Perthcelyn is a village and district of the community between

Penrhiwceiber Penrhiwceiber is a small Welsh village and community (and electoral ward) in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf that lies south of the town Aberpennar and north of the village of Tyntetown, and is one of many villages that lies within th ...

and Mountain Ash within the

Cynon Valley Cynon Valley () is a former coal mining valley in Wales. Cynon Valley lies between Rhondda and the Merthyr Valley and takes its name from the River Cynon. Aberdare is located in the north of the valley and Mountain Ash is in the south of th ...

in the county borough of

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 vill ...

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 ...

. Affectionately known as the Lost City, Perthcelyn is at the top of the valley, with views of the Lower Cynon Valley. There are walks and rural paths leading to the Cwm and Ynysbwl. Perthcelyn has two local shops, and a school which opened in 1999 and replaced the old primary school, which is now a

Communities First Communities First was a Welsh Government programme aimed at reducing poverty. The programme was community focused and supported the most disadvantaged people in the most deprived areas of Wales with the aim of contributing to alleviating persisten ...

office. The Community centre which opened in 1976 is currently closed and despite attempts to get this re-opened the prospects look bleak with funding an issue. Employment locally within the village comes mainly from Priory Healthcare who have a nursing home there. Initially owned by Rosenberg and then Creagmoor, the nursing home (known as the Willows) was built in 1992 on the site of Perthcelyn's former public house, the Mount View hotel (known local as Orbaries). The Post Office was closed in the early 2000s.

Football club

Perthcelyn also has one of the valley's most successful football clubs since 1999. In the first decade of the 21st century, Dean Gore took the Perthcelyn United Youth teams, and won several trophies throughout the Aberdare Valley Football League. In 2009 Dean along with new manager and former semi-pro footballer Anthony Jenkins embarked on winning countless trophies with a Senior Men's team. The club reached the South Wales Amateur League in 2011, and they won that title, to take them one step away from Welsh League Football. Lack of resources and player commitment meant the club had to drop out of the league and they were re-branded as AFC Perthcelyn. Perthcelyn has continued to win trophies under Mark Anthony, including a local league treble in 2014, and has competed in Cup finals in 2016 and 2017 all in the Aberdare Valley League. In 2017–18, the club changed to Sunday league in TERV for a variety of reasons; but a return to Saturday football in the AVFL came about in the 2019/20 season.

Geography

Pertheclyn is located on the hillside above Penrhiwceiber, with the village being bounded by Penrhiwceiber to the north and east, and by Tyntetown to the south. Local facilities include 'Pertheclyn Primary School', 'Perthcelyn Infant School' and 'Perthcelyn Community Centre'. Historically Penrhiwceiber Colliery was located nearby on the outskirts of the village.

Gallery

Image:Perthcelyn Community Centre - geograph.org.uk - 564528.jpg, Perthcelyn Community Centre Image:Road junction, above Perthcelyn - geograph.org.uk - 1204209.jpg, View above Perthcelyn Image:Looking towards Perthcelyn - geograph.org.uk - 564532.jpg, View towards Perthcelyn

References

{{authority control Villages in Rhondda Cynon Taf