69-538: Craig-cefn-parc is a village near Clydach , outside Swansea, Wales. It falls within the Mawr ward of Swansea . The name means "park ridge rock". Cwm Clydach RSPB nature reserve is located at the south of the village, near the New Inn Public House, at the boundary between Craig-cefn-parc and Clydach. Craig-cefn-parc is famous for its mining history with several large drift mines employing hundreds of men. In
138-462: A 2nd school being built just a little farther up the same street. The St John's School was by this point being used as a Sunday school and not for general education. There was a Clydach woollen factory not far from the schools on a road named 'Prince Llewellyn Street' or as it is now known 'Factory Road'. St Mary's Church is not on this map and is shown as a blank open space. In 1918 the Sunday school
207-522: A great deal of coal is required to smelt copper, it became the practice to bring the copper to Swansea by ship and smelt it there. This specific sector of the metal industry became so dominant that Swansea was given the nickname Copperopolis . The works engaged in this industry were located on the banks of the River Tawe at first, but the construction of the Swansea Canal , opened in 1798, and
276-508: A joint stock company, and in 1846 the tramroad was formally purchased. The name "Swansea Vale Railway" was first used at this time. This appears to mark the change from operating as a tramroad to being a railway. The South Wales Railway was authorised in 1845 to build a broad gauge railway from near Gloucester to Milford Haven , connecting South Wales with the Great Western Railway network to London. Its route intersected
345-518: A nine-hole course (dating back to the 1960s) that was intended to be a resource exclusively for INCO (Clydach Refinery) employees, the course now welcomes golfers of all ages and abilities throughout the year. The club is nestled in the historic Swansea Valley bordered on one side by the River Tawe and by the Swansea Canal. It was renamed Mond Valley Golf Club in May 2012 after Vale Europe outsourced
414-474: A number of fully serviced offices rented by local businesses. The City & County of Swansea's Lifelong Learning department & Swansea University's Dept of Adult Continuing Education use the centre to run a number of adult education classes . In 2011 the City & County of Swansea opened the 'Waterfall View' day service at Forge Fach. In 2013, Cwmni Clydach Development Trust went into administration, leaving
483-814: A party of directors of the London and North Western Railway visited the Llanelly Railway in April 1864, and had special train trip over Swansea Vale Railway, but the LNWR was really interested in completion of what became the Central Wales line and expressed no desire to treat with the Swansea Vale. The Midland Railway was negotiating with the Hereford, Hay and Brecon Railway in 1869. The Midland had
552-528: A preference share issue was authorised in 1859, although the trading position of the railway was profitable throughout this period. Passenger operation had been authorised and the preparations made for opening from Swansea to Pontardawe for passengers. Captain Ross of the Board of Trade visited the line but he found deficiencies and declined to permit passenger running. Improvements were made and when Colonel Rich of
621-825: A presence in Hereford from Worcester and was known to aspire to reach South Wales. It was obvious that a route over the HH&;BR, the Neath and Brecon Railway and the Swansea Vale Railway would achieve that objective. On 13 December 1869 the Swansea Vale Railway Board had formal discussions with representatives of the Midland Railway; the negotiation was successful but did not lead to an immediate arrangement. Nevertheless, in August 1870
690-645: A three-school system, the other partners being Gwaen-Cae-Gurwen Lower School and Cwmtawe Upper School in Pontardawe. The lower schools were for 11- to 13-year-olds while the last three years of compulsory education were provided in Pontardawe. Today Clydach is in the catchment area of Birchgrove Comprehensive School. However, many students from Clydach attend Cwmtawe Community School in Pontardawe. A number of football teams – including Inco, Clydach Sports, and Sunnybank WMC – play in Clydach, most of them as members of
759-617: A tram road from there to Foxhole, on the Tawe near its mouth. In 1834 the Benson family purchased land at the Tyrllandwr Estate and as Swansea harbour developed this gave the family, led by Starling Benson, considerable wharfage land, encouraging the business of shipping coal. The needed transport and in 1839 they commissioned George Bush to survey for a railway. The west bank of the Tawe was heavily developed at this time and his scheme
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#1732798737662828-592: A year from Ystalyfera to Swansea port. The canal remained profitable until 1902, when losses were first reported. This decline in revenue and profits was largely due to the competition from its rival the Swansea Vale Railway . The last commercial cargo carried on the Swansea Canal was in 1931 when coal was conveyed from Clydach to Swansea. Boats continued to operate on the canal after that date but only for maintenance work, with horse-drawn boats last recorded in Clydach in 1958. Only 5 miles (8.0 km) of
897-597: Is a parish of the Church in Wales , the parish church being St. Mary's on High Street. Other English language churches include Lighthouse Church (Assemblies of God), Bethel Evangelical Church, and St. Benedicts (Roman Catholic). Two Welsh language chapels remain in Clydach: Calfaria (Welsh Baptist) and Capel y Nant (Welsh Independents). Capel y Nant was formed in 2008 and meets at the former Carmel Chapel. The church
966-481: Is now being converted into a dwelling house by a local resident, whose family have lived in the village for the past 100 years. Also in Clydach is Bethania English Baptist Church, Graig-felin. The Reverend Valentine Evans, who wrote the History of Clydach at the beginning of the 20th century, is buried in its cemetery. A Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses located on Capel Road is one of the oldest in Wales. Originally
1035-576: Is served by National Cycle Route 43 . Major work has recently been undertaken on part of the cycle route between Clydach and Glais. The lottery-funded Sustrans laid a new tarmac path for pedestrians and cyclists, which begins alongside the River Tawe, behind the Vardre Rugby Club, and ends at Station Road in Glais. The tarmac path was mainly built on space used by abandoned railway tracks. Clydach Primary school and Graigfelen Primary schools are
1104-485: Is still showing on the map under the area name of Vardre close to Mount Pleasant and Graig Felin was known as Aber-Clydach. The top of Clydach near Lone Road and Bryn Mair was named Upper Forge not yet having its slang title of 'Sunny Bank' with the locals. Note: Sunny Bank does not appear by name on any maps seen to date (June 2012). In the early 19th century, Clydach was a small village in the Swansea Valley . As
1173-541: Is the first language of 24 per cent of the population and both Welsh and English language schools are available. The village lies close to the M4 motorway which can be accessed via the bypass or old road via Ynystawe . The community includes part of the village of Glais . In the 1800s, Clydach was a very small community if it could even be called that. Maps from then show Clydach to consist of sub-areas namely 'Mount Pleasant' (the area by high street shops), 'Faerdre' (covering
1242-611: The Neath & District League . Clydach are members of the tier four West Wales Premier League . Vardre RFC is a sporting venue in Clydach and Clydach's younger residents train out on the pitches behind the building over the canal. They have 1st, 2nd, Youth and junior teams. The 1st team currently play in division 1 of the WRU West Central League Swansea Vale Railway The Swansea Vale Railway (SVR)
1311-464: The Board of Trade made a follow-up visit on 20 February 1860 he was satisfied, and passenger trains started running the following day, 21 February 1860. The passenger business was buoyant, and further third-class carriages had to be acquired. Receipts for the half year to August 1860 were £4,912 compared with the previous £3,693, and operating expenses were now £1,740, and rent and rates £683. In later years
1380-443: The Midland Railway agreed to lend £10,000 to the Swansea Vale Railway; the sum was later raised to £20,000. On 23 August 1872 it was announced that the directors had agreed with the Midland Railway, that they would lease the Swansea Vale Railway. SVR shareholders would receive a permanent 6% dividend. Incidentally the Midland Railway was not interested in this kind of arrangement with the Neath and Brecon Railway, (which had taken over
1449-506: The Midland Railway, as successor to the SVR, ran through trains over the N&;BR. The Midland Railway offered to operate all the N&BR domestic trains north of Colbren Junction for one third of receipts, about £4,000 annually. The N&BR reluctantly accepted this arrangement from 1 July 1877 for five years, and the N&BR only operated trains between Colbren Junction and Neath. The arrangement
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#17327987376621518-571: The Midland installed signal boxes and block signalling (for the first time probably) during 1875 and 1876. In 1876 the Midland opened a new goods depot at Swansea on the link line between Swansea St Thomas station and the Eastern Docks. The line was owned by the GWR and access to the depot was under running powers. The Swansea Vale Railway had running powers over the Neath and Brecon Railway, so
1587-475: The N&BR company, giving better access to Swansea than running via Neath . The Swansea Vale and Neath & Brecon Junction Railway was promoted in 1863 to build a line connecting the Swansea Vale Railway at Ynysygeinon with the Neath and Brecon Railway at Colbren. The Swansea Vale Railway considered that it would abstract traffic from its line, and it decided to petition against it in Parliament. This
1656-455: The SVJ&;N&BR), as the N&BR was considerably over-capitalised, following a series of financial improprieties and the failure of a contractor who was also financing much of the construction personally. The capital of the Swansea Vale Railway at this time was £230,392, and there were loans in existence to the extent of £328,040. The lease of the Swansea Vale Railway by the Midland
1725-477: The SVR railway was said to be open for a distance of 6 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles and only carrying mineral traffic; this amounted to 1,000 tons per day with an annual income exceeding £5,000. In 1856 the Company obtained a further Act authorising further northward extension to Ystalyfera and Ystradgynlais . Through the period from 1856 the company seems to have had trouble raising money for capital works, and
1794-428: The Swansea Vale Railway, over which it had running powers. The SV&N&BJR was to be leased by the N&BR on completion, but when it was clear that no progress toward that goal was being made, it was amalgamated with the Neath and Brecon Railway on 26 July 1869. The Llanelly Railway had reached Brynamman from the west in 1842 and was well established in serving the pits there. The coal industry there and in
1863-531: The Tawe River and gave Clydach its original name, Clydach-on-Tawe. Clydach is the equivalent of the Irish word Cladaugh, meaning sandy bend/strand. The centre opened in 2006. It provides a range of facilities including a community café, a full day care nursery (Forge Fach Day Nursery), a multi-purpose hall, ICT suite, training & conferencing facilities plus an external multi-use games area. In addition there are
1932-591: The area nearest to Vardre Road), 'Down' the area that was once 'Down Farm' which is now land laying behind the Farmer's Arms, Clydach and below 'Ty gwyn Road'. There was also an area called Ty Gwyn as Ty Gwyn/White House was present on the land. The road leading to Ty Gwyn is now Ty Gwyn Road and also 'Coed Cae-Du' near Craig Cefn Parc. The map of c. 1878 Clydach (which can be viewed at the Archive Service at Swansea Civic Centre ) shows that number 1 St John's Road
2001-470: The canal's original length of 16 miles (26 km) remain. The end of the 19th century and the early 20th century saw a significant growth in the village's population. With the opening of the Mond in 1902 the village experienced significant growth as the factory became the main employer within the village. The figures below show the population for the parish of Rhyndwyglydach. The population has recovered from
2070-542: The coal in the South Wales Valleys was a valuable commodity during the Industrial Revolution , Clydach experienced growth as a through road for transporting goods between Swansea and the many mines and heavy metal industries. The 16-mile (26 km) long Swansea Canal was built through the centre of Clydach between 1794 and 1798. It was constructed to transport up to 400,000 tonnes of coal
2139-576: The company. For some time, work on the SV&;N&BJR was in abeyance. As a moribund company whose only asset was the power to build a line, it was absorbed by the Neath and Brecon Railway in July 1869, and construction was completed, and it was opened to traffic on 19 November 1873. From that time the N&BR started to run a passenger service between Brecon and Swansea, using the SVR&;N&BJR line and
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2208-562: The development of railways enabled allied metal industries to operate, and to be located further from water transport terminals. Anthracite coal of high quality was available around Llansamlet , and an early wooden wagonway was built from there to a wharf on the River Tawe by George Kirkhouse; it was operational sometime after 1750. John Scott acquired control of mines on the Gwernllwynchwth Estate and after 1812 built
2277-419: The future of Forge Fach uncertain. Swansea Council has assumed temporary control of the facility. A local campaign group called for Forge Fach to be turned into a health, leisure, wellbeing and swimming centre. In October 2015, the resource centre was taken over by Walsingham Support, a national disability charity, supporting adults with learning disabilities, brain injury and complex health needs. 2006 saw
2346-623: The future. Some attempts were made to obtain authorisation for passenger operation, and finally in 1855 the Company obtained an Act of Parliament incorporating it, and authorising passenger operation, and permitting extension to Pontardawe , and southwards to the New Cut in Swansea. To neutralise objections in Parliament from the South Wales Railway, it undertook that a third rail (to make mixed gauge track) would be laid southward from
