Bedwas, Trethomas and Machen is a

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

and an

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 t ...

in the county borough of

Caerphilly Caerphilly (, ; , ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley and separated from the Cardiff suburbs of Lisvane and Rhiwbina by Caerphilly Mountain. It is north of Cardiff an ...

, constituting the villages of

Machen Machen (from Welsh ' "place (of)" + ', a personal name) is a large village three miles east of Caerphilly, south Wales. It is situated in the Caerphilly borough within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It neighbours Bedwas and Treth ...

, Trethomas,

Bedwas Bedwas is a town situated two miles north-east of Caerphilly, south Wales, situated in the Caerphilly (county borough), Caerphilly county borough, within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshi ...

, and Upper and Lower

Graig-y-Rhacca Graig-y-Rhacca is a housing estate bordering Trethomas, Bedwas and Machen in the borough of Caerphilly (county borough), Caerphilly, southeastern Wales. The town is about 8 miles to the west of Newport, Wales, Newport and 4 miles to the east of ...

. It lies in the Caerphilly Basin in the shadow of

Mynydd y Grug Mynydd y Grug is a hill lying just west of the village of Cwmfelinfach and about 4 km to the northeast of Caerphilly in Caerphilly county borough in South Wales. Its summit was formerly at a height of around 358 m, but since the top has been ...

and Mynydd Machen. All villages in the area grew as a result of the coal mining industry, which carries its legacy on today.

History

Bedwas and Machen Urban District was formed on 1 October 1912 from the

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

and Machen Upper, previously part of St Mellons Rural District. In 1935 the boundaries were altered when it exchanged areas with the neighbouring Mynyddislwyn Urban District. The urban district was abolished by the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, becoming part of Rhymney Valley District in Mid Glamorgan. On the abolition of the urban district, a community with identical boundaries was formed, and a community council established. On 16 March 1989 the community was renamed Bedwas, Trethomas and Machen. On 1 April 1996 the Rhymney Valley District was itself abolished, and the community has been part of the county borough of

since that date. At the 2001 census Bedwas, Trethomas and Machen had a population of 10,428 The urban district council began operating a bus service in 1922. The UDC was one of the smallest municipal bus undertakings in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, with an average fleet size of seven vehicles.A. M. Witton, ''Buses of South Wales'', Manchester, 1982 The bus livery was powder blue and cream. The fleet was merged with those of Caerphilly and Gelligaer UDCs in 1974, when Rhymney Valley District Council was formed.

Present-day

Today the area is quite densely populated, with the exception of the mountain area. There are some transport links, with a bus service from Newport to Bargoed running through the community, and two other services running from Graig-Y-Rhacca to Caerphilly town centre. A school serves the villages, as well a
BTM Brass Band

External links

*

Bedwas and Machen UD at Visionofbritain.org

References

{{coord missing, Gwent History of Monmouthshire Communities in Caerphilly County Borough