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Aberfan
Aberfan () is a former coal mining village in the Taff Valley south of the town of Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. On 21 October 1966, it became known for the Aberfan disaster, when a colliery spoil tip collapsed into homes and a school, killing 116 children and 28 adults. Geography Aberfan is situated toward the bottom of the western valley slope of the River Taff, on the eastern slope of Mynydd Merthyr hill, about south of the town Merthyr Tydfil. The Taff runs north-to-south through the village; at the upper side of the settlement, on the western outskirts, a disused Glamorganshire Canal bed and a railway embankment run parallel to the river. History Aberfan consisted of two cottages and an inn frequented by local farmers and bargemen until 23 August 1869, when John Nixon and his partners started the Merthyr Vale Colliery. Between 1952 and 1965, with mountains denuded there was severe flooding in the Pantglas area of Aberfan on at least 11 occasions. By 1966 the population h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aberfan Disaster
The Aberfan disaster was the catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil tip on 21 October 1966. The tip had been created on a mountain slope above the Welsh village of Aberfan, near Merthyr Tydfil, and overlaid a natural spring. Heavy rain led to a build-up of water within the tip which caused it to suddenly slide downhill as a slurry, killing 116 children and 28 adults as it engulfed Pantglas Junior School and a row of houses. The tip was the responsibility of the National Coal Board (NCB), and the subsequent inquiry placed the blame for the disaster on the organisation and nine named employees. There were seven spoil tips on the hills above Aberfan; Tip 7—the one that slipped onto the village—was started in 1958 and, at the time of the disaster, was high. In contravention of the NCB's procedures, the tip was partly based on ground from which springs emerged. After three weeks of heavy rain the tip was saturated and approximately of spoil slipped down the side of the hil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aberfan Memorial Garden, Pantglas 3
Aberfan () is a former coal mining village in the Taff Valley south of the town of Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. On 21 October 1966, it became known for the Aberfan disaster, when a colliery spoil tip collapsed into homes and a school, killing 116 children and 28 adults. Geography Aberfan is situated toward the bottom of the western valley slope of the River Taff, on the eastern slope of Mynydd Merthyr hill, about south of the town Merthyr Tydfil. The Taff runs north-to-south through the village; at the upper side of the settlement, on the western outskirts, a disused Glamorganshire Canal bed and a railway embankment run parallel to the river. History Aberfan consisted of two cottages and an inn frequented by local farmers and bargemen until 23 August 1869, when John Nixon and his partners started the Merthyr Vale Colliery. Between 1952 and 1965, with mountains denuded there was severe flooding in the Pantglas area of Aberfan on at least 11 occasions. By 1966 the population h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aberfan Cemetery
Aberfan Cemetery (Welsh: ''Mynwent Aberfan'') is a cemetery near the village of Aberfan, Merthyr Tydfil. It is one of five cemeteries in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, and is particularly well known for the graves of 144 victims of the Aberfan disaster The Aberfan disaster was the catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil tip on 21 October 1966. The tip had been created on a mountain slope above the Welsh village of Aberfan, near Merthyr Tydfil, and overlaid a natural spring. Heavy rain led ... in 1966, when a colliery coal tip collapsed and killed many people in the village of Aberfan. The cemetery was opened in 1876, and includes Bryntaf Cemetery, an extension opened in 1913. It covers about 8 acres (3 hectares). The cemetery is Green Flag Accredited. As well as a monument to the Aberfan disaster victims, there is also a military monument to seven soldiers drowned in the Bristol Channel in 1888. References {{coord, 51.6915, -3.3481, format=dms, type:landmark_region ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merthyr Vale
Merthyr Vale ( cy, Ynysowen or ''Ynyswen'') is a linear village and community in the Welsh county borough of Merthyr Tydfil. Lying on the A4054 road it is on the east bank of the River Taff. The community includes the villages of Aberfan on the opposite side of the Taff, Mount Pleasant and the village of Merthyr Vale itself. History The area was referred to and written as Ynys Owen as early as 1630, noting that the narrow valley was heavily wooded, with various traditional longhouse (''tyddyn'') farms marking out the rural territories. Ynys Owen, which translates from Welsh to English as ''Owain's riverside meadow'', has been claimed by some possibly to commemorate Owain Glyndŵr, whose followers were involved in an uprising around 1400. There had been small scale coal extraction at Danyderi and Perthygleision, but in 1869 John Nixon (mining engineer) started development of the Taff Colliery, later to be known as the Merthyr Vale Colliery. The village immediately grew up arou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spoil Tip
A spoil tip (also called a boney pile, culm bank, gob pile, waste tip or bing) is a pile built of accumulated ''spoil'' – waste material removed during mining. These waste materials are typically composed of shale, as well as smaller quantities of Carboniferous sandstone and other residues. Spoil tips are not formed of slag, but in some areas, such as England and Wales, they are referred to as slag heaps. In Scotland the word ''bing'' is used. The term "spoil" is also used to refer to material removed when digging a foundation, tunnel, or other large excavation. Such material may be ordinary soil and rocks (after separation of coal from waste), or may be heavily contaminated with chemical waste, determining how it may be disposed of. Clean spoil may be used for land reclamation. Spoil is distinct from tailings, which is the processed material that remains after the valuable components have been extracted from ore. Etymology The phrase originates from the French word ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during her lifetime, and was head of state of 15 realms at the time of her death. Her reign of 70 years and 214 days was the longest of any British monarch and the longest verified reign of any female monarch in history. Elizabeth was born in Mayfair, London, as the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother). Her father acceded to the throne in 1936 upon the abdication of his brother Edward VIII, making the ten-year-old Princess Elizabeth the heir presumptive. She was educated privately at home and began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In November 1947, she married Philip Mountbatten, a former p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
