Gelli is a village in the

Rhondda Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley (, 'large') and t ...

Fawr valley, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taff, Wales, situated on the southern bank of the Rhondda Fawr River. Gelli is a former

coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

village which is a district of the

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 ...

of Ystrad.

Early and industrial history

The village of Gelli takes its name from a farm that was once found in the area, which translates from the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

roughly as 'small wood or copse'. Before the industrialisation of the area there were few settlements in the area, mainly small agricultural and farm buildings.

Archeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology ...

finds in the area have provided proof of earlier populations, mainly

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

, though Gelli does house one of only two definite

Romano-British The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, ...

finds in the Rhondda Valleys.

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

finds in the uplands of Glamorgan are scarce, but the settlement at Hen Dre'r Gelli, excavated in 1903, is the only undefended settlement of its type in the Rhondda. A lengthy archaeological report was published in 1906, but little remains of the site, with much destroyed during the construction of the Nant y Gwyddon refuse tip.

Modern Gelli

Gelli (Nantgwyddon) was also home to a

landfill A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was ...

site which has been at the centre of controversial reports connecting it with birth defects in children born in the nearby vicinity. The reports resulted in a full scale environmental report, and the decision by the local authorities to cease the dumping of domestic waste at the site.

Education

Gelli Primary School, located on Ystrad Road, is the English language

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

that serves the village."Gelli Primary School"

Estyn Estyn is the education and training inspectorate for Wales. Its name comes from the Welsh language verb meaning 'to reach (out), stretch or extend'. Its function is to provide an independent inspection and advice service on quality and stand ...

, 25 June 2004. Ysgol Gyfun Gynradd Bronllwyn is a Welsh medium primary school serving Gelli and surrounding area.

References

External links

Rhondda Cynon Taff Library Service
– Heritage Trail, Gelli {{authority control Rhondda Valley Villages in Rhondda Cynon Taf