106-729: The River Taff ( Welsh : Afon Taf ) is a river in Wales . It rises in the Brecon Beacons as two rivers, the Taf Fechan ("little Taff") and the Taf Fawr ("great Taff") before becoming one just north of Merthyr Tydfil . At Cardiff , it empties into the Bristol Channel . The river supports several species of migratory fish , including salmon , sewins (sea trout), and eels . From its confluence at Cefn-coed-y-cymmer,
212-400: A comprehensive school in 1970, under the name Cyfarthfa High School . The Entrance Hall is one of the most elegant rooms of the house and this is where the shop and reception area are located. Much of the decoration has a mock-Tudor feel; the small shields around the frieze, the tall pillars round the windows, huge Gothic doors and the superb red and clear glass windows that fill the rear of
318-441: A Welsh Language Scheme, which indicates its commitment to the equality of treatment principle. This is sent out in draft form for public consultation for a three-month period, whereupon comments on it may be incorporated into a final version. It requires the final approval of the now defunct Welsh Language Board ( Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg ). Thereafter, the public body is charged with implementing and fulfilling its obligations under
424-594: A Welsh-language edge inscription was used on pound coins dated 1985, 1990 and 1995, which circulated in all parts of the UK prior to their 2017 withdrawal. The wording is Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad (Welsh for 'True am I to my country'), and derives from the national anthem of Wales, " Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau ". UK banknotes are in English only. Some shops employ bilingual signage. Welsh sometimes appears on product packaging or instructions. The UK government has ratified
530-663: A census glossary of terms to support the release of results from the census, including their definition of "main language" as referring to "first or preferred language" (though that wording was not in the census questionnaire itself). The wards in England with the most people giving Welsh as their main language were the Liverpool wards of Central and Greenbank ; and Oswestry South in Shropshire . The wards of Oswestry South (1.15%), Oswestry East (0.86%) and St Oswald (0.71%) had
636-544: A clay core. The clay had to be imported, and for this purpose a private branch line was built from the Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway near Torpantau railway station . The contract for the work was given to William Jones of Neath, and the project was completed in 1884. Now decommissioned, the water level when the reservoir was full was at 1,413 feet (431 m) above Ordnance Datum , and it held 74 million imperial gallons (340 Ml). The Upper Neuadd Reservoir
742-406: A cost of approximately £30,000 using locally quarried stone. The castle has 15 towers and 72 rooms. The mistress of the house was Rose Mary Crawshay from 1846 to the death of her husband in 1889. She lived until 1907 but made her home elsewhere. The castle was sold in 1908 to the local council, who were initially unsure as to what purpose it should be put. Eventually, they decided to use part of
848-786: A deep wooded gorge before flowing into the Taf Fawr above the confluence with the Taf Fechan , emerges into the river from a deep, narrow gorge. The Taff continues south through the centre of Merthyr Tydfil , where it is joined by the Nant Morlais which emerges at Abermorlais from a culvert in the east bank. Just south of Merthyr weir, the Nant Rhydycar joins. South of Merthyr, the Taff begins to meander its way between Pentrebach and Abercanaid and through Troed-y-rhiw , Merthyr Vale and Aberfan towards Quakers Yard . Here,
954-404: A large funnel with convex sides and concrete ribs. Both are grade II listed, together with the dam and a lattice steel bridge. The filter house, with its twelve rapid gravity filter beds, which have been little altered since 1923, is also listed, as are the turbine house, which controlled how much water flowed over the weir, and the compensation basin below that, which is used to regulate the flow in
1060-489: A lower one of 6,400 acres (26 km). Any works had to provide compensation water to maintain the flow in the Taf Fawr, and working on the upper area first meant that the Corporation only had to supply 3 million imperial gallons (14 Ml) per day of compensation flow until work started on the lower area. Cantref Reservoir , the lower of the two in the upper area, was constructed first. Work began on 4 May 1886 and
1166-479: A single discourse (known in linguistics as code-switching ). Welsh speakers are largely concentrated in the north and west of Wales, principally Gwynedd , Conwy County Borough , Denbighshire , Anglesey , Carmarthenshire , north Pembrokeshire , Ceredigion , parts of Glamorgan , and north-west and extreme south-west Powys . However, first-language and other fluent speakers can be found throughout Wales. Welsh-speaking communities persisted well into
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#17327726276991272-418: A single span of 55 feet (16.8 m) and a width of 14 feet (4.3 m). It carries a date plaque stating it was built in 1811, but that probably refers to an earlier wooden bridge, and the main arch was rebuilt in 1993. The river turns to the east to flow around the southern edge of Treharris , and then in a large loop around higher ground on which is Goitre-Coed. Three listed bridges cross the loop. The first
1378-506: A tinning house, a smithy, a rolling mill, and the retaining wall for the leat. The leat had seven sluices with gates to feed the works, but all have been bricked up. In the early 1840s the South Wales Railway was trying to find a suitable site for a railway station, but the area that is now Cardiff Central railway station was prone to flooding. At this point the main route of the Taff was around Cardiff Castle and down what
1484-469: A water level at 1,506 feet (459 m), it was one of a very small number of artificial lakes built above the 1,500-foot (457 m) contour. The dam had a small tower to the west, and a larger one to the east, below which a tunnel outlet built in Piranesi style sat at the base of the dam. Neuadd House, built as part of the reservoir project in 1896, is just downstream from the dam. An octagonal building at
1590-505: A weir between them. Nant Rhyd-y-car joins on the west bank at Cae-draw, just before the A4102 crosses. As it approaches Abercanaid Industrial Estate, the railway from Merthyr Tydfil railway station joins the east bank of the river and runs parallel to it for much of its length. It curves around the eastern edge of Abercanaid , below which it is crossed by the A4060 road bridge. At Troed-y-rhiw
1696-454: A ‘Splash Pad’, a 9-hole golf course, bowling grounds and tennis courts, and a fishing lake. The park also hosts events throughout the year such as car shows, horse shows and concerts. On 30 June 2007, Donny Osmond , who traces his family history to Merthyr Tydfil, performed the 'Donny Comes Home' concert in the park grounds. The concert was attended by 15,000 people despite unseasonably heavy rain. On 26 July 2008, Status Quo performed in
1802-564: Is grade II* listed as its history and architecture surpass that of most other railway viaducts in Wales. On the west bank are the remains of a leat, constructed in 1766 for the Cyfarthfa Ironworks . It is fed by a stone weir with a cast iron sluice. Parts of the leat are cut into solid rock, and parts have stone walls and buttresses. The river is joined by the Taf Fechan near Cyfarthfa Castle . The Taf Fechan rises immediately to
1908-405: Is 92 feet (28 m) high and 420 feet (128 m) long. Just to the south of the viaduct is Pont-sarn, a stone bridge built in 1864 after the previous wooden one collapsed. This occurred because the parishes of Merthyr and Vaynor were supposed to maintain it jointly, but could not agree, and so it became dilapidated. There were proposals to widen it in 1955, but the plans were withdrawn when there
2014-423: Is Pontypridd Bridge, a high-arched single span of 140 feet (43 m). It was built in 1756 by an Independent minister and self-taught civil engineer called William Edwards, and was his third attempt, after his two earlier bridges collapsed. It features three round openings in its spandrels, a device he used to relieve the pressure on an unusually wide arch. It was repaired by Edward David and Thomas Evan in 1798, and
2120-990: Is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people . Welsh is spoken natively in Wales , by some in England , and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province , Argentina ). It is spoken by smaller numbers of people in Canada and the United States descended from Welsh immigrants, within their households (especially in Nova Scotia ). Historically, it has also been known in English as "British", "Cambrian", "Cambric" and "Cymric". The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 gave
2226-517: Is a castellated mansion that was the home of the Crawshay family , ironmasters of Cyfarthfa Ironworks in Park , Merthyr Tydfil , Wales . The house commanded a view of the valley and the works, which ‘at night, offer a truly magnificent scene, resembling the fabled Pandemonium, but on which the eye may gaze with pleasure’. Cyfarthfa loosely translates from the Welsh for place of barking . The reason
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#17327726276992332-550: Is attached to the newer Victoria Bridge on its south side. On the east bank is Ynysangharad Park , where there is an Arts and Crafts lido, designed in the 1920s and opened in 1923. It is now disused, but is grade II listed, as it is one of the earliest outdoor lidos in South Wales. On the west bank, the river is joined by the Afon Rhondda , before it sweeps to the east in a large bend. The A4058 dual carriageway crosses
2438-563: Is available throughout Europe on satellite and online throughout the UK. Since the digital switchover was completed in South Wales on 31 March 2010, S4C Digidol became the main broadcasting channel and fully in Welsh. The main evening television news provided by the BBC in Welsh is available for download. There is also a Welsh-language radio station, BBC Radio Cymru , which was launched in 1977. Cyfarthfa Castle Cyfarthfa Castle ( Welsh : Castell Cyfarthfa ; [kəˈvarθva] )
2544-688: Is considered to have lasted from then until the 14th century, when the Modern Welsh period began, which in turn is divided into Early and Late Modern Welsh. The word Welsh is a descendant, via Old English wealh, wielisc , of the Proto-Germanic word * Walhaz , which was derived from the name of the Celtic people known to the Romans as Volcae and which came to refer to speakers of Celtic languages, and then indiscriminately to
2650-563: Is hunting dogs were regularly heard in this area of the town, hunting polecats and weasels among others. Despite appearing to be a fortified building, it is a house built in the style of a large mansion with a large kitchen, bake house and dairy, billiard room, library, and a range of reception rooms. In addition, there is a brew house, icehouse and extensive storage cellars that used to contain over 15,000 individual bottles of wines and spirits such as Sherry , Champagne , Whiskey , Brandy , Madeira Wine , and over 7,500 bottles of port. Adjoining
2756-686: Is now Westgate Street , with the lands where Cardiff Arms Park and the Millennium Stadium are now sited tidal flats which were prone to flood. Isambard Kingdom Brunel 's solution was to divert the Taff to the west, creating a larger and safer site for the station. The station was opened by the South Wales Railway in 1850. Underneath the Cefn Coed Viaduct , the Nant Ffrwd , a tributary that runs eastward in
2862-570: Is one of the earliest railway bridges, but was in poor condition in 2002, as is the Victoria Bridge, which was also rebuilt in 1815. Continuing to the south-west, the river is crossed by the A472 and A470 roads, and at Abercynon is crossed by the B4275 road. Immediately to the south of the bridge was an aqueduct carrying the defunct Glamorganshire Canal over the river. The Afon Cynon joins on
2968-511: Is the label attached to the Welsh of the 12th to 14th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This is the language of nearly all surviving early manuscripts of the Mabinogion , although the tales themselves are certainly much older. It is also the language of the existing Welsh law manuscripts. Middle Welsh is reasonably intelligible to a modern-day Welsh speaker. The Bible translations into Welsh helped maintain
3074-424: Is thought to be the earliest multi-span railway bridge still in existence in the world. Two more modern road bridges are located on its south side, and further downstream is Castle Bridge, a narrow structure with three arches dating from the early 19th century. It formerly carried a road, but is now only used by pedestrians. Next there is a large, crescent-shaped weir, which was built in 1834–5 to provide water power to
3180-732: The Cynfeirdd or "Early Poets" – is generally considered to date to the Primitive Welsh period. However, much of this poetry was supposedly composed in the Hen Ogledd , raising further questions about the dating of the material and language in which it was originally composed. This discretion stems from the fact that Cumbric was widely believed to have been the language used in Hen Ogledd. An 8th-century inscription in Tywyn shows
3286-500: The 2016 Australian census , 1,688 people noted that they spoke Welsh. In the 2011 Canadian census , 3,885 people reported Welsh as their first language . According to the 2021 Canadian census , 1,130 people noted that Welsh was their mother tongue. The 2018 New Zealand census noted that 1,083 people in New Zealand spoke Welsh. The American Community Survey 2009–2013 noted that 2,235 people aged five years and over in
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3392-466: The 2021 census , 7,349 people in England recorded Welsh to be their "main language". In the 2011 census, 1,189 people aged three and over in Scotland noted that Welsh was a language (other than English) that they used at home. It is believed that there are as many as 5,000 speakers of Patagonian Welsh . In response to the question 'Does the person speak a language other than English at home?' in
3498-538: The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Welsh. The language has greatly increased its prominence since the creation of the television channel S4C in November 1982, which until digital switchover in 2010 broadcast 70 per cent of Channel 4's programming along with a majority of Welsh language shows during peak viewing hours. The all-Welsh-language digital station S4C Digidol
3604-756: The Polish name for Italians) have a similar etymology. The Welsh term for the language, Cymraeg , descends from the Brythonic word combrogi , meaning 'compatriots' or 'fellow countrymen'. Welsh evolved from Common Brittonic , the Celtic language spoken by the ancient Celtic Britons . Classified as Insular Celtic , the British language probably arrived in Britain during the Bronze Age or Iron Age and
3710-648: The Taff Bargoed , Nant Mafon and then down into Abercynon in the Cynon Valley where the Afon Cynon merge with the Taff and, slightly further downstream the Nant Clydach joins. At Pontypridd it is joined by the Afon Rhondda . From Pontypridd, it runs roughly south before arriving at the northern boundary of the city of Cardiff . In Cardiff, the natural course of the river was changed during
3816-461: The Treforest tinplate works . The sluice to control the flow of water to the works is at the western end of the weir, and probably dates from a little later. The works continued in operation until 1939, and a fish ladder was added in 2003, to allow migrating fish to access the upper river. Many of the building still exist, some distance to the south of the weir, including a casting house, a workshop,
3922-640: The United States spoke Welsh at home. The highest number of those (255) lived in Florida . Sources: Calls for the Welsh language to be granted official status grew with the establishment of the nationalist political party Plaid Cymru in 1925, the establishment of the Welsh Language Society in 1962 and the rise of Welsh nationalism in the later 20th century. Of the six living Celtic languages (including two revived), Welsh has
4028-542: The "hugely important role", adding, "I look forward to working with the Welsh Government and organisations in Wales in developing the new system of standards. I will look to build on the good work that has been done by the Welsh Language Board and others to strengthen the Welsh language and ensure that it continues to thrive." First Minister Carwyn Jones said that Huws would act as a champion for
4134-596: The 1880s identified a small part of Shropshire as still then speaking Welsh, with the "Celtic Border" passing from Llanymynech through Oswestry to Chirk . The number of Welsh-speaking people in the rest of Britain has not yet been counted for statistical purposes. In 1993, the Welsh-language television channel S4C published the results of a survey into the numbers of people who spoke or understood Welsh, which estimated that there were around 133,000 Welsh-speaking people living in England, about 50,000 of them in
4240-536: The 1993 Act nor secondary legislation made under it covers the private sector, although some organisations, notably banks and some railway companies, provide some of their information in Welsh. On 7 December 2010, the Welsh Assembly unanimously approved a set of measures to develop the use of the Welsh language within Wales. On 9 February 2011 this measure, the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 ,
4346-874: The 19th century; from Cardiff Castle it now follows an artificial riverbed west of where it previously flowed, following a path through Bute Park , past the Cardiff Arms Park and the Principality Stadium . The Taff flows into Cardiff Bay , an artificial lake created by the construction of the Cardiff Bay Barrage in the 1990s, before flowing into the Severn Estuary . 51°28′N 3°11′W / 51.467°N 3.183°W / 51.467; -3.183 Welsh language Welsh ( Cymraeg [kəmˈraːiɡ] or y Gymraeg [ə ɡəmˈraːiɡ] )
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4452-486: The Assembly which confirms the official status of the Welsh language; which creates a strong advocate for Welsh speakers and will improve the quality and quantity of services available through the medium of Welsh. I believe that everyone who wants to access services in the Welsh language should be able to do so, and that is what this government has worked towards. This legislation is an important and historic step forward for
4558-720: The B4285 Bridge Street crosses, and the Afon Tâf High School if located on the east bank. A little further south, Ynysowen Community Primary School is on the west bank and the river curves around the eastern edge of Aberfan , part of the Merthyr Vale community. Below Aberfan, the river enters a wooded section, and the remains of the Merthyr Tramroad are sandwiched between the river and the modern railway. The Merthyr or Penydarren Tramroad
4664-550: The Greater London area. The Welsh Language Board , on the basis of an analysis of the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study, estimated there were 110,000 Welsh-speaking people in England, and another thousand in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In the 2011 census , 8,248 people in England gave Welsh in answer to the question "What is your main language?" The Office for National Statistics subsequently published
4770-753: The Taf Fechan Water Supply Board, uniting the Rhymney Valley Water Board, the Pontypridd and Rhondda Joint Water Board, the Urban District Councils of Aberdare and Llantrisant & Llantwit Fardre, and Merthyr Tydfil Corporation. The reservoir was opened by Lord Buckland of Bwlch on 21 July 1927. The valve tower is octagonal and built in Gothic style, with a copper-covered spire. The outflow is
4876-540: The Taf Fechan below the reservoir. Below the works is Pont Sticill, a single span bridge with a datestone showing it was built in 1825, which gives its name to the village. Below Pontsticill the river forms the boundary of the Brecon Beacons National Park and descends into a wooded gorge, where it is crossed by the seven-arched Pontsarn Viaduct built for the Brecon and Merthyr Railway in 1866. It
4982-496: The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, all new signs have Welsh displayed first. There have been incidents of one of the languages being vandalised, which may be considered a hate crime . Since 2000, the teaching of Welsh has been compulsory in all schools in Wales up to age 16; this has had an effect in stabilising and reversing the decline in the language. Text on UK coins tends to be in English and Latin. However,
5088-704: The Welsh Language Scheme. The list of other public bodies which have to prepare Schemes could be added to by initially the Secretary of State for Wales, from 1993 to 1997, by way of statutory instrument . Subsequent to the forming of the National Assembly for Wales in 1997, the Government Minister responsible for the Welsh language can and has passed statutory instruments naming public bodies who have to prepare Schemes. Neither
5194-667: The Welsh language official status in Wales. Welsh and English are de jure official languages of the Welsh Parliament, the Senedd , with Welsh being the only de jure official language in any part of the United Kingdom, with English being merely de facto official. According to the 2021 census , the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 538,300 (17.8%) and nearly three quarters of
5300-445: The Welsh language, though some had concerns over her appointment: Plaid Cymru spokeswoman Bethan Jenkins said, "I have concerns about the transition from Meri Huws's role from the Welsh Language Board to the language commissioner, and I will be asking the Welsh government how this will be successfully managed. We must be sure that there is no conflict of interest, and that the Welsh Language Commissioner can demonstrate how she will offer
5406-426: The Welsh of the 16th century, but they are similar enough for a fluent Welsh speaker to have little trouble understanding it. During the Modern Welsh period, there has been a decline in the popularity of the Welsh language: the number of Welsh speakers declined to the point at which there was concern that the language would become extinct. During industrialisation in the late 19th century, immigrants from England led to
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#17327726276995512-429: The Welsh-speaking heartlands, with the number dropping to under 50 per cent in Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire for the first time. However, according to the Welsh Language Use Survey in 2019–20, 22 per cent of people aged three and over were able to speak Welsh. The Annual Population Survey (APS) by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that as of March 2024, approximately 862,700, or 28.0 per cent of
