A pit village , colliery village or mining village is a settlement built by colliery owners to house their workers. The villages were built on the coalfields of Great Britain during the Industrial Revolution where new coal mines were developed in isolated or unpopulated areas. Such settlements were developed by companies for the incoming workers.
35-744: Ushaw Moor is an old pit village in County Durham , in England , on the north side of the River Deerness . It is situated to the west of Durham , a short distance to the south of Bearpark . Ushaw Moor falls within the Deerness electoral ward in the City of Durham constituency , whose MP since 2019 has been Mary Foy . It most likely seems that the name 'Ushaw' comes from Scandinavian origin which, when translated, means 'wolves' wood'. With
70-501: A return to the pre-1939 industrial collapse after the end of the war. There was a sense of salvation when the government announced the nationalisation of British coalmines in 1947; but the following decades saw a continual reduction in the output from the Welsh mines. The decline in the mining of coal after World War II was a country-wide issue, but South Wales was more severely affected than other areas of Britain. Oil had superseded coal as
105-648: A single pit within the valleys producing coal in 1984, located at Maerdy . In 1966, the village of Aberfan in the Taff valley suffered one of the worst disasters in Welsh history , referred to today as the Aberfan disaster . A mine waste tip on the top of the mountain, which had been developed over a spring , slid down the valley side and destroyed the village junior school , killing 144 people, 116 of them children. In 1979, Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister of
140-476: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . South Wales Valleys The South Wales Valleys ( Welsh : Cymoedd De Cymru ) are a group of industrialised peri-urban valleys in South Wales . Most of the valleys run north–south, roughly parallel to each other. Commonly referred to as "The Valleys" ( Welsh : Y Cymoedd ), they stretch from Carmarthenshire in the west to Monmouthshire in
175-495: Is approximately 2 miles west of Durham and 20 miles south of Newcastle upon Tyne . The Deerness Valley Railway Path, an eight-mile stretch of scenic woodland pathway converted from the former tracks of the Deerness Valley Railway , runs through Ushaw Moor. Ushaw Moor is the location of Silver Tree Primary School and St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School. Durham Academy is the main secondary school for
210-461: Is the re-opening of services between Ebbw Vale and Newport (via the Gaer Tunnel ) which is projected to be completed by 2021. The South Wales Valleys contain a large proportion of the Welsh population and remain an important centre of Welsh culture , despite the growing economic dominance of Cardiff. The UK Parliament's first Labour Party MP , Keir Hardie , was elected from the area, and
245-527: The 1935 novel of the same name by A. J. Cronin , is set in the fictional pit village of Sleescale. The film was shot partly on location at St Helens Siddick Colliery in Workington . The novel How Green Was My Valley and the subsequent film adaptation of the same name were based in a fictional pit village in the South Wales Valleys . A fictional village in this region was the site of
280-462: The Taff valley , became Wales's largest town thanks to its growing ironworks at Dowlais and Cyfarthfa . The neighbouring Taff Bargoed Valley to the east became the centre of serious industrial and political strife during the 1930s, especially in and around the villages of Trelewis and Bedlinog , which served the local collieries of Deep Navigation and Taff Merthyr . The South Wales coalfield attracted huge numbers of people from rural areas to
315-568: The United Kingdom . Her policies of free market economics soon clashed with the loss-making, government-owned National Coal Board. In 1984 and 1985, after the government announced plans to close many mines across the UK, mineworkers went on strike . This strike, and its ultimate failure, led to the virtual destruction of the UK's coal industry over the next decade, although arguably costs of extraction and geological difficulties would have had
350-454: The rail network into Cardiff is extensive, train times and frequencies beyond Caerphilly and Pontypridd impede the development of a significant commuter market to city centre jobs. Although the housing stock is not of significantly worse quality than elsewhere in Wales, there is a lack of variety in terms of private dwellings. Many homes are low-priced, older and terraced, concentrated in
385-774: The A4054 from Quakers Yard . Stagecoach in South Wales provides bus services linking many towns and villages directly to Cardiff city centre . Many settlements in the Valleys are served by the Valley Lines network, an urban rail network radiating from Cardiff which links them to the city's stations, principally Cardiff Queen Street and Cardiff Central , with connections onto the South Wales Main Line . There are six main lines from Central Cardiff to
