Pontneddfechan
; ; also known as Pontneathvaughan) is a village in Powys, Wales. It is the southernmost village in the historic county of Brecknockshire, within the Vale of Neath and in the community of Ystradfellte. It stands at the confluence of the rivers Mellte and Nedd Fechan ("Neath Vaughan") and gives access to a series of waterfalls that adorn the upper Neath valley. Dinas Rock is a quarried limestone promontory east of the village, popular with visitors. History District industrial activities started with a 21-year lease of an area from the Marquess of Bute by the Quaker entrepreneur William Weston Young, for mining silica rock round Craig-y-Ddinas from 1822 onwards. The silica was extracted for firebricks at the ''Dinas Firebrick Co.'' in Pont Walby. In 1843, Young's lease ran out and the then ''Riddles, Young & Co.'' firebrick makers moved to new premises on The Green, Neath. The stone sleepers for the silica mine tramway can still be seen in the path of the waterfall walk. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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River Neath
River Neath () is a river in south Wales running south west from the point at which its headwaters arising in the Brecon Beacons National Park converge to its mouth at Baglan Bay below Briton Ferry on the east side of Swansea Bay. Course Upper tributaries The rivers Nedd Fechan, Mellte and Hepste rise in south Powys on the southern slopes of Fforest Fawr. This headwater area is formed from Old Red Sandstone. Each then crosses a band of Carboniferous Limestone before traversing country formed by interlayered sandstones and shales traditionally referred to as the Millstone Grit. Within the limestone belt, short sections of each river flow underground, though that of the Hepste also flows at the surface during periods of particularly wet weather. The steep descent of these rivers towards the Vale of Neath, and also of the Afon Pyrddin and Afon Sychryd, tributaries of the Nedd Fechan and Afon Mellte respectively, involves the development of a number of waterfalls ov ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dinas Rock
Dinas Rock (Welsh: Craig y Ddinas, "Fortress Rock") is a high promontory of Carboniferous Limestone which rises between the Afon Mellte and its left-bank tributary, the Afon Sychryd on the border between the county of Powys and the county borough of Neath Port Talbot in south Wales. It can be found near the village of Pontneddfechan near Glyn Neath at the head of the Vale of Neath. It derives its name from the presence of Iron Age earthworks on its summit, ''dinas'' in Welsh signifying a defensive site or "city". Protected landscape and habitats Dinas Rock lies within the Brecon Beacons National Park and the Fforest Fawr Geopark. It is owned by Natural Resources Wales, who manage it for its wildlife interest and recreation. The mineral rights (and thus relicts of former mining and quarrying) are owned by Natural Amenities Ltd, a body concerned with the preservation of mines. The deep gorges which define its northern and southern edges are designated as a part of the Coedydd N ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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River Mellte
The River Mellte (; ) is a river in south Wales. It is formed by the confluence of the Afon Llia and the Afon Dringarth. It then flows south through the village of Ystradfellte to Pontneddfechan where it joins with the Nedd Fechan to become the River Neath (). The river derives its name from 'mellt' - the Welsh word for 'lightning' - after its tendency to rise and fall rapidly in response to heavy rainfall. Underground section The entire river runs underground for 1/2 km at Porth yr Ogof as it crosses the Carboniferous Limestone outcrop. It resurges at Pwll Glas. There are fifteen known entrances to the cave system. It is a complex maze of passageways, large and small, mostly developed along one or two major bedding planes. In extreme flood conditions the entire cave can flood to the roof. It is used heavily by school and adventure groups though sections of the cave can be hazardous for the unwary. There have been a number of fatalities over the years. Waterfa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Evan Bevