Pentrebach (, sometimes written Pentre-Bach, literally: ''small village'') is a village in

Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Merthyr Tydfil County Borough ( cy, Bwrdeistref Sirol Merthyr Tudful) is a county borough (since 1908) in the south-east of Wales. In mid 2018, it had an estimated population of 60,183. It is located in the historic county of Glamorgan and ...

, Wales and is formed from the original settlements of Lower Pentrebach, Tai-bach and Duffryn. It lies on the east side of the River Taff opposite

Abercanaid Abercanaid ( cy, Abercannaid) is a small village in the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan, Wales, United Kingdom with a population of about 5,060. It is situated south of Merthyr town centre and is west of Pentrebach, across the Ri ...

, south of Merthyr and north of Troedyrhiw. To the east of the village lies the Mynydd Cilfach-yr-Encil which rises up to . Pentrebach is part of the Plymouth electoral ward which covers Pentrebach,

and Troedyrhiw. The village was founded at the time that John Guest built the Plymouth Ironworks in 1763. The name Guest became part of the Guest, Keen and Nettelfold company ( GKN). In 1818 Anthony Hill took over ownership of the business. His House was later used as an old people's home, and today has been converted into a Brewers Fayre Restaurant with a Premier Inn attached. The original Merthyr Tramroad, built in 1802, ran alongside the site of the modern day village, on its way from

penydarren : ''For Trevithick's Pen-y-darren locomotive, see Richard Trevithick.'' Penydarren is a community and electoral ward in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough in Wales. Description The area is most notable for being the site of a 1st-century Roman fort, ...

to Abercynon, though very little of the village had been built at that time. A tunnel still exists, which can be visited on the Merthyr Road. Locomotives had to tip their chimneys while going through this tunnel due to the tunnel clearance. Pentrebach has its own

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

. This opened in 1886 on the standard gauge Taff Vale Railway which runs from

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 ...

to Merthyr Tydfil alongside the River Taff. The original purpose of the railway was to carry iron ore to

Cardiff Docks Cardiff Docks ( cy, Dociau Caerdydd) is a port in southern Cardiff, Wales. At its peak, the port was one of the largest dock systems in the world with a total quayage of almost . Once the main port for the export of South Wales coal, the Port ...

. In 1862, on the south side of the village, The South Duffryn Colliery was opened with two shafts which were deep. At the height of the production there were some 1300 men employed there. An opencast mine was also located on the mountainside above the village. The Plymouth Ironworks closed in 1882 and the South Duffryn Colliery ceased production in 1940. After the war, new industries were attracted to the village. In 1945, the Kayser Bondor Factory opened making underwear, followed in 1948 by the establishment of the Hoover factory manufacturing washing machines. The factory later produced the Sinclair C5 battery-powered three-wheeler car. On Friday, 6 March 2009, Hoover confirmed that it was to cease production of washing machines and other laundry products at the factory. Linde set up a factory in the village on a site where the South Duffryn Colliery was located. This plant manufactured Forklift and at one time employed circa 500 people. The plant closed in 2013. but the site has since been taken over by U.S. defence contractor General Dynamics to produce armoured vehicles for the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. Pentrebach has two clubs: The Hills Plymouth

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

Club, and the Pentrebach working men's club. Pentrebach also has a chapel, Jerusalem Chapel, Greenfield School and an Integrated Children's Centre. The mountain above Pentrebach has become popular with hang glider pilots in recent years.

References

External links

Old Merthyr Tydfil: Pentrebach
Historical Photographs of Pentrebach.
National Library of Scotland
- Old Maps of Pentrebach. {{authority control Villages in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough