52-537: Pentrebach ( Welsh pronunciation: [ˌpɛntrɛˈbɑːχ] , sometimes written Pentre-Bach , literally: small village ) is a village in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough , Wales and is formed from the original settlements of Lower Pentrebach, Tai-bach and Duffryn. It lies on the east side of the River Taff opposite Abercanaid , south of Merthyr and north of Troedyrhiw . To the east of
104-414: A Royal Commission recommended that the town's county borough status should be abolished. The fortunes of Merthyr revived temporarily during World War II , as war-related industry was established in the area. In the post-war years the local economy became increasingly reliant on light manufacturing , often providing employment for women rather than men. In 1987, the iron foundry , all that remained of
156-427: A chapel, Jerusalem Chapel, Greenfield School and an Integrated Children's Centre. The mountain above Pentrebach has become popular with hang glider pilots in recent years. Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Merthyr Tydfil County Borough ( Welsh : Bwrdeistref Sirol Merthyr Tudful ) is a county borough (since 1908) in the south-east of Wales . In 2022, it had an estimated population of 58,883, making it
208-502: A combination of the ruthless collection of debts, frequent wage reductions when the value of iron periodically fell, and the imposition of truck shops . Some workers were paid in specially minted coins or credit notes, known as "truck" which could only be exchanged at shops owned by their employers. Many of the workers objected to both the price and quality of the goods sold in these shops. Some 7,000 to 10,000 workers marched and, for four days, magistrates and ironmasters were under siege in
260-535: A notable collection of Egyptian tomb artefacts, including several sarcophagi . On 21 October 1966 a colliery tip slid down a mountain at Aberfan , 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Merthyr, covering the village school and causing the Aberfan disaster . In 1992, while testing a new angina treatment in Merthyr Tydfil, researchers discovered that the new drug had erection-stimulating side effects for some of
312-448: A small prayer hall. The charming Merthyr Synagogue was consecrated in 1875 and a cemetery at Cefn-Coed was established in the 1860s. During the first few decades of the 19th century, the ironworks at Dowlais and Cyfarthfa continued to expand and at their peak were the most productive ironworks in the world. 50,000 tons of rails left just one ironworks in 1844, to enable expansion of railways across Russia to Siberia . At its peak,
364-470: Is a significant proportion of the community who are long-term unemployed . In Britain today, Merthyr Tydfil: A Channel 4 programme rated Merthyr Tydfil as the third worst place to live in Britain in 2006 following areas of London. However, in the 2007 edition of the same programme, Merthyr had 'improved' to fifth worst place to live. Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council is the governing body for
416-654: Is also known for its thriving music scene. The county borough has produced several bands which have achieved national success, including The Blackout from Heolgerrig and Midasuno from Troedyrhiw . Since 2011 Cyfarthfa Park has now also become the home of the Merthyr Rock Festival, and from 2009 until 2012 a weekend Welsh language music festival, Bedroc, was held at Bedlinog , featuring major Welsh language acts, together with local artists including Welsh language activist Jamie Bevan with bands Y Betti Galws and Y Gweddillion (The Remnants). The County Borough
468-614: Is home to Parc Taff Bargoed and the Summit Centre (formerly Welsh International Climbing Centre). Settlements of interest include Bedlinog , Quakers Yard , Nelson , Trelewis , and Treharris . Road improvements mean the county borough is increasingly a commuter location and has shown some of the highest house price growth in the UK. Regular rail services operate from Merthyr Tydfil railway station , through stations at Pentrebach , Troedyrhiw , Merthyr Vale and Quakers Yard in
520-898: Is located in a South Wales Valleys environment overlapping into the south of the Brecon Beacons National Park, and this, along with the area's rich history, means it has huge potential for tourism in Wales . National Cycle Route 8 passes through the County Borough. The Brecon Mountain Railway is located within the Brecon Beacons National Park, in the north of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, starting at Pant and currently running to Dolygaer (though there are plans to extend it further). The Fforest Fawr Geopark , designated in 2005 in respect of
