Maesycwmmer ( cy, Maesycwmer) is a village and

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, ...

in the centre of

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 country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire.

Location

Maesycwmmer is located north of Caerphilly, on the east bank of the

Rhymney River The Rhymney River ( cy, Afon Rhymni) is a river in the Rhymney Valley, South Wales, flowing through Cardiff into the Severn Estuary. The river formed the boundary between the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire until in 1887, ...

, opposite

Hengoed Hengoed () is a village on the west side of the Rhymney Valley - between Ystrad Mynach to the south and Cefn Hengoed to the north. Across the valley it looks towards Maesycwmmer. The village is in the county borough of Caerphilly, in the tradit ...

, which is within the historic boundaries of Glamorgan. It is a

History & amenities

Maesycwmmer is still overshadowed by the vast Maesycwmmer (or Hengoed) Viaduct, which dates from 1853 and which carried the Taff Vale Extension of the

Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway The Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway was a railway company formed to connect the places in its name. When it sought Parliamentary authorisation, it was denied the southern section, and obliged to use the Monmouthshire Railway between P ...

over the

Rhymney valley The Rhymney Valley () is one of the South Wales valleys, with the Rhymney River forming the border between the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire. Between 1974 and 1996 a Rhymney Valley local government district also existed (one ...

. In 2000 the viaduct was re-opened for public pedestrian access. Today the village features the "Wheel o Drams" (locally known as "The Stargate") sculpture by Andy Hazell, an unusual piece of modern art formed from a circle of

coalmining 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 fro ...

dram trucks to commemorate the

industrial heritage Industrial heritage refers to the physical remains of the history of technology and industry, such as manufacturing and mining sites, as well as power and transportation infrastructure. Another definition expands this scope so that the term a ...

of this locality within the history of the South Wales Valleys. The village shared three railway stations with neighbouring Hengoed over the years (see Hengoed railway station). There are two pubs in Maesycwmmer: The Maesycwmmer Inn and The Angel (a third, The Butchers Arms, became an Indian restaurant called The Spice Tree). Maesycwmmer was a creation of the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

in 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 ...

. The houses built along the main road were purpose built for the workers that built the Maesycwmmer to Hengoed Viaduct. There is also a disused quarry in a field behind the houses of St Annes Gardens. Maesycwmmer has both a junior and a senior football team. The senior team
Maesycwmmer FC
was founded in 2010 and plays in the

North Gwent Football League The North Gwent Football League (currently billed as The Swan EMS Limited North Gwent Football League for sponsorship reasons) is a football league in South Wales. The headquarters are located at The Ex-Servicemens Club, Ebbw Vale. Area The leag ...

. Matches are played at The Bryn, just outside Maesycwmmer. The Angel pub, which the team used for its post match entertainment, is the main club sponsor.

Filming location

Maesycwmmer is actor-director

Craig Roberts Craig Haydn Roberts (born 21 January 1991) is a Welsh actor and director. He is best known for lead roles as Oliver Tate in the coming-of-age comedy-drama film ''Submarine'' (2010) and David Meyers in the series ''Red Oaks'' (2014–2017), and f ...

's hometown. Roberts finished filming locally in August 2014 for the movi
''Just Jim''
which is inspired by his early life in Maesycwmmer and was released in 2015. The first series of the S4C drama ''35 Diwrnod'' (2014) was filmed in Maesycwmmer.

Notable people

As well as Craig Roberts, Maesycwmmer was the birthplace of educationalist Mary Bridges-Adams (née Daltry) in 1854.

Sports

* Maesycwmmer Football Club (2010)

References

External links

Old photo of the viaduct in 1952
{{authority control

Maesycwmmer Maesycwmmer ( cy, Maesycwmer) is a village and community in the centre of Caerphilly County Borough in Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. Location Maesycwmmer is located north of Caerphilly, on the east bank of the ...

Communities in Caerphilly County Borough