2415-505: The heart of the Lower Clydach River (Cwm Clydach nature reserve) are some of the old coal houses, there is also a coal tram located in the centre of the village to commemorate its mining history. Craig Cefn Parc school was closed in 2019. A small memorial garden was created lower down in the village for a place to reflect and sit for a while. The village has a small store, a community building and playing fields. In 2020 funding
2484-474: The home to the Nixon and Bell Drift mine. It was affectionately known as Nixon's and was one of the main employers until 1960–1961. It was used after as a pumping station. The colliery was a rock top colliery and there was even a steam boiler underground, which was rare in a colliery. Little remains of the colliery now, and there is a walk up the valley past other remnants of other NCB and private mines. Clydach
2553-410: The intersection with the South Wales Railway, allowing broad gauge traffic access down to Swansea. The capital of the newly incorporated company was £117,000. The South Wales Railway agreed to alter the intersection so as to separate the levels of the two lines, and to build a transhipment shed there to reload goods from narrow gauge to broad gauge wagons. These works were completed in 1857. In 1855
2622-449: The line or locomotives. There were a number of track-related derailments in the early period of Midland ownership, and Miles et al attribute them to lack of maintenance. The Midland was no doubt aware of the poor state of the infrastructure of the network it had acquired, and it quickly set about modernising it; track replacement was an early priority, followed by the renewal of some bridges. Two bridges at Brynamman were renewed in 1875, and
2691-406: The main primary schools for residents. There is also a Welsh medium primary school, Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Gellionnen, on Gellionnen Road, and a Roman Catholic primary school, St Joseph's, on Pontardawe Road. As of September 2012, Clydach Infants and Clydach Juniors are now one school (Clydach Primary School). The village used to be home to Cwmtawe Lower Comprehensive School. It was the junior part of
2760-677: The management. Following the demolition of the old Clydach swimming pool, the Cwmni Clydach Development Trust, commissioned a new multi purpose community resource centre at Forge Fach, at a cost of approximately £1.8 million, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government, City & County of Swansea & Clydach Community Council. Forge Fach is situated next to the Forge Fach Waterfalls, part of the Lower Clydach River, which runs into
2829-450: The middle of 1864; the increase was said to be largely due to traffic coming from Llanelly Railway and the Vale of Neath Railway (which was by now mixed gauge) via the Swansea and Neath Railway. The main line had been built on the eastern bank, as it was less developed and land acquisition was expected to be cheaper. Of course, most of the industry and population were on the western bank, and
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2898-456: The network continued for a time, but by 1983 the entire line was closed. The South Wales coalfield extends to the sea at Swansea, and therefore was immediately accessible to shipping at a time, before the nineteenth century, when land transport was limited to what pack animals could carry on their backs. At that time the extraction of copper in Cornwall became an important industry, and as
2967-441: The network, and it absorbed it in 1876. The Midland Railway used the line to get access to Swansea, which it had long sought. After 1923 the Midland's successor transferred the through traffic to another route. Road omnibus services abstracted much of the local passenger business, and only anthracite traffic kept the line going. When that industry declined the railway mineral traffic followed, and from 1965 closures set in. Parts of
3036-633: The opening of the Old Public Hall, which was converted into an indoor climbing centre and was renamed 'Dynamic Rock'. It is now home to the Swansea Indoor Climbing Centre . The walls are 12m high and feature overhangs, slabs, pillars, arêtes and arches. The Cwm Clydach RSPB Reserve is situated on the outskirts of the village, en route to Craig Cefn Parc near the New Inn pub. The Cwm Clydach nature reserve used to be
3105-582: The power cells of the Toyota Prius ; production has since moved to a plant in China. The plant was the heart of the village and one of the largest employers in the Swansea Valley for many years. By 1910 over 40% of the village's population worked in the refinery. Today, with improvements in processing and a rationalisation of products, the refinery now employs just over 240 people, equating to 3% of
3174-408: The practice was usually that the preference shareholders were paid their full dividend but that ordinary shareholders got nothing. The northward extension had been authorised, but actual construction was slow, largely due to the poor level of subscription for shares. In September 1860 the board decided to open the line as far as a temporary terminus at Ynisygeinon. Late in 1860 the passenger service