572-585: Is now Merthyr Tydfil County Borough was situated close to reserves of iron ore , coal , limestone and water, making it an ideal site for ironworks . Small-scale iron working and coal mining had been carried out at some places in South Wales since the Tudor period , but in the wake of the Industrial Revolution the demand for iron led to the rapid expansion of Merthyr's iron operations in
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#1732782805799624-608: The Bedlinog ward from Gelligaer Urban District. Civil parishes in Wales were replaced at the same time with communities , with the borough of Merthyr Tydfil initially comprising three communities in 1974: Merthyr Tydfil (covering the area of the pre-1974 county borough), Vaynor, and Bedlinog. The communities within the borough were reorganised in 1983, when the Merthyr Tydfil community was split into ten communities: Cyfarthfa , Dowlais , Gurnos , Merthyr Vale , Pant , Park , Penydarren , Town , Treharris , and Troed-y-rhiw . Of
676-511: The Brecon and Merthyr Railway , Vale of Neath Railway , Taff Vale Railway and Great Western Railway . They often shared routes to enable access to coal mines and ironworks through rugged country, which presented great engineering challenges. In 1804, the world's first railway steam locomotive , "The Iron Horse", developed by the Cornish engineer Richard Trevithick , pulled 10 tons of iron on
728-601: The Candy Group ) has its registered office in the town and remained a major employer until it transferred production abroad in March 2009, resulting in the loss of 337 jobs after the closure of its factory. Penydarren Country XI Cricket Club is the oldest established cricket club in the Merthyr Tydfil County Borough. Penydarren Country XI Cricket Club was founded in 1971 and currently play at
780-560: The Ffos-y-fran Opencast mine . Merthyr Tydfil has a long and varied industrial heritage , and was one of the seats of the Industrial Revolution . Since the end of the Second World War , much of this has declined, with the closure of long-established coal mining collieries, and both steel and ironworks . Despite recent improvements, some parts of the County Borough remain economically disadvantaged, and there
832-558: The Local Government Act 1894 , local boards such as the Merthyr Tydfil Local Board were reconstituted as urban districts with effect from 31 December 1894. Shortly afterwards the new council commissioned the construction of Merthyr Tydfil Town Hall , which opened in 1898. The Merthyr Tydfil Urban District was elevated to municipal borough status in 1905. Three years later, in 1908, the borough
884-466: The Castle Hotel, and the protesters effectively controlled Merthyr. Soldiers, called in from Brecon , clashed with the rioters, and several on both sides were killed. Despite the hope that they could negotiate with the owners, the skilled workers lost control of the movement. Several of the supposed leaders of the riots were arrested. One of them, Richard Lewis, popularly known as Dic Penderyn ,
936-441: The County Borough to Cardiff Queen Street and Cardiff Central . Public transport links to Cardiff are being improved. Modern-day Merthyr relies on a combination of public sector and manufacturing and service sector companies to provide employment. The Welsh Assembly Government has recently opened a major office just outside the town centre near a large telecommunications call centre (T-Mobile). Hoover (now part of
988-643: The Dowlais Iron Company operated 18 blast furnaces and employed 7,300 people, and by 1857 had constructed the world's most powerful rolling mill. The companies were mainly owned by two dynasties, the Guest and Crawshay families. One of the famous members of the Guest family was Lady Charlotte Guest who translated the Mabinogion into English from its original Welsh . The families also supported
1040-687: The Evostick Southern Football League and play home games at Penydarren Park . The club had their proudest moment in 1987, when having won the Welsh Cup and qualified for the European Cup Winners Cup , they beat Italian football team Atalanta 2–1 at Penydarren Park. The town was once home to a fully professional Football League club, Merthyr Town F.C. , which folded in the 1930s and Merthyr Tydfil AFC were founded in 1945. The year of 2008 marked
1092-613: The Hoover Electric Washing Machine, and at one point Hoover was the largest employer in the borough. Later the Sinclair C5 was built the same factory. Several other companies built factories, including the aviation components company Teddington Aircraft Controls, which opened in 1946. The Teddington factory closed in the early 1970s. The local Merthyr Tydfil Institute for the Blind, founded in 1923, remains
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#17327828057991144-498: The ICI Rifle Fields Ground. The club's most successful players are Paul Crump and Kerry Morgan . Merthyr is particularly known for its boxers , both amateur and professional . Famous professional pugilists from the town include: Johnny Owen , Howard Winstone and Eddie Thomas . In sporting terms, Merthyr is widely recognised for the town's football team, Merthyr Town . 'The Martyrs' currently compete in
1196-467: The Merthyr Road. Locomotives had to tip their chimneys while going through this tunnel due to the tunnel clearance. Pentrebach has its own railway station . This opened in 1886 on the standard gauge Taff Vale Railway which runs from Cardiff to Merthyr Tydfil alongside the River Taff . The original purpose of the railway was to carry iron ore to Cardiff Docks . In 1862, on the south side of
1248-547: The Pontmorlais area into a cultural quarter. With references to the 1831 Merthyr Rising and the red bricks of its facade, a new arts and creative industries centre was launched in Merthyr Tydfil Town Hall on Saint David's Day 2014 under the name "Redhouse Cymru". Merthyr has several historical and heritage groups: Merthyr Tydfil's Central Library, which is in a prominent position in the centre of
1300-579: The Zoar Chapel and the adjacent vestry building in Pontmorlais into a community arts venue: Canolfan Soar and Theatr Soar, who now run a whole programme of performance events and activities through both the Welsh and English languages, together with a cafe and book shop, specialising in local interest and Welsh language books and CDs. Merthyr Tydfil Housing Association, working in partnership with Canolfan Soar, has been successful in raising funding to turn
1352-587: The area's outstanding geological and cultural heritage, also falls within the northern border of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough. The borough was awarded European funding as part of the Interreg Collabor8 project, and will be working in partnership with the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority to promote the region across Europe. The Taff Bargoed Valley is increasingly becoming an area for outdoor activities and
1404-594: The area. It consists of 33 councillors representing 11 wards . The current Member of Parliament for the Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney constituency is Gerald Jones MP, while the Senedd member is Dawn Bowden MS. The county borough is divided into twelve communities . Only one of the communities has a community council, being Bedlinog (also covering Trelewis ), in the Taff Bargoed Valley to
1456-447: The built-up area of Swansea , covering several parishes, then exceeded 10,000). By 1851 Merthyr had overtaken Swansea to become the largest town in Wales with 46,378 inhabitants. By this time, Irish immigrants made up 10% of the local population, and there were substantial numbers of English , together with some Spaniards and Italians . A Jewish community was established some time after 1841, and by 1851, they were able to establish
1508-410: The business. His House was later used as an old people's home, and today has been converted into a Brewers Fayre Restaurant with a Premier Inn attached. The original Merthyr Tramroad , built in 1802, ran alongside the site of the modern day village, on its way from penydarren to Abercynon , though very little of the village had been built at that time. A tunnel still exists, which can be visited on
1560-713: The centenary of football having been played at Penydarren Park (1908 – 2008). After going into liquidation in 2010, the club switched grounds to. Treharris Athletic Western F.C. play at the Athletic Ground in Treharris. The club play in the Welsh Football League Division Two . Merthyr Tydfil Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include
1612-424: The east of the borough. The Bedlinog community covers the area that was transferred to the borough of Merthyr Tydfil in 1974 from Gelligaer Urban District under the Local Government Act 1972 . Merthyr Tydfil was an ancient parish within the county of Glamorgan . As well as the village of Merthyr Tydfil itself, the parish covered much of the upper Taff Valley , including settlements stretching from Dowlais in