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#1732780560068420-520: The Lower Valleys and 71% across Wales as a whole. A relatively large number of local people are employed in manufacturing, health and social services. Fewer work in managerial or professional occupations, and more in elementary occupations, compared to the rest of the country. A large number of people commute to Cardiff, particularly in Caerphilly , Torfaen and Rhondda Cynon Taf . Though
455-460: The Valleys remain a stronghold of Labour Party power. Rugby union is very popular, and pitches can be seen along the valley corridors. The geographical shape of the valleys has its effect on culture. Roads stretch along valleys and connect the different settlements in the valley, whereas neighbouring valleys are separated by hills and mountains. Consequently, the towns in a valley are more closely associated with each other than they are with towns in
490-543: The Valleys, mainly by English entrepreneurs. This made South Wales the most important part of Britain for ironmaking until the middle of the 19th century. Second, from 1850 until the outbreak of the First World War , the South Wales Coalfield was developed to supply steam coal and anthracite . The South Wales Valleys hosted Britain's only mountainous coalfields. Topography defined the shape of
525-418: The addition of Moor we get 'the moor near the wood of wolves'. Parish registers suggests that the settlement dates to a least the sixteenth century. The village existed in a largely agricultural state, with a windmill being its one feature up till the nineteenth century. In 1804 Bishop William Gibson ordered the building of St. Cuthbert's College, later named Ushaw College , which opened in 1808. A chapel
560-557: The area are also planned to go ahead. The Valleys are home to around 30% of the Welsh population, although this is declining slowly because of emigration, especially from the Upper Valleys. The area has a relatively high proportion of residents (over 90% in Blaenau Gwent and Merthyr Tydfil ) born in Wales. The Valleys have the highest percentage of Welsh identifying population in all of Wales. Merthyr Tydfil reported
595-505: The decline of coal was the massive under-investment in Welsh mines over the past decades. Most of the mines in the valleys were sunk between the 1850s and 1880s, so they were far smaller than most modern mines. The Welsh mines were comparatively antiquated, with methods of ventilation, coal-preparation and power supply all of a decades-earlier standard. In 1945 the British coal industry as a whole cut 72% of its output mechanically, whereas in
630-400: The deliberate sacking of an elected union leader in 1881. The strike was ended when a number of policemen were brought into the village to evict the strikers and their families; such treatment was not uncommon in those times. Mr Chaytor, sick of the years of industrial unrest, sold Ushaw Moor colliery to Pease & Partners in 1883. From this time, the workmen and community had an easier life,
665-451: The east; to the edge of the pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain near the cities of Swansea , Cardiff , and Newport . Until the mid-19th century, the South Wales valleys were sparsely inhabited. The industrialisation of the Valleys occurred in two phases. First, in the second half of the 18th century, the iron industry was established on the northern edge of
700-554: The film The Proud Valley , starring Paul Robeson . Billy Elliot , set in a fictitious pit village during the miners' strike of 1984–85, was shot on location in Easington Colliery . Brassed Off was set in "Grimley", a thin veil for Grimethorpe . The depopulation of Fitzwilliam , West Yorkshire was the theme of a song by Chumbawamba and David Peace 's novel Nineteen Seventy Four . Citations Bibliography This article about geography terminology
735-410: The fuel of choice in many industries, and there was political pressure influencing the supply of oil. Of the few industries that still relied on coal, the demand was for quality coals, especially coking coal , which was required by the steel industry. Fifty percent of Glamorgan coal was now supplied to steelworks , with the second biggest market being domestic heating, in which the "smokeless" coal of
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#1732780560068770-486: The highest rate of Welsh identifying, with 70.0%. They also had the highest rates of reporting themselves to have 'No religion'. The Valleys as a whole do suffer from a number of socio-economic problems however. A high proportion of people report a limiting long-term health problem, especially in the Upper Valleys. In 2006, only 64% of the working age population in the Heads of the Valleys was in employment compared with 69% in
805-651: The late 2000s, powers over the Wales and Borders rail franchise are now held by the Welsh Government . As a result, financing has been advanced through the Cardiff City Deal for a South Wales Metro . The metro will consist of route electrification, new Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles trains manufactured at Llanwern for use in 2023, new stations, more frequent services, and faster journey times across most valleys. The first major improvement
840-500: The lowest Council Tax bands; few are higher-priced detached homes. A report for the Welsh Government concluded that the Valleys is "a distressed area unique in Great Britain for the depth and concentration of its problems". However, the area does benefit from a local landscape described as "stunning", improving road links such as the upgraded A465 , and public investment in regeneration initiatives. Following devolution in
875-515: The mining communities, with a "hand and fingers" pattern of urban development. There were fewer than 1,000 people in the Rhondda valley in 1851, 17,000 by 1870, 114,000 by 1901 and 153,000 by 1911; but the wider impact of urbanisation was constrained by geography—the Rhondda remained a collection of villages rather than a town. The population of the Valleys in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
910-584: The neighbouring valley, even when the towns in the neighbouring valley are closer on the map. The A470 from Cardiff is, as far as its junction with the A465 Heads of the Valleys road , a dual-carriageway providing direct access to Taff's Well , Pontypridd , Abercynon and Merthyr Tydfil . It links with the A4059 from Abercynon , Aberdare and Hirwaun ; the A472 from Ystrad Mynach and Pontypool , and
945-561: The new owners helping rather than opposing them. However, Ushaw Moor colliery closed in 1960, as part of the collapse of the Durham coal fields. In the last thirty years it has grown and become the centre of the Deerness Valley, becoming unusually prosperous where most pit villages have struggled. Good links with Durham and Newcastle and good local schools and amenities has meant it is very popular with first time buyers. Ushaw Moor
980-490: The rise in drug abuse in the local area, which was highlighted in the national media during the autumn of 2002 and largely linked to drug dealing gangs from Birmingham and Bristol . More recently however employment levels have risen significantly in the area, including growing faster than elsewhere in Wales. This has been driven by billions of pounds of investment into the valleys from EU structural funds, UK government and Welsh government. Significant further investments in
1015-462: The same result, perhaps a little later. No deep coal mines are left in the valleys since the closure in 2008 of Tower Colliery in the Cynon Valley . Tower had been bought by the workers in 1994, despite government attempts to close it. By 2002, the unemployment rates in the Welsh valleys were among the highest in the whole United Kingdom since the 1980s, and have been seen as a major factor in
1050-497: The south of Wales the figure was just 22%. The only way to ensure the financial survival of the mines in the valleys was massive investment from the National Coal Board , but the "Plan for Coal" drawn up in 1950 was overly optimistic about the future demand for coal, which was drastically reduced following an industrial recession in 1956 and an increased availability of oil. From 15,000 miners in 1947, Rhondda had just
1085-571: The southern Wales coalfield again became fashionable after the Clean Air Act of 1956 was passed. These two markets now controlled the fate of the mines in Wales, and as demand from both sectors fell, the mining industry contracted further. In addition exports to other areas of Europe, traditionally France, Italy and the Low Countries , experienced a massive decline: from 33% around 1900 to roughly 5% by 1980. The other major factor in
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1120-452: The valleys; and many rows of terraced housing were built along the valley sides to accommodate the influx. The coal mined in the valleys was transported south along railways and canals to Cardiff, Newport and Swansea. Cardiff was soon among the most important coal ports in the world, and Swansea among the most important steel ports. The coal mining industry of the Valleys was buoyed throughout World War II, though there were expectations of
1155-662: The village. Ushaw College , until its closure in 2011, was a Roman Catholic seminary and one of the constituent colleges of the University of Durham . The college is currently being used by Durham University Business School whilst its own site is redeveloped. Ushaw College also hosts the annual Ushaw Jazz Festival. Ushaw Moor is served by three churches: Ushaw Moor Cricket Club was established in 1881 and has 2 senior teams and 4 junior teams. [REDACTED] Media related to Ushaw Moor at Wikimedia Commons Pit village The 1939 film The Stars Look Down , based on
1190-422: Was added in 1847, followed by a library and exhibition hall. This closed in 2011 as a seminary and opened in 2014 as a visitor attraction and is known as Ushaw Historic House, Chapels & Gardens. In 1858 a drift mine was established at Ushaw Moor Colliery selling coal on the landsale system. This was purchased in 1879 by Henry Chaytor of Witton Castle . During his tenure there was a large strike, following
1225-409: Was disproportionately young and male; many of them were migrants drawn from other parts of Wales or from further afield. The new communities had extremely high birth rates—in 1840, more than 20 per cent of Tredegar 's population was aged under seven, and Rhondda's birth rate in 1911 was 36 per thousand, levels usually associated with mid-19th century Britain. Merthyr Tydfil , at the northern end of
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