5618-412: The bend at an angle, and as the river resumes its southward course, it is crossed by Machine Bridge, which is also known as Pont y Doctor, as it was built by Dr Richard Griffiths in 1809, as part of a tramway to carry coal from the Hafod Uchaf pit to the Glamorganshire Canal. It has three arches, and was widened around 1910, in an early use of reinforced concrete. Some of the 19th century fabric remains, and
5724-412: The building were also stable blocks and coach houses. The castle stands in 158-acre (64 ha) of parkland, now called Cyfarthfa Park and maintained by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council . The park is listed on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales . The castle was designed in 1824 by the architect Robert Lugar for William Crawshay II , and built at
5830-408: The census. In terms of usage, ONS also reported that 14.4 per cent (443,800) of people aged three or older in Wales reported that they spoke Welsh daily in March 2024, with 5.4 per cent (165,500) speaking it weekly and 6.5 per cent (201,200) less often. Approximately 1.7 per cent (51,700) reported that they never spoke Welsh despite being able to speak the language, with the remaining 72.0 per cent of
5936-435: The city centre and Grangetown , before emptying into Cardiff Bay , near to the mouth of the River Ely . The Taf Fawr rises below the peak of Corn Du , south-west of Pen y Fan and soon flows in a generally southerly direction through a steep-sided valley, which was identified by Cardiff's Borough Engineer John Avery Brandon Williams as the best source of water for the town when he assessed all possible sources of water for
6042-414: The course of the 20th century this monolingual population all but disappeared, but a small percentage remained at the time of the 1981 census. Most Welsh-speaking people in Wales also speak English. However, many Welsh-speaking people are more comfortable expressing themselves in Welsh than in English. A speaker's choice of language can vary according to the subject domain and the social context, even within
6148-489: The creation of Old Welsh, Davies suggests it may be more appropriate to refer to this derivative language as Lingua Britannica rather than characterising it as a new language altogether. The argued dates for the period of "Primitive Welsh" are widely debated, with some historians' suggestions differing by hundreds of years. The next main period is Old Welsh ( Hen Gymraeg , 9th to 11th centuries); poetry from both Wales and Scotland has been preserved in this form of
6254-408: The decline in Welsh speakers particularly in the South Wales Valleys. Welsh government processes and legislation have worked to increase the proliferation of the Welsh language, for example through education. Welsh has been spoken continuously in Wales throughout history; however, by 1911, it had become a minority language, spoken by 43.5 per cent of the population. While this decline continued over
6360-400: The east side of the Lower Neuadd dam is also a listed structure. The river continues southwards through a steep-sided wooded valley and is crossed by Pont Cwmyfedwen, an early- to mid-19th century single span bridge before it reaches Pentwyn Reservoir , the oldest of the four reservoirs. It was built by the Merthyr Board of Health between 1859 and February 1863, and the consulting engineer for
6466-419: The flow in the river. Below Llwyn-on, the river is crossed by the A470 Brecon to Merthyr road , the A465 Heads of the Valleys road , and as it passes to the south-west of Cefn-coed-y-cymmer , the Cefn Railway Viaduct. which consists of 15 arches built on a curve. It was to have been built of stone, but a masons strike in 1866 resulted in the Brecon and Merthyr Railway buying 800,000 bricks to complete it. It
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#17327726276996572-431: The following decades, the language did not die out. The smallest number of speakers was recorded in 1981 with 503,000 although the lowest percentage was recorded in the most recent census in 2021 at 17.8 per cent. By the start of the 21st century, numbers began to increase once more, at least partly as a result of the increase in Welsh-medium education . The 2004 Welsh Language Use Survey showed that 21.7 per cent of
6678-425: The ground floor for a museum, which still operates. The museum includes paintings, including two by James Inskipp . The rest of the building became a secondary school, and it was opened in 1913, operating as separate boys' and girls' schools. In 1945, they amalgamated, and in accordance with government policy the school was redesignated as a Grammar school under the name of Cyfarthfa Castle Grammar School. It became
6784-418: The hall, all add to the imposing grandeur. When the house was completed in 1825, the hall was the largest room and was, undoubtedly, the room in which the Crawshays held any large functions. It remained the largest room in the house until the school – which occupied the vast majority of the building from 1913 – knocked smaller rooms into one and created large halls. The ceiling depicts the white rose of Yorkshire,
6890-411: The highest number of native speakers who use the language on a daily basis, and it is the Celtic language which is considered the least endangered by UNESCO . The Welsh Language Act 1993 and the Government of Wales Act 1998 provide that the Welsh and English languages be treated equally in the public sector, as far as is reasonable and practicable. Each public body is required to prepare for approval
6996-413: The highest percentage of residents giving Welsh as their main language. The census also revealed that 3,528 wards in England, or 46% of the total number, contained at least one resident whose main language is Welsh. In terms of the regions of England , North West England (1,945), London (1,310) and the West Midlands (1,265) had the highest number of people noting Welsh as their main language. According to
