Penderyn is a rural village in the Cynon Valley, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, located near

Hirwaun Hirwaun is a village and community at the north end of the Cynon Valley in the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. It is NW of the town of Aberdare, and comes under the Aberdare post town. At the 2001 census, Hirwaun had a popul ...

Location

The village lies on the A4059 road between Hirwaun and

Brecon Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the c ...

and is the last settlement on that road in the county of Rhondda Cynon Taf before the border with

Powys Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. Geog ...

to the north. The village sits just within the southern boundary of the

Brecon Beacons National Park The Brecon Beacons National Park ( cy, Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog) is one of three national parks in Wales, and is centred on the Brecon Beacons range of hills in southern Wales. It includes the Black Mountain ( cy, Y Mynydd Du) i ...

. The River Cynon passes through the area. There are four disused churches and chapels in Penderyn: Jerusalem Chapel (

Calvinistic Methodist Calvinistic Methodists were born out of the 18th-century Welsh Methodist revival and survive as a body of Christians now forming the Presbyterian Church of Wales. Calvinistic Methodism became a major denomination in Wales, growing rapidly in the 1 ...

, now a house), Siloam Chapel (

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...

, a

grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

), Soar Chapel (

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

, now an antiques shop) and St Cynog's Church (

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The pos ...

). Penderyn is the home of Penderyn Whisky, whose distillery is located opposite the local school. The award-winning single malt whisky was launched in 2004 and was the first distilled in Wales for over 100 years.

Etymology

Penderyn contains two Welsh words: * ''Pen'', meaning 'head (of)' * and 'deryn', an abbreviation of 'aderyn', meaning 'bird'

History

Penderyn began as an agricultural village, which supplied the ever growing needs of the nearby local market town of

Aberdare Aberdare ( ; cy, Aberdâr) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tyd ...

. Until the county's inclusion in Powys in 1974 the village was in the county of

Brecknockshire , image_flag= , HQ= Brecon , Government= Brecknockshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= Brycheiniog , Status= , Start= 1535 , End= ...

Governance

Penderyn is in the

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, t ...

of Hirwaun and, at the lowest tier of local government, is represented by Hirwaun & Penderyn Community Council. Penderyn is one of two electoral wards in the community, electing 4 members to the community council. For elections to

Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council ( cy, Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Rhondda Cynon Taf) is the governing body for Rhondda Cynon Taf, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The council headquarters are located in the community of Cwm Clydach ...

, Penderyn is covered by the 'Hirwaun, Penderyn and Rhigos' electoral district.

Notable people

* Gwyn Morgan (born 1954), Welsh-language writer, lives in Penderyn * David Wynne (1900–1983), composer, born in Penderyn * (David Davies, 1853–1937), author of * Lewis Lewis (Lewsyn yr Heliwr), transported for his part in the Merthyr Rising of 1831 Dic Penderyn (Richard Lewis, 1807/8–1831), the central figure of the Merthyr Rising of 1831, was not from village but was from

Aberavon Aberavon ( cy, Aberafan) is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a di ...

References

External links

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Penderyn and surrounding area
Villages in Rhondda Cynon Taf Brecon Beacons Fforest Fawr Wards of Rhondda Cynon Taf {{RhonddaCynonTaf-geo-stub