River Taff
The River Taff ( cy, Afon Taf) is a river in Wales. It rises as two rivers in the Brecon Beacons; the Taf Fechan (''little Taff'') and the Taf Fawr (''great Taff'') before becoming one just north of Merthyr Tydfil. Its confluence with the River Severn estuary is in Cardiff. The river supports several species of migratory fish, including salmon, sewin (sea trout), and eel. Course From its confluence at Cefn-coed-y-cymmer, 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, the city centre and Grangetown, before emptying into Cardiff Bay, near to the mouth of the River Ely. Taf Fawr The Taf Fawr rises below the peak of Corn Du, south-we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mynydd Merthyr
Mynydd Merthyr is a broad ridge of high ground between Taff Vale (Welsh Cwm Taf) and the Cwm Cynon in the Valleys region of South Wales. It forms the boundary between the unitary authorities of Rhondda Cynon Taff to the west and Merthyr Tydfil to the east. The high point of 493m is at Mynydd Gethin (OS grid reference SO 044025) (though the summit trig point is at the lower height of 491m) is the culmination of a long ridge which extends northwestwards from the confluence of the Afon Cynon and the River Taff at Abercynon. The ridge includes the subsidiary summits of Twyn Brynbychan and Twyn Sych. To the northwest lies Mynydd Aberdâr. Much of the hill has been planted with coniferous forest. Its flanks are heavily scarred by mining. The village of Aberfan sits at the foot of its eastern slopes, the scene of a tragedy on 21 October 1966 when a coal tip above the village slipped and engulfed the village school killing 144 people of whom 116 were children. Geology The entire hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glamorganshire Canal
The Glamorganshire Canal in South Wales, UK, was begun in 1790. It ran along the valley of the River Taff from Merthyr Tydfil to the sea at Cardiff. The final section of canal was closed in 1951. History Construction started in 1790; being watched over by the wealthy ironmasters of Merthyr Tydfil, including Richard Crawshay of the Cyfarthfa Ironworks, the canal was thought up as a solution to the issue of transporting the goods (iron ore, coal and limestone) from the valleys to Cardiff, where they would be shipped around the world. Thomas Dadford was hired to inspect and plan a route for the canal and, with support from Lord Cardiff, the canal was authorised by Parliament on 9 June 1790. Almost £90,000 was raised in preparation of constructing the canal and would be linked to any works within four miles of the canal, through branch canals and linking railways. However, during the few miles approaching Cardiff, the canal suffered from severe water shortages, resulting in go ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merthyr Tydfil And Rhymney (UK Parliament Constituency)
Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney ( cy, Merthyr Tudful a Rhymni) is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Gerald Jones of the Welsh Labour Party. It was established for the 1983 general election. Boundaries 1983–1997: The Borough of Merthyr Tydfil, and the District of Rhymney Valley wards Nos. 5 and 14 to 20. 1997–2010: The County Borough of Merthyr Tydfil, and the Caerphilly County Borough wards of Abertysswg, Darren Valley, Moriah, New Tredegar, Pontlottyn, Tir-Phil, and Twyn Carno. 2010–present: The Merthyr Tydfil County Borough electoral divisions of Bedlinog, Cyfarthfa, Dowlais, Gurnos, Merthyr Vale, Park, Penydarren, Plymouth, Town, Treharris, and Vaynor, and the Caerphilly County Borough electoral divisions of Darran Valley, Moriah, New Tredegar, Pontlottyn, and Twyn Carno. As its name suggests, the main towns are Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney. Aberfan is also located in the constituency. The seat is bordered by th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "vesting day", 1 January 1947. In 1987, the NCB was renamed the British Coal Corporation, and its assets were subsequently privatised. Background Collieries were taken under government control during the First and Second World Wars. The Sankey Commission in 1919 gave R. H. Tawney, Sidney Webb and Sir Leo Chiozza Money the opportunity to advocate nationalisation, but it was rejected. Coal reserves were nationalised during the war in 1942 and placed under the control of the Coal Commission, but the mining industry remained in private hands. At the time, many coal companies were small, although some consolidation had taken place in the years before the war. Formation and organisation The NCB was one of a number of public corporations c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Italianate Architecture
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, synthesising these with picturesque aesthetics. The style of architecture that was thus created, though also characterised as "Neo-Renaissance", was essentially of its own time. "The backward look transforms its object," Siegfried Giedion wrote of historicist architectural styles; "every spectator at every period—at every moment, indeed—inevitably transforms the past according to his own nature." The Italianate style was first developed in Britain in about 1802 by John Nash, with the construction of Cronkhill in Shropshire. This small country house is generally accepted to be the first Italianate villa in England, from which is derived the Italianate architecture of the late Regency and early Victorian er ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