3243-408: The railway could not serve them directly. The Board decided to propose a Morriston branch; it was to be a loop line off the existing main line, leaving at Upper Bank station and rejoining the original line at Glais. Powers for the construction were granted in 1867. It was submitted for inspection to the Board of Trade for passenger operation, and Colonel Hutchinson visited for the purpose; everything
3312-411: The reduction seen in the early 1980s following the demise of mining and the heavy metal industries. The village's population was approximately 7,500 on 23 February 2010 and a population of 10,830 on 28 July 2011. The population of Clydach, Glamorgan, Wales, UK on 6 May 2012 is approximately 12,593. The town benefited from Clydach War Memorial Hospital until it closed in 2015. The main redbrick building
3381-486: The road, new flagstones to replace tarmac pavements, new trees, new seats and cycle racks. Work was commissioned by Cwmni Clydach Development Trust , with funding for the schemes provided by the Welsh Development Agency and Swansea City Council. A grant of over £130,000 was made available for local high street businesses to improve the frontage to their stores. Clydach refinery , known as 'the Mond',
3450-600: The route of the Swansea Vale Railway. The SVR hoped to sell its line to the South Wales Railway, and the SWR was amenable, but did not have the Parliamentary powers to make the purchase. As a means of by-passing this obstacle, the South Wales Railway sponsored a nominally independent company, the Swansea Valley Railway , to take over the SVR and alter it to the broad gauge. The Swansea Valley Railway Bill
3519-480: The vicinity was of prime importance and the SVR decided to build a line to it. In 1863 the SVR submitted a Bill for more capital at a level of £48,000 to pay for the Brynamman extension and more rolling stock. It was probably opened to goods traffic in stages, and to passengers throughout on 2 March 1868. The branch off it from Gwys to Brynhenllys Colliery did not open until 1875. The Llanelly Railway at Brynamman
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#17327987376623588-481: The village's population. The refinery has been progressive in ensuring the reduction of emissions and pollutants. The River Tawe , which runs alongside the refinery, is once again home to breeding salmon and trout . The refinery is, however, a top-tier Control of Major Accident Hazard Regulations ( COMAH ) site, due to the inherent nature of its process. There are a number of churches and chapels in Clydach, serving both English and Welsh language speakers. Clydach
3657-538: Was a railway line connecting the port of Swansea in South Wales to industries and coalfields along the River Tawe on the northern margin of Swansea, by taking over a tramroad in 1846. It was extended to Brynamman in 1868. Passengers were carried from 1860, and a loop line through Morriston was built. The company was profitable but it was always short of capital, and it looked for a larger company to buy it out. The Midland Railway did so in 1874 when it leased
3726-604: Was agreed that the Midland Company would absorb the SVR; an Act to authorise this was obtained on 11 August 1876 and the SVR Company wound up its affairs and ceased to exist. When the Midland Railway took full control of the SVR and the SVR&N&BJR, it had already been running its trains on the line under running powers arrangements. The high dividends paid in the final years of the SVR's independent existence had been achieved by not doing enough maintenance of
3795-555: Was authorised by Act of 30 July 1874; the Midland actually took possession in September 1874. From this time the Swansea Vale Railway Company was only a financial entity, receiving the lease charge. Nevertheless, considerable capital expenditure was now being undertaken by the Midland Railway on bringing the SVR track and structures up to date, and this complicated the financial relationship. Accordingly, it
3864-411: Was built by Ludwig Mond the inventor of the nickel carbonyl process at the turn of the 20th century. It started production in 1902. It is Europe ’s largest nickel refinery . It is 100% owned by Vale and produces nickel powder, nickel pellets and other various nickel-coated materials. It also has a nickel foam production plant that until recently was the sole provider of the nickel foam required in
3933-474: Was considered to be an ally, not a competitor, and a connection between the two companies at Brynamman was under construction. The Llanelly Railway was running passenger trains to Brynamman from 20 March 1865. Through goods and mineral traffic was soon being run over this route, from Swansea to the West Midlands via Brynamman, representing a more convenient through route. Revenue increased to £9512 by