7102-400: The history of Welsh, with rather indistinct boundaries: Primitive Welsh, Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh. The period immediately following the language's emergence is sometimes referred to as Primitive Welsh, followed by the Old Welsh period – which is generally considered to stretch from the beginning of the 9th century to sometime during the 12th century. The Middle Welsh period
7208-527: The language already dropping inflections in the declension of nouns. Janet Davies proposed that the origins of the Welsh language were much less definite; in The Welsh Language: A History , she proposes that Welsh may have been around even earlier than 600 AD. This is evidenced by the dropping of final syllables from Brittonic: * bardos 'poet' became bardd , and * abona 'river' became afon . Though both Davies and Jackson cite minor changes in syllable structure and sounds as evidence for
7314-431: The language, its speakers and for the nation." The measure was not welcomed warmly by all supporters: Bethan Williams, chairman of the Welsh Language Society, gave a mixed response to the move, saying, "Through this measure we have won official status for the language and that has been warmly welcomed. But there was a core principle missing in the law passed by the Assembly before Christmas. It doesn't give language rights to
7420-449: The language. As Germanic and Gaelic colonisation of Britain proceeded, the Brittonic speakers in Wales were split off from those in northern England, speaking Cumbric, and those in the southwest, speaking what would become Cornish , so the languages diverged. Both the works of Aneirin ( Canu Aneirin , c. 600 ) and the Book of Taliesin ( Canu Taliesin ) were written during this era. Middle Welsh ( Cymraeg Canol )
7526-468: The modern period across the border in England. Archenfield was still Welsh enough in the time of Elizabeth I for the Bishop of Hereford to be made responsible, together with the four Welsh bishops, for the translation of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer into Welsh. Welsh was still commonly spoken there in the first half of the 19th century, and churchwardens' notices were put up in both Welsh and English until about 1860. Alexander John Ellis in
7632-510: The newly formed Cardiff Corporation Waterworks in 1881. A bill was presented to Parliament in November 1883, and despite serious opposition from riparian landowners, Royal Assent was obtained for the Cardiff Corporation Act 1884 on 7 August. It allowed the corporation to build three reservoirs. The catchment of the upper Taf Fawr was 10,400 acres (42 km) but it was split into an upper area of 4,000 acres (16 km) and
7738-448: The number of Welsh-language speakers to one million by 2050. Since 1980, the number of children attending Welsh-medium schools has increased, while the number going to Welsh bilingual and dual-medium schools has decreased. Welsh is considered the least endangered Celtic language by UNESCO . The language of the Welsh developed from the language of Britons . The emergence of Welsh was not instantaneous and clearly identifiable. Instead,
7844-593: The original home of the Crawshay family. In December 1997, the castle was one of the proposed sites for the location of the Senedd Welsh Parliament building. The castle would have likely seen huge renovations in order to see the construction of the Y Siambr chamber and relevant government offices, including that of the First Minister of Wales . However, following debate by the government,
7950-465: The park grounds. The Museum and Art Gallery are set in restored Regency rooms and contain a superb collection of family memorabilia, fine and decorative art, curios from around the world and social history material. The Playroom is the Castle's temporary exhibition space. When the Crawshay family lived there the room had a very different purpose. This was one of several rooms that were solely for use of
8056-473: The people of Wales in every aspect of their lives. Despite that, an amendment to that effect was supported by 18 Assembly Members from three different parties, and that was a significant step forward." On 5 October 2011, Meri Huws , Chair of the Welsh Language Board , was appointed the new Welsh Language Commissioner. She released a statement that she was "delighted" to have been appointed to
8162-551: The people of the Western Roman Empire . In Old English the term went through semantic narrowing , coming to refer to either Britons in particular or, in some contexts, slaves. The plural form Wēalas evolved into the name for their territory, Wales. The modern names for various Romance-speaking people in Continental Europe (e.g. Walloons , Valaisans , Vlachs / Wallachians , and Włosi ,
8268-488: The population in Wales said they had no Welsh language skills. Other estimates suggest that 862,700 people (28.0%) aged three or older in Wales could speak Welsh in March 2024. Almost half of all Welsh speakers consider themselves fluent, while 20 per cent are able to speak a fair amount. 56 per cent of Welsh speakers speak the language daily, and 19 per cent speak the language weekly. The Welsh Government plans to increase
8374-471: The population not being able to speak it. The National Survey for Wales, conducted by Welsh Government, has also tended to report a higher percentage of Welsh speakers than the census, with the most recent results for 2022–2023 suggesting that 18 per cent of the population aged 3 and over were able to speak Welsh, with an additional 16 per cent noting that they had some Welsh-speaking ability. Historically, large numbers of Welsh people spoke only Welsh. Over
8480-502: The population of Wales aged 3 and over, were able to speak the language. Children and young people aged three to 15 years old were more likely to report that they could speak Welsh than any other age group (48.4 per cent, 241,300). Around 1,001,500 people, or 32.5 per cent, reported that they could understand spoken Welsh. 24.7 per cent (759,200) could read and 22.2 per cent (684,500) could write in Welsh. The APS estimates of Welsh language ability are historically higher than those produced by
8586-407: The population of Wales spoke Welsh, compared with 20.8 per cent in the 2001 census , and 18.5 per cent in the 1991 census . Since 2001, however, the number of Welsh speakers has declined in both the 2011 and 2021 censuses to about 538,300 or 17.8 per cent in 2021, lower than 1991, although it is still higher in absolute terms. The 2011 census also showed a "big drop" in the number of speakers in
8692-523: The project was Thomas Hawksley , but despite this, the dam was built over a geological fault, which led to large volumes of leakage. This leakage was one of the main factors that led to the construction of the Lower Neuadd Reservoir. Remedial work was carried out at regular intervals, but never seemed to last for long. Repairs undertaken in 1912/13 reduced the level of leakage from 11 to 2 million imperial gallons (50 to 9 Ml) which
8798-490: The required fresh approach to this new role." Huws started her role as the Welsh Language Commissioner on 1 April 2012. Local councils and the Senedd use Welsh, issuing Welsh versions of their literature, to varying degrees. Road signs in Wales are in Welsh and English. Prior to 2016, the choice of which language to display first was the responsibility of the local council. Since then, as part of
8904-474: The right bank, and close to the junction is spanned by a skewed railway bridge with two arches of unequal sizes. The valley then widens, and the river begins to meander. On the northern edge of Glyncoch , the river is joined by the Nant Clydach on its right bank, and to the south of the settlement is crossed by a three-bay girder viaduct, built in 1885 to carry a branch of the Taff Vale Railway over
9010-582: The river flows south, passing several towns. It picks up a few tributaries, such as the River Cynon , River Rhondda , Bargoed Taf and Nant Clydach . It flows through Pontypridd and through to Taff's Well , the site of Wales' only thermal spring. It flows underneath the M4 Motorway , before turning southeastward and flowing past the Cardiff suburbs of Radyr , Whitchurch , Llandaff , Pontcanna ,
9116-489: The river from the Pontsticill Water Treatment Works, which United Utilities operate on behalf of Dwr Cymru Welsh Water . The pollution turned the water white for at least 3 miles (5 km) downstream of the works and killed approximately 23,000 fish, including wild brown trout, bullheads , stickleback and pike , and a large number of invertebrates. Environment Agency Wales estimated that
9222-469: The river to Albion Colliery at Cilfynydd . Just to the south is White or Berw Bridge, designed by Pontypridd Urban District Council's surveyor, P R A Willoughby. It was built in 1907, aided by L G Mouchel & Partners, who pioneered the use of reinforced concrete, and the 115-foot (35 m) span over the river was the longest arch in Britain using this material when it was constructed. The next crossing
9328-490: The river would take six to twelve years to recover. The trout population had resumed breeding by 2009. Just below the confluence of the Taf Fawr and Taf Fechan, the river is crossed by the Pont-y-Cafnau tramroad bridge. This was probably the first iron railway bridge to be built, and was unusual in that it had three levels. The main deck carried the 4 ft ( 1,219 mm )-gauge Gurnos Tramway, beneath which there
9434-651: The shift occurred over a long period, with some historians claiming that it had happened by as late as the 9th century , with a watershed moment being that proposed by linguist Kenneth H. Jackson , the Battle of Dyrham , a military battle between the West Saxons and the Britons in 577 AD, which split the South Western British from direct overland contact with the Welsh. Four periods are identified in
9540-481: The site was rejected. Cyfarthfa Park is listed at Grade II* on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales . It has acres of walks and a miniature steam railway run by Merthyr Tydfil Model Engineering Society since 1987. Canolfan Cyfarthfa, a conference center, is also in the park. It has function rooms and a seasonal café, a children's playground complete with
9646-490: The south of Pen y Fan and runs southwards through three reservoirs and a former fourth, now abandoned. Whereas the Taf Fawr was the preserve of Cardiff Corporation, the Taf Fechan was used to supply water to Merthyr Tydfil Corporation. Of the Upper Neuadd and Lower Neuadd reservoirs, the lower one was built first, authorised by an Act of Parliament obtained in 1876. Like those on the Taf Fawr, it had an earth embankment with
9752-467: The third in the chain, did not start until 1911, and again, its capacity was increased by an Act obtained in 1909 to 1,260 million imperial gallons (5,700 Ml), almost double that specified in 1884. Impounding of water began on 23 June 1926, and the reservoir was full by November, but formal commissioning did not take place until May 1927. Once built, it supplied 7.75 million imperial gallons (35.2 Ml) of compensation water per day to maintain
9858-526: The use of Welsh in daily life, and standardised spelling. The New Testament was translated by William Salesbury in 1567, and the complete Bible by William Morgan in 1588. Modern Welsh is subdivided into Early Modern Welsh and Late Modern Welsh. Early Modern Welsh ran from the 15th century through to the end of the 16th century, and the Late Modern Welsh period roughly dates from the 16th century onwards. Contemporary Welsh differs greatly from
