. 'A Glance at the History of Llwydcoed' Translated by D Williams and D L Davies.)


Government

Llwydcoed was one for many years 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 ...
for elections to
Glamorgan County Council Glamorgan County Council was established in 1889 together with the administrative county of Glamorganshire under the Local Government Act 1888. The first elections to the council were held in January 1889. The council was abolished under the Local ...
from 1889 and Aberdare Urban District Council from 1894. It is currently part of
Aberdare West/Llwydcoed Aberdare ( ; cy, Aberdâr) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tyd ...
electoral ward, for elections 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 ...
. Llwydcoed is also a community in its own right.


Transport

The Vale of Neath Railway mainline from to arrived in 1853, opening
Llwydcoed railway station Llwydcoed railway station served the village of Llwydcoed, in the historical county of Glamorganshire, Wales, from 1853 to 1962 on the Vale of Neath Railway The Vale of Neath Railway (VoNR) was a broad gauge railway company, that built a line ...
in the same year. Taken over on grouping by the
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
in 1923, the line remained open until closure in 1962.


Landmarks

Llwydcoed War Memorial is an obelisk-type war memorial located within the local park. It was unveiled in 1921. St. James' Church, a Grade II listed building, is also known as the Red Church. Bryncarnau Grasslands is a site special scientific interest.


Notable people

*
Abraham Matthews Abraham Matthews (November 1832- 1 April 1899) was a Welsh Independent (Congregationalist) minister and one of the founders of the Welsh settlement in Patagonia. Early life He was born at Llanidloes, Montgomeryshire, in November 1832. His parent ...
, one of the founders of the Welsh settlement in Patagonia was a Minister in
Horeb, Llwydcoed Horeb, Llwydcoed is an Independent (Congregationalist) chapel in Llwydcoed, Aberdare, Wales. Early history Prayer meetings had been held in the Llwydcoed district for many years by members of Ebenezer, Trecynon. Eventually they built a schoolroom ...
chapel before leaving for South America. * Stage and screen actor Ioan Gruffudd was born in Llwydcoed. Best known for playing Reed Richards in The Fantastic Four and for his role as
Horatio Hornblower Horatio Hornblower is a fictional officer in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, the protagonist of a series of novels and stories by C. S. Forester. He later became the subject of films, radio and television programmes, an ...
*
Griffith Rhys Jones Griffith Rhys Jones (21 December 1834 – 4 December 1897), commonly known as Caradog, was a Welsh conductor of the famous 'Côr Mawr' of some 460 voices (the South Wales Choral Union), which twice won first prize at The Crystal Palace chor ...
aka Caradog worked at the Aberdare Ironworks within Llwydcoed village. There is a statue of Caradog in Victoria Square in the heart of Aberdare. *
Roy Noble Roy Noble, OBE, DL, K.St.J, Rotary Fellow (born 1942) is a Welsh radio and television broadcaster, writer and Bevan Commissioner. Biography Noble was born and raised in Brynamman in the Amman Valley of Carmarthenshire, the only son of coal mi ...
, radio presenter on BBC Radio Wales and
BBC Radio Cymru BBC Radio Cymru is a Welsh language radio network owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts on two stations across Wales on FM, DAB, digital TV and online. The main network broadcasts for hours a day from ...
, lives in Llwydcoed. *
Stereophonics Stereophonics are a Welsh rock band formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in the Cynon Valley, Wales. The band consists of Kelly Jones (lead vocals, lead guitar, keyboards), Richard Jones (bass guitar, harmonica, backing vocals), Adam Zind ...
drummer Stuart Cable lived in Llwydcoed for a number of years up until his death in 2010.


References


Bibliography

*


External links


Llwydcoed Heritage Trail

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Lwydcoed and surrounding area
{{authority control Villages in Rhondda Cynon Taf Communities in Rhondda Cynon Taf