: ''For Trevithick's Pen-y-darren locomotive, see Richard Trevithick.'' Penydarren is a community and

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 ...

in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough in Wales.

Description

The area is most notable for being the site of a 1st-century

Roman fort In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...

, and during the Industrial Revolution it housed Penydarren Ironworks the third largest of the great Merthyr works. Penydarren was also used by Richard Trevithick as the location for his experiments into steam locomotion. The community and ward has a population of 5,253, increasing to 5,419 at the 2011 Census. Penydarren Park, the site of the Roman fort and the football ground, is today outside the community boundary.

Roman fort

Being located on a spur of land above sea level, just southwest of the River Taff, made Pen-y-Darren an ideal location to build an occupation outpost fort for the Romans in AD75, during the governorship of

Sextus Julius Frontinus Sextus Julius Frontinus (c. 40 – 103 AD) was a prominent Roman civil engineer, author, soldier and senator of the late 1st century AD. He was a successful general under Domitian, commanding forces in Roman Britain, and on the Rhine and Danube ...

. It was during this period that he subdued the

Silures The Silures ( , ) were a powerful and warlike tribe or tribal confederation of ancient Britain, occupying what is now south east Wales and perhaps some adjoining areas. They were bordered to the north by the Ordovices; to the east by the Dobunn ...

and other hostile tribes of Wales by establishing a new base at Caerleon or Isca Augusta for Legio II ''Augusta'', and this was one of a network of smaller forts fifteen to twenty kilometres apart for his auxiliary units. The only information known about the fort is from the later excavations undertaken during the construction of the football stadium in 1905 by Frank Treharne-James, and in 1957 during the demolition of Penydarren House. From the combination of these works, it is presently estimated that the fort had a turf and clay rampart wide, set on a cobble foundation and separated by a narrow berm of wide from its double ditch. The inner ditch was wide, the outer wide, separated by a berm of . If a well recorded by Treharne-James in 1905 was centrally placed within the principia, and a square outline is assumed, then the fort had dimensions of across the rampart crests, covering an area of .

Flavian Flavian may refer to: * A member of the Flavian dynasty of Roman emperors, during the late 1st century AD, or their works * Flavian Zeija, a Ugandan lawyer, academic and judge. Principal Judge of Uganda, since December 2019. * A person named Flavian ...

pottery confirms the origin of the fort as a wooden structure, replaced in stone around AD 100, with the bath house located outside the fort's southern defences contemporary with the rebuilding. The latest pottery recovered is

Trajanic Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

, confirming that the site was abandoned in the

Hadrianic Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...

period, with its garrison, moved to a new build fort at Gelligaer.

Penydarren House

After Samuel Homfray came to South Wales, and establishing the Penydarren Ironworks, he won a bet with

Richard Crawshay Richard Crawshay (1739 – 27 June 1810) was a London iron merchant and then South Wales ironmaster; he was one of ten known British millionaires in 1799. Early life and marriage Richard Crawshay was born in Normanton in the West Riding of ...

, and with the proceeds built Penydarren House in 1786 on the site of the Roman fort. It was during the construction that workmen first found Roman bricks and the remains of a tessellated pavement. Developed on a site opposite the works, but "sufficiently removed from the town by the extent of the pleasure grounds, and contains all the conveniences and the luxuries requisite for a family of wealth and importance," Homfray was waited on by servants who were dressed in a scarlet and buff livery, while he was driven everywhere in a coach and four horses. In 1800, Homfray married Jane Morgan, daughter of Sir Charles Morgan, 1st Baronet of Tredegar House, and thus obtained a favorable lease of mineral land at Tredegar, where he established the Tredegar Ironworks. In 1813 he was appointed

High Sheriff of Monmouthshire This is a list of Sheriffs of Monmouthshire, an office which was created in 1536 but not fully settled until 1540. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972, the shrievalty of Monmouthshire was abolished, and replac ...

and in 1818, returned as Member of Parliament for

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in t ...

borough. Penydarren House was requisitioned by the UK Government at the start of World War II, it was handed over to the Ministry of Works in 1943. The house was demolished in 1957, and after a period of archeological excavation of the Roman fort, the site was redeveloped as the present day housing community.

The "Pen-y-Darren" locomotive

Richard Trevithick 1804 Pen y Darren locomotive (6635994787)

In 1802, Homfray commissioned engineer Richard Trevithick to build built one of his high-pressure steam engines to drive a

hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...

at the Penydarren Ironworks. With the assistance of works engineer Rees Jones, Trevithick mounted the engine on wheels and turned it into a locomotive. In 1803, Trevithick sold the patents for his locomotives to Homfray. Homfray was so impressed with Trevithick's locomotive that he made another bet with Crawshay, this time for 500 guineas (£525), that Trevithick's steam locomotive could haul 10

ton Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean * the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds ...

s of iron along the Merthyr Tydfil Tramroad from Penydarren () to

Abercynon Abercynon (), is both a village and a community (and electoral ward) in the Cynon Valley within the unitary authority of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. The community comprises the village and the districts of Carnetown and Grovers Field to the south, ...

(), a distance of . Amid great interest from the public, on 21 February 1804 it successfully carried 11.24 tons of coal, five wagons and 70 men over the full distance, in 4 hours and 5 minutes, at an average speed of . As well as Homfray, Crawshay, and the passengers, other witnesses included Mr. Giddy, a respected patron of Trevithick, and an 'engineer from the Government'. The latter was probably a safety inspector, who would have been particularly interested in the boiler's ability to withstand high steam pressures. In modern Merthyr, behind the monument to Trevithick's locomotive, is a stone wall, which is the sole remainder of the former boundary wall of Penydarren House.

1811–1856: Merthyr Rising

The Penydarren Ironworks had been financed by William Forman of the Tower of London, who provided all the capital, partly on mortgage but also by taking shares himself. Samuel Homfray left the business in 1813, selling both the house and his shares in the Penydarren Ironworks to Foreman. The house played a key role in the Merthyr Rising. On 2 June 1831, while local employers and magistrates were holding a meeting with the High Sheriff of Glamorgan at the Castle Inn, a group led by Lewsyn yr Heliwr (also known as Lewis Lewis) marched there to demand a reduction in the price of

bread Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...

and an increase in their wages. The demands were rejected, and after being advised to return to their homes, attacked the inn. Engaged by the 93rd (Highland) Regiment, after the rioters seized some of their weapons, the troops were commanded to open fire. After a protracted struggle in which hundreds sustained an injury, some fatal, the Highlanders were compelled to withdraw to Penydarren House and abandon the town to the rioters. For eight days, Penydarren House was the sole refuge of authority in the district.

Development and the James family

Forman offered the works for sale in 1859, and the

Dowlais Iron Company The Dowlais Ironworks was a major ironworks and steelworks located at Dowlais near Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales. Founded in the 18th century, it operated until the end of the 20th, at one time in the 19th century being the largest steel producer in ...

bought the mineral ground. Foreman subsequently sold the house and its estate to the James family. While the site of the Ironworks was left to decay, eventually becoming the service depot of the Merthyr tramway, from 1870, parts of the estate were sold off for housing development. For the period 1876 to 1888, the family leased the house out to the Merthyr Proprietary School. In the 1890s, developments included the general hospital, the Roman Catholic Church of St. Mary's, and the imposing Park Terrace and nearby large villas. The filling in of the former fish pond marked at Bryant's Field allowed the development of Penydarren Park between 1902 and 1905, during which additional excavation of the Roman fort was undertaken by Frank Treharne-James. This also allowed the development of the terraces along Gwaelod-y-Garth lane, including Stuart, Cromwell, and Tudor. By 1910, the Edwardian Baroque YMCA and the

Masonic Temple A Masonic Temple or Masonic Hall is, within Freemasonry, the room or edifice where a Masonic Lodge meets. Masonic Temple may also refer to an abstract spiritual goal and the conceptual ritualistic space of a meeting. Development and history In ...

had been completed, and post World War I Penydarren had become Merthyr Tydfil's premier middle-class suburb, with the addition of further terraces north and south of Dane Street, and properties along the Grove.

Electoral ward

Penydarren was an electoral ward to Mid Glamorgan County Council from 1973 to 1996. Penydarren has subsequently become an

(coterminous with the community) to Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It elects three county councillors. At the May 2017 elections two Independent candidates (Kevin Gibbs and Chris Davies) and one Labour Party candidate (David Isaac) came top of the poll. Kevin Gibbs is now a labour councillor.

References

External links

Old Merthyr Tydfil: Penydarren
- Historical Photographs of Penydarren {{Merthyr Tydfil Communities in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Wards of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Merthyr Tydfil Mid Glamorgan electoral wards