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1664-449: The establishment of schools for their workers. Thomas Carlyle visited Merthyr town in 1850, writing that it was filled with such "unguided, hard-worked, fierce, and miserable-looking sons of Adam I never saw before. Ah me ! It is like a vision of Hell, and will never leave me, that of these poor creatures broiling, all in sweat and dirt, amid their furnaces, pits, and rolling mills." The Merthyr Rising of 1831 were precipitated by
1716-550: The former Dowlais ironworks, finally closed, marking the end of 228 years continuous production on one site. Immediately following the Second World War , several large companies set up in Merthyr. In October 1948 the American-owned Hoover Company opened a large washing machine factory and depot in the village of Pentrebach , a few miles south of the town. The factory was purpose-built to manufacture
1768-417: The healthy volunteers in the trial study. This discovery would go on to form the basis for Viagra . In 2006 inventor Howard Stapleton, based in Merthyr Tydfil, developed the technology that has given rise to the recent mosquitotone or Teen Buzz phenomenon. In 2006, a large open cast coal mine , which will extract 10 million tonnes of coal over 15 years, was authorised just east of Dowlais as part of
1820-514: The local area and abroad. They include Ynysowen Male Choir, Treharris Male Voice Choir, Dowlais Male Voice Choir, Merthyr Tydfil Ladies Choir, Cantorion Cyfarthfa, and the mixed-voice choir Con Voce. Merthyr Tydfil County Borough has held many cultural events. Local poets and writers hold poetry evenings in the town, and music festivals are organised at Cyfarthfa Castle and Park. With this in mind, Menter Iaith Merthyr Tudful (The Merthyr Tydfil Welsh Language Initiative) have successfully transformed
1872-521: The momentum that led to the Reform Act . The Chartism movement, which did not consider these reforms extensive enough, was subsequently active in Merthyr. The steel and coal industries began to decline after World War I , and by the 1930s, they had all closed. By 1932, more than 80% of men in Dowlais were unemployed; Merthyr experienced an out-migration of 27,000 people in the 1920s and 1930s, and
1924-571: The newly constructed Merthyr Tramway from Penydarren to Abercynon . A replica of this now resides in the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea. The tramway passed through what is arguably the oldest railway tunnel in the world, part of which can still be seen alongside Pentrebach Road at the lower end of the town. The 1801 census recorded the population of Merthyr as 7705, the most populous parish in Wales (however,
1976-456: The north to Aberfan and Treharris in the south. It was governed by its parish vestry , in the same way as most rural parishes. As the area rapidly developed during the industrial revolution, it was decided that a more formal type of local government was required, particularly to oversee sanitation and public health in the parish. The parish was made a Local Board District on 19 June 1850, governed by an elected local board of health. Under
2028-528: The north. What is now Merthyr Tydfil town centre was originally little more than a village. An ironworks existed in the parish in the Elizabethan period , but it did not survive beyond the early 1640s at the latest. In 1754, it was recorded that the valley was almost entirely populated by shepherds . Farm produce was traded at many markets and fairs, notably the Waun Fair above Dowlais . What
2080-472: The northern half of the County Borough. The Dowlais Ironworks was founded by what would become the Dowlais Iron Company in 1759, making it the first major works in the area. It was followed in 1765 by the Cyfarthfa Ironworks . The Plymouth Ironworks were initially in the same ownership as Cyfarthfa, but passed after the death of Anthony Bacon to Richard Hill in 1788. The fourth ironworks
2132-401: The oldest active manufacturer in the town. The Gurnos housing estate was established by Merthyr Tydfil Council in the early 1950s and expanded over many years. Cyfarthfa, the former home of the ironmaster William Crawshay II , an opulent mock-castle, is now a museum. It houses a number of paintings of the town, a large collection of artefacts from the town's Industrial Revolution period, and
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2184-444: The proposal. County boroughs were abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 , when a system of upper-tier counties and lower-tier districts was applied across Wales. On 1 April 1974 Merthyr Tydfil became a lower-tier district with borough status within the new county of Mid Glamorgan . The new borough was also given a larger territory than the old county borough, gaining the parish of Vaynor from Brecknockshire and