9964-470: The valley floor, and the reservoir was designed to hold 3,290 million imperial gallons (15,000 Ml), although this was subsequently increased a little by raising the water level by 12 feet (3.7 m). Completion was delayed by the onset of the First World War, and when work resumed in 1922, the Corporation used direct labour. The Taf Fechan Water Supply Act had been passed in 1921, creating
10070-529: The world in its heyday. The river runs through the western edges of Merthyr Tydfil , where it is crossed by modern bridges carrying the A4054 and A4102 roads, and by Jackson's Bridge, an early 19th century single span structure that carried the Dowlais tramway and a road. Two modern bridges in central Merthyr Tydfil carry the northbound carriageway of the A4054 across the river to its west bank and back again, with
10176-470: Was an iron trough to carry water from the Taf Fechan leat, while a second water supply was carried in a wooden launder above the tramway tracks. The cast iron structure was manufactured at the Cyfarthfa Ironworks. On the west bank of the river are the remains of the ironworks, which began operating in 1765. The artifacts include seven blast furnaces, which formed part of the largest ironworks in
10282-482: Was built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1840–41, and consists of six arches on a slight curve. It carried the single track Taff Vale Railway , but was doubled in width within 20 years, to enable it to carry twin tracks. The second was part of the Merthyr Tramroad, and was built in 1815 after the original wooden bridge collapsed into the river when a train crossed it. It has a span of 63 feet (19.2 m) and
10388-431: Was built in 1793, and was the scene of the first passenger carrying train journey in the world, when Richard Trevithick 's high pressure steam locomotive pulled wagons containing 5 tons of iron ore and seventy passengers in 1804. The tramway ceased operation around 1880, and this section, which is a scheduled monument, is particularly well preserved. The river is crossed by an old farm access bridge at Pont y Gwaith, with
10494-622: Was complete by around AD 550, and labelled the period between then and about AD 800 "Primitive Welsh". This Primitive Welsh may have been spoken in both Wales and the Hen Ogledd ('Old North') – the Brittonic-speaking areas of what are now northern England and southern Scotland – and therefore may have been the ancestor of Cumbric as well as Welsh. Jackson, however, believed that the two varieties were already distinct by that time. The earliest Welsh poetry – that attributed to
10600-513: Was completed on 14 September 1892. Construction of Beacons Reservoir , the highest in the chain, began shortly afterwards, in April 1893, in advance of the Corporation obtaining a second Act of Parliament to increase the capacity of the reservoir and to move the dam further upstream, where the foundations would be better, in the light of geological investigation. Impounding of the water began on 17 September 1897. Construction of Llwyn-on Reservoir ,
10706-531: Was constructed in 1825. Its main function was to provide the ironworks with a good supply of water, but it also fed the ornamental lake at Cyfarthfa Castle through a syphon. After passing under the A465 and the A4054 roads, the Taf Fechan merges with the Taf Fawr at the wooded confluence that gives Cefn-coed-y-cymmer its name. The river holds a large population of wild brown trout , many of which were killed in 2006 when three tonnes of aluminium sulphate spilled into
10812-518: Was passed and received Royal Assent, thus making the Welsh language an officially recognised language within Wales. The measure: The measure required public bodies and some private companies to provide services in Welsh. The Welsh government's Minister for Heritage at the time, Alun Ffred Jones , said, "The Welsh language is a source of great pride for the people of Wales, whether they speak it or not, and I am delighted that this measure has now become law. I am very proud to have steered legislation through
10918-517: Was probably spoken throughout the island south of the Firth of Forth . During the Early Middle Ages the British language began to fragment due to increased dialect differentiation, thus evolving into Welsh and the other Brittonic languages. It is not clear when Welsh became distinct. Linguist Kenneth H. Jackson has suggested that the evolution in syllabic structure and sound pattern
11024-591: Was rather larger, and was authorised by an Act of Parliament obtained in 1895. The dam which is 75 feet (23 m) high was constructed of masonry, and some 100,000 tons were carried along an extended railway to the construction site. Although the contractors Holme and King of Liverpool were employed to do much of the preparatory work, the building of the dam was carried out by direct labour, with Merthyr Corporation's surveyor, Thomas F Harvey, acting as resident engineer. Work began in 1896 and finished in 1902. It held 340 million imperial gallons (1,500 Ml), and with
11130-458: Was stiff opposition from local people. Below the bridge, the river plunges into Pwll Glas or the Blue Pool. The river continues to flow south-westwards around the hamlet of Trefechan, and as it approaches Cefn-coed-y-cymmer , there is a tramway and leat on the east bank. The tramway was built in 1792, and was used to carry limestone to the Cyfarthfa Ironworks from Gurnos quarries, while the leat
11236-468: Was sufficient until Pontsticill Reservoir could be built to impound the leaking water. The corporation had obtained the Act of Parliament to authorise it in 1911, and awarded a contract to Sir Robert McAlpine & Sons on 16 June 1913. The contract price of £232,000 included various ancillary work including diverting the roads on both sides of the valley. The top of the earth dam was 110 feet (34 m) above
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