Pontlottyn ( cy, Pontlotyn) is a village located in the
county borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent te ...
of
Caerphilly
Caerphilly (, ; cy, Caerffili, ) is a town and community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley.
It is north of Cardiff and northwest of Newport. It is the largest town in Caerphilly County Borough, and lies wi ...
, within the
historic county boundaries of
Glamorgan
, HQ = Cardiff
, Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974)
, Origin=
, Code = GLA
, CodeName = Chapman code
, Replace =
* West Glamorgan
* Mid Glamorgan
* South Glamorgan
, Mot ...
, Wales. It is sited just to the south of
Rhymney
Rhymney (; cy, Rhymni ) is a town and a community in the county borough of Caerphilly, South Wales. It is within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. With the villages of Pontlottyn, Fochriw, Abertysswg, Deri and New Tredegar, Rhymney ...
, and to the west of the
Rhymney River.
History
Pontlottyn, initially part of Lower Rhymney, was born and grew from the enterprise of the coal and ironmasters and as many as thirty-one pits and levels existed between these two villages before 1835. This industrialisation brought a huge increase in population with rural Welsh workers and particularly Irish immigrants flowing in, attracted by the promise of rich earnings from the growing iron industry.
It was well known for its neighbouring
collieries
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 ...
, which employed nearly the entire local population in the early 20th century.
George "Honey Boy" Evans was born here, in 1870.
Edward Thomas Chapman
Company Sergeant Major Edward Thomas Chapman VC, BEM (13 January 1920 – 3 February 2002) was a Welsh recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth f ...
, a miner who won the
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, was born at Pontlottyn in January 1920.
Facilities
Pontlottyn has a chemist, post office, 4 fast food establishments, general shops (serving convenience and specialist goods), local cafes, 2 hairdressers, and 3 pubs with some serving food.
The village is served by
Pontlottyn railway station
, symbol_location = gb
, symbol = rail
, image = Passenger shelter, Pontlottyn railway station (geograph 3419180).jpg
, borough = Pontlottyn, Caerphilly
, country = Wales
, coordinates ...
.
See also
*
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 ...
References
*Evans, Marion, (1994), A Portrait of Rhymney with cameos of Pontlottyn, Tafarnaubach, Princetown, Abertysswg and Fochriw, volume 1. Old Bakehouse Publications. .
*Evans, Marion, (1995), A Portrait of Rhymney with cameos of Pontlottyn, Tafarnaubach, Princetown, Abertysswg and Fochriw, volume 2. Old Bakehouse Publications. .
*Evans, Marion, (1996), A Portrait of Rhymney with cameos of Pontlottyn, Tafarnaubach, Princetown, Abertysswg and Fochriw, volume 3. Old Bakehouse Publications. .
*Evans, Marion, (1998), A Portrait of Rhymney with cameos of Pontlottyn, Tafarnaubach, Princetown, Abertysswg and Fochriw, volume 4. Old Bakehouse Publications. .
*Evans, Marion, (2009), A Portrait of Rhymney with cameos of Pontlottyn, Tafarnaubach, Princetown, Abertysswg and Fochriw, volume 5. Old Bakehouse Publications. .
External links
www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Pontlottyn and surrounding areaWelsh Coal Mines - all the pits, all the brief histories
Villages in Caerphilly County Borough
{{Caerphilly-geo-stub