Penderyn is a rural village in the Cynon Valley,

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 vi ...

, Wales, located near Hirwaun.

Location

The village lies on the A4059 road between Hirwaun and

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 c ...

and is the last settlement on that road in the county of

before the border with

Powys Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. Geog ...

to the north. The village sits just within the southern boundary of the

Brecon Beacons National Park The Brecon Beacons National Park ( cy, Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog) is one of three national parks in Wales, and is centred on the Brecon Beacons range of hills in southern Wales. It includes the Black Mountain ( cy, Y Mynydd Du) in ...

. The

River Cynon The River Cynon ( cy, Afon Cynon) in South Wales is a main tributary of the Taff. Its source is the rising of Llygad Cynon (OS grid ref SN 95240 07740) at above sea level at Penderyn, Rhondda Cynon Taf and flows roughly southeast, into the Ta ...

passes through the area. There are four disused churches and chapels in Penderyn: Jerusalem Chapel ( Calvinistic Methodist, now a house), Siloam Chapel (

Baptist 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 c ...

, a

grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

), Soar Chapel (

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

, now an antiques shop) and St Cynog's Church (

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The po ...

). Penderyn is the home of Penderyn Whisky, whose distillery is located opposite the local school. The award-winning single malt whisky was launched in 2004 and was the first distilled in Wales for over 100 years.

Etymology

Penderyn contains two Welsh words: * ''Pen'', meaning 'head (of)' * and 'deryn', an abbreviation of 'aderyn', meaning 'bird'

History

Penderyn began as an agricultural village, which supplied the ever growing needs of the nearby local market 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 ...

. Until the county's inclusion in Powys in 1974 the village was in the county of

Brecknockshire , image_flag= , HQ= Brecon , Government= Brecknockshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= Brycheiniog , Status= , Start= 1535 , End= ...

Governance

Penderyn is in 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, t ...

of Hirwaun and, at the lowest tier of local government, is represented by Hirwaun & Penderyn Community Council. Penderyn is one of two

electoral wards The wards and electoral divisions in the United Kingdom are electoral districts at sub-national level, represented by one or more councillors. The ward is the primary unit of English electoral geography for civil parishes and borough and dis ...

in the community, electing 4 members to the community council. For elections to Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, Penderyn is covered by the 'Hirwaun, Penderyn and Rhigos' electoral district.

Notable people

* Gwyn Morgan (born 1954), Welsh-language writer, lives in Penderyn * David Wynne (1900–1983), composer, born in Penderyn * (David Davies, 1853–1937), author of * Lewis Lewis (Lewsyn yr Heliwr), transported for his part in the

Merthyr Rising The Merthyr Rising, also referred to as the Merthyr Riots, of 1831 was the violent climax to many years of simmering unrest among the large working class population of Merthyr Tydfil in Wales and the surrounding area. The Rising marked the fir ...

of 1831 Dic Penderyn (Richard Lewis, 1807/8–1831), the central figure of the Merthyr Rising of 1831, was not from village but was from

Aberavon Aberavon ( cy, Aberafan) is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a distri ...

References

External links

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Penderyn and surrounding area
Villages in Rhondda Cynon Taf Brecon Beacons Fforest Fawr Wards of Rhondda Cynon Taf {{RhonddaCynonTaf-geo-stub