4002-462: Was converted into apartments for ex-servicemen and women in 2017. Eight houses and two bungalows have been built on the land as part of an affordable housing scheme led by Pobl Group, a homeless charity operating in South Wales. The centre of Clydach High Street, the main commercial area of the town has had major investments in improving its facilities. These include reshaping and resurfacing of
4071-404: Was created through the uniting of Hebron and Carmel Independent Chapels. Capel y Nant also welcomes members of Salem Fardre Presbyterian Church, and is in partnership with Clydach English language Methodist Church. A number of Welsh-speaking churches/chapels in the community have recently closed, though their buildings still remain. These include St. John's (High Street), Hebron (Hebron Road) which
4140-444: Was extended to that place. The extension to Ystalyfera was opened on 20 November 1861. An essential part of any through route between Hereford and Swansea was the completion of the Swansea Vale and Neath & Brecon Junction Railway, commonly referred to as The Junction Line . This was to run between Colbren Junction on the N&BR to Ynysygeinon on the SVR. Even without Midland Railway involvement, this had been desirable for
4209-400: Was made by the SWR of the SVR line. To optimise their own gradients they lifted the SVR track, which was of stone block sleeper construction, and this caused a minor argument as the SVR had not been asked for permission. It was now obvious to the Swansea Vale Railway directors that their line would remain independent for the foreseeable future, so they assessed what needed to be done to secure
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#17327987376624278-464: Was not successful, and the SVR&N&BR obtained the Royal Assent to its Act on 29 July 1864. The SVR&B&NJR ran into serious financial difficulty; it was unable to secure the subscriptions for shares that it needed to start construction. It entered into a complex arrangement with a contractor, John Dickson, but he fell into bankruptcy at a time when he himself was heavily indebted to
4347-579: Was obtained for a children's park and play area. This Swansea location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Clydach, Swansea Clydach is both a village and a community in Swansea , Wales , within the Clydach ward and the Llangyfelach parish. It is located 6 miles (9.7 km) northeast of Swansea city centre. In 2011, the population was 7,503. Welsh
4416-477: Was on the east bank to Abercrave. Public notice was given in 1840 of the intention to build this railway, but in fact it lapsed, probably due to opposition from the Duke of Beaufort . Nevertheless, Benson and his partners repaired and modernised the 1812 tramroad and made some extension to it over land in their possession, thus not needing Parliamentary authorisation. In 1845 the partners transferred their interest to
4485-422: Was originally the old 'St John's School for Girls, Boys and Infants', which was linked to St John's Church near the shops at Capel Buildings near the Mond. A second school is shown where the current building of Clydach Infants stands which is also for girls/boys and infants. On a map dated 1899 Clydach has grown substantially to have a larger community base with the school on Twyn-y-Bedw Road being expended upon and
4554-407: Was passed in Parliament on 2 July 1847, but with the condition that it could not be sold on to the South Wales Railway until at last half of the authorised capital had been raised and expended on construction. As there was no intention to raise capital or construct anything, this resulted in a stalemate. In March 1850 the construction of the South Wales Railway reached Llansamlet, and a flat crossing
4623-411: Was renewed until in 1889, with the arrival of Sir Edward Watkin as Chairman, the N&BR tried to negotiate better terms. When the talks broke down the Midland Railway abruptly discontinued the through trains on 1 July 1889. For several days there was no service whatever on the N&BR route. The matter went to arbitration and the Midland Railway resumed working the trains from 22 July 1889. In 1881
4692-424: Was retained for goods but closed to passengers and Birchgrove closed completely, so the old main line between Glais and Upper Bank was now operated by goods trains only. In the second half of 1872, the dividend on ordinary shares for the year reached 6%. For some time, the directors of the SVR had believed that sale to a larger company was the solution to their long-standing financial difficulties. Richard Moon and
4761-463: Was satisfactory and the first part of the line between Morriston and Upper Bank was opened for goods traffic on 6 October 1871. The section probably opened for passenger traffic on 15 March 1871. The full length of the Morriston Loop was opened on 2 October 1871 and from that date all passenger trains ran via Morriston and Clydach, with a new station at Glais. The old station at Llansamlet
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