2236-458: The smallest local authority in Wales by population. It is located in the historic county of Glamorgan and takes its name from the town with the same name . The county borough consists of the northern part of the Taff Valley and the smaller neighbouring Taff Bargoed Valley . It borders the counties of Rhondda Cynon Taf to the west, Caerphilly County Borough to the east, and Powys to
2288-811: The town, is a Carnegie library . Merthyr Tydfil hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1881 and 1901 and the national youth Eisteddfod in 1987. Since 2005 a free multi-cultural festival, Global Village, has been held in Cyfarthfa Park, featuring music, dance, literature, arts and crafts, food and information stalls, workshops and performances from cultures from across the globe, including African music and dance , Thai dance , Japanese Taiko drumming , Native American Hoop Dance , didgeridoo music, Welsh harp , Irish folk music , Welsh folk dance , Indian dance and music , Portuguese Fado singing and much more. Merthyr, like nearby Aberdare ,
2340-460: The twelve communities in the borough, only Bedlinog has a community council. Further local government reorganisation in 1996 saw Wales divided into unitary authorities, called either counties or county boroughs. Merthyr Tydfil became a county borough again on 1 April 1996, taking over county-level functions from the abolished Mid Glamorgan County Council . Merthyr Tydfil County Borough is home to several established choirs who perform frequently in
2392-616: The village lies the Mynydd Cilfach-yr-Encil which rises up to 445 metres (1,460 ft). Pentrebach is part of the Plymouth electoral ward which covers Pentrebach, Abercanaid and Troedyrhiw . The village was founded at the time that John Guest built the Plymouth Ironworks in 1763. The name Guest became part of the Guest, Keen and Nettelfold company ( GKN ). In 1818 Anthony Hill took over ownership of
2444-627: The village on a site where the South Duffryn Colliery was located. This plant manufactured Forklift and at one time employed circa 500 people. The plant closed in 2013. but the site has since been taken over by U.S. defence contractor General Dynamics to produce armoured vehicles for the British Army . Pentrebach has two clubs: The Hills Plymouth Cricket Club, and the Pentrebach working men's club . Pentrebach also has
2496-404: The village, The South Duffryn Colliery was opened with two shafts which were 250 metres (820 ft) deep. At the height of the production there were some 1300 men employed there. An opencast mine was also located on the mountainside above the village. The Plymouth Ironworks closed in 1882 and the South Duffryn Colliery ceased production in 1940. After the war, new industries were attracted to
2548-536: The village. In 1945, the Kayser Bondor Factory opened making underwear, followed in 1948 by the establishment of the Hoover factory manufacturing washing machines. The factory later produced the Sinclair C5 battery-powered three-wheeler car. On Friday, 6 March 2009, Hoover confirmed that it was to cease production of washing machines and other laundry products at the factory. Linde set up a factory in
2600-459: Was Penydarren built by Francis Homfray and Samuel Homfray after 1784. The demand for iron was fuelled by the Royal Navy , who needed cannon for their ships, and later by the railways. In 1802, Admiral Lord Nelson visited Merthyr to witness cannon being made. Several railway companies established routes that linked Merthyr with coastal ports or other parts of Britain. They included
2652-494: Was elevated to county borough status, taking over the county-level services previously provided by Glamorgan County Council in the area. This was despite protests from the southern part of the borough, where it was claimed that links were stronger with Pontypridd . In 1935, a Royal Commission argued that Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, then heavily burdened by the cost of maintaining many unemployed people, should be abolished and merged with Glamorgan. The county council refused
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#17327828057992704-477: Was hanged for the crime of stabbing a soldier named Donald Black in the leg. Lewis became known as the first local working-class martyr. Alexander Cordell 's low-brow novel The Fire People is set in this period. A more serious political history of these events, The Merthyr Rising was written by the Merthyr-born Marxist writer Professor Gwyn A. Williams in 1978. The rising helped create
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