Trehafod is a village and

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, ...

in the

Rhondda Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coal mining, coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fa ...

Valley between Porth and

Pontypridd () ( colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng ( Trallwn) and Treforest (). ...

in the

county borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent te ...

Rhondda Cynon Taf Rhondda Cynon Taf (; RCT; also spelt as Rhondda Cynon Taff) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It consists of five valleys: the Rhondda Fawr, Rhondda Fach, Cynon, Taff (Welsh: ''Taf'') and Ely valleys, plus a number of towns and vill ...

, Wales, with a population of 698 in the 2011 census.(The earlier name ''Hafod'' was altered in 1905 to avoid confusion with Hafod near Swansea. Until then, Trehafod (first record of the name is found in 1851) had been part of Hafod).{{ , url= https://www.facebook.com/groups/263839124470/search/?q=HAFOD%20%2F%20TREHAFOD , title= HAFOD / TREHAFOD. , quote= Trehafod was built on land of Hafod-uchaf alias Hafod-fawr. The settlement of Trehafod is recorded in 1851, 1870 and 1885. , date=12 November 1904 , accessdate=5 October 2020 , Administratively, Trehafod is split between the electoral division of Cymmer (Rhondda) to the west and Rhondda (Pontypridd) to the east. A former coalmining community, the village is now the site of the

Rhondda Heritage Park Rhondda Heritage Park, Trehafod, Rhondda, South Wales is a tourist attraction which offers an insight into the life of the coal mining community that existed in the area until the 1980s. Visitors can experience the life of the coal miners on a g ...

, a tourist attraction commemorating the Rhondda valley coalmining industry. Spelling variants found in the past are Trehavod (an English spelling, using "v" instead of "f") and Trefhafod (a hypercorrect Welsh form, using the conservative literary form "tref" instead of the colloquial, and more modern literary form, "tre").

History

The 1847

tithe map The term tithe map is usually applied to a map of an English or Welsh parish or township, prepared following the Tithe Commutation Act 1836. This act allowed tithes to be paid in cash rather than goods. The map and its accompanying schedule gave ...

of the area shows a number of farms on the area that was to become Trehafod; these were named, Hafod Uchaf, Hafod Ganol and Hafod Fawr. It was from these farms that Trehafod was to take its name. "Hafod" is a Welsh word meaning literally "summer dwelling", and refers to an upland farm (from the practice of taking cattle up the hillside from the valley floor to graze in the summer months) (haf = summer, bod = dwelling, with soft mutation of to of the second element (bod) after a noun used as an adjective equivalent in attributive position (haf)). Tre (literally “town”) was used in the eighteen-hundreds in industrial areas for a street or streets of workers’ housing (equivalent to English “town” or “ville”, similarly used). Trehafod railway station lies on the Rhondda Line which follows the River Rhondda. The railway line and river border the village on either side. Trehafod is now most famous for the Rhondda Heritage Park which was once the Lewis Merthyr colliery, at the peak time for coal mining production, one of the most productive collieries in the

South Wales Coalfield The South Wales Coalfield ( cy, Maes glo De Cymru) extends across Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen. It is rich in coal deposits, espe ...

Flooding

The village has frequently suffered flooding from the river, the most serious of which in 1960 claimed the life of an Afon street resident.{{citation needed, date=December 2019 (''Afon'' is Welsh for 'river'.) Flooding also occurred in 1921, 1929 and 1979, after which the Rhondda River bank was reinforced. "The 1979 flood overtopped the banks of the River Rhondda just down river from Trehafod and floodwaters entered the low-lying areas of Colliery Street and Great Street causing flooding to many properties. A major river improvement scheme was completed in 1985 and no problems have occurred since then.Taff Catchment Management Plan Consultation Report
April 1995. National Rivers Authority, Welsh Region February 2020 also saw seriously flooding.

References

{{reflist

External links

Pictures of events in Trehafod
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Welsh Coal Mines website - research the local pit historyImages'', within 10km of Trehafod, Rhondda,Cynon,Taff''
{{NSEW, , ,

Hopkinstown Hopkinstown ( cy, Trehopcyn) is a small village to the west of Pontypridd in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, alongside the River Rhondda. Hopkinstown is a former coalmining and industrial community, now a district in the town of Po ...

, Cymmer, Porth, , , , }{{Rhondda Cynon Taf {{Rhondda Valley {{authority control Rhondda Valley Villages in Rhondda Cynon Taf Communities in Rhondda Cynon Taf