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Maerdy
Maerdy (, ) is a village and community (and electoral ward) in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, and within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying at the head of the Rhondda Fach Valley. History "Maerdy" is a Welsh word meaning "house of the slaves, and may indicate a medieval origin. The "maer" (steward) was usually appointed by the king; the ''maer biswail'' (literally the "dung steward") was not as important and wielded less authority than the "maer" (''Hen Gyfreithiau Cymreig'', S. J. Williams). "Maerdy" was also used for a 'summer dwelling' as well as for a 'dairy farm' (GPC). The name is found in several locations throughout Wales. 'Mardy' represents the local Gwentian dialect form of the written "maerdy". The area grew from a farming community to town around the coal mining industry and the development of Mardy Colliery in the late 19th century, but its last pit (Mardy Main) shut in 1990. Maerdy was not originally an area of industrial conf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mardy Colliery
Maerdy Colliery was a coal mine located in the South Wales village of Maerdy (), in the Rhondda Valley, located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, and within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales. Opened in 1875, it closed in December 1990. History Maerdy derives its name from a large farmhouse on a bank of the Rhondda Fach, which became the local meeting place for both court matters and worship. Maerdy is the Welsh word for ''mayor's house''. While other areas of the South Wales coalfield had been exploited up to 50 years earlier, due to the scarcity and difficult access conditions of Rhondda Fach, it remained largely undeveloped. But the demand for steam coal drove development and, in 1874, Mordecai Jones of Brecon and Nantmelyn purchased the mineral rights around the farmhouse and its surrounding lands from the estate of the late Crawshay Bailey for £122,000. Additional capital was provided by a partner, J. R. Cobb, and a trial pit was sunk in 187 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhondda
Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( ), is a former 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 Fawr valley (, 'large') and the smaller Rhondda Fach valley (, 'small') – so that the singular "Rhondda Valley" and the plural are both commonly used. The area forms part of the South Wales Valleys. From 1897 until 1996 there was a local government district of Rhondda. The former district at its abolition comprised 16 communities. Since 1996 these 16 communities of the Rhondda have been part of Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough. The area of the former district is still used as the Rhondda Senedd constituency and Westminster constituency, having an estimated population in 2020 of 69,506. It is most noted for its historical coalmining industry, which peaked between 1840 and 1925. The valleys produced a strong Nonconformist movement manifest in the Baptist chapels ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maerdy Branch
The Maerdy Branch was a railway branch line in South Wales. Financed and operated by the Taff Vale Railway, on amalgamation it became part of the Great Western Railway in 1923. Designed and mainly operated as a coal mining freight railway, its creation and demise was wholly defined by the South Wales Coalfield. Design The branch was wholly designed, being developed by integrating a series of private industrial track railways with the extension of the Taff Vale Railway from the south at . In 1840, the TVR bought the private Ferndale to Maerdy colliery track and then extended it to in 1849. Operations Passenger operations began in 1875, serving interim stations from Porth at (opened 1876), Pontygwaith, Tylorstown, and Ferndale. Though the line had opened up to Maerdy the same year (with the sinking & commissioning of Maerdy Colliery), it was not until 1889 that the passenger service was extended there from Ferndale. Passenger traffic was neither heavy nor a major contribution to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Moscow
Little Moscow was a term for towns and villages in capitalist societies whose population appeared to hold extreme left-wing political values or communist views. The places so named were typically in working class areas, normally with strong trade union links to a heavy industry. History of use in Great Britain The term first appeared within Great Britain between the two World Wars, and although referring to several places in Britain, three communities are primarily associated with the phrase: the Vale of Leven in Scotland, Chopwell in England and Maerdy in Wales. The term was initially used as an insult by newspapers, but it was quickly embraced and used as a term of pride by the labelled communities.Davies (2008), pg 468. In the case of the Vale of Leven, the area was reliant on the dyeing industry, and after high unemployment during the 1920s and 1930s the people of the area turned to radical socialist and communist views. This resulted in the Vale of Leven District Council be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taff Vale Railway
The Taff Vale Railway (TVR) was a standard gauge railway in South Wales, built by the Taff Vale Railway Company to serve the iron and coal industries around Merthyr Tydfil and to connect them with docks in Cardiff. It was opened in stages in 1840 and 1841. In the railway's first years, the coal mining industries expanded considerably and branches were soon opened in the Rhondda valleys and the Cynon Valley. The conveyance of coal for export and for transport away from South Wales began to dominate and the docks in Cardiff and the approach railway became extremely congested. Alternatives were sought and competing railway companies were encouraged to enter the trade. In the following decades further branch lines were built and the TVR used "motor cars" (steam railway passenger coaches) from 1903 to encourage local passenger travel. From 1922 the TVR was a constituent of the new Great Western Railway (GWR) at the grouping of the railways, imposing its own character on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhondda Cynon Taf
Rhondda Cynon Taf (; RCT; also spelt as Rhondda Cynon Taff) is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It consists of five valleys: the Rhondda Fawr, Rhondda Fach, Cynon, Taff () and Ely valleys, plus several towns and villages away from the valleys. Results from the 2011 census showed 19.1% of its 234,410 residents self-identified as having some ability in the use of the Welsh language. The county borough borders Merthyr Tydfil County Borough and Caerphilly County Borough to the east, Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan to the south, Bridgend County Borough and Neath Port Talbot to the west and Powys to the north. Its principal towns are - Aberdare, Llantrisant with Talbot Green and Pontypridd, with other key settlements/towns being - Maerdy, Ferndale, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Ferndale, Hirwaun, Llanharan, Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Mountain Ash, Porth, Tonypandy, Tonyrefail and Treorchy. The most populous individual town in Rhond ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ferndale, Rhondda Cynon Taf
Ferndale () is a town and community located in the Rhondda Valley in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Neighbouring villages are Blaenllechau, Maerdy and Tylorstown. Ferndale was industrialised in the mid-19th century. The first coal mine shaft was sunk in 1857 and Ferndale was the first community to be intensively industrialised in the Rhondda Valley. History In Welsh, Ferndale is known as ''Glynrhedynog'', the name of one of the old farms on which the town is built. In its infancy Glynrhedynog was also known as ''Trerhondda'', after the name of the first large chapel to be built in the town. The naming of settlements after chapels was widespread in Wales at the time, but neither Glynrhedynog nor Trerhondda was used for long. Glynrhedynog is made from the words ''glyn'' (valley) and ''rhedynog'' (ferny), so coal from the Glynrhedynog pits was marketed as Ferndale coal, a much easier name for English buyers to assimilate. The Ferndale pits drew workers and t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhondda (UK Parliament Constituency)
Rhondda was a Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency in Wales in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament. It was represented since its 1974 recreation by the Welsh Labour, Labour Party. The constituency was abolished as part of the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies and under the List of parliamentary constituencies in Wales#Final recommendations, June 2023 final recommendations of the Boundary Commission for Wales for the 2024 United Kingdom general election, 2024 general election. The entire constituency became part of the new seat of Rhondda and Ogmore (UK Parliament constituency), Rhondda and Ogmore. Boundaries 1974–1983: The Municipal Borough of Rhondda. 1983–2010: The Borough of Rhondda. 2010–2024: The Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough electoral divisions of Cwm Clydach, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Cwm Clydach, Cymmer, Ferndale, Llwyn-y-pia, Maerdy, Pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council
Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council () is the governing body for Rhondda Cynon Taf, one of the principal areas of Wales. The council headquarters are at the Llys Cadwyn development in Pontypridd. History The council was established on 1 April 1996 under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, covering the area of the three former districts of Rhondda, Cynon Valley, and Taff-Ely (except Pentyrch, which went to Cardiff). As well as taking over the functions of the abolished district councils, the new authority also took over the functions of the abolished Mid Glamorgan County Council in the area. The new county borough was described in the 1994 Act with different spellings in English and Welsh: Rhondda Cynon Taff (English) / Rhondda Cynon Taf (Welsh). In 1999, the council adopted the spelling Rhondda Cynon Taf for use in both languages. Political control The council has been under Labour majority control since 2004. The first election to the council was held in 1995, initiall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Communist Party Of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPGB founded the ''Daily Worker'' (renamed the Morning Star (British newspaper), ''Morning Star'' in 1966). In 1936, members of the party were present at the Battle of Cable Street, helping organise resistance against the British Union of Fascists. In the Spanish Civil War, the CPGB worked with the USSR to create the British Battalion of the International Brigades, which party activist Bill Alexander (British politician), Bill Alexander commanded. In World War II, the CPGB followed the Comintern position, opposing or supporting the war in line with the involvement of the USSR. By the end of World War II, CPGB membership had nearly tripled and the party reached the height of its popularity. Many key CPGB members served as leaders of Britain's tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glamorgan
Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an early medieval petty kingdom of varying boundaries known in Welsh as Kingdom of Morgannwg, Morgannwg (or Glywysing), which was then invaded and taken over by the Anglo-Normans, Normans as the Lordship of Glamorgan. The area that became known as Glamorgan was both a rural, pastoral area, and a conflict point between the Normans, Norman lords and the Welsh princes. It was defined by a large concentration of castles. After falling under English rule in the 16th century, Glamorgan became a more stable county, and exploited its natural resources to become an important part of the Industrial Revolution. Glamorgan was the most populous and industrialised county in Wales, and was once called the "crucible of the Industrial Revolution", as it contain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pontygwaith, Rhondda
Pontygwaith (Welsh language: "Bridge of work" or "Bridge of the Ironworks") is a small village located in the Rhondda#Rhondda Fach, Rhondda Fach valley in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, in the community of Tylorstown. History Pontygwaith takes its name from a blast furnace built in the early 16th century, though by 1863 it was described as ''a shapeless ruin'' The location of the furnace was at the north end of what today is Furnace Road and the only documented proof of the structure is in a contract drawn up in 1614 between John Hanbury of Pontypool and Richard ap Rhys of Llantrisant for the supply of charcoal to the ''"furnace of Penrees"'' (Penrhys). Elfed Davies, Baron Davies of Penrhys, Elfed Davies, Labour Party Member of Parliament for Rhondda East 1959-74 and who went on to become elevated to the Peerage as Lord Davies of Penrhys, was born at Fenwick Street, Pontygwaith. Pontygwaith was the birthplace of composer Mansel Thomas OBE (1909 – 1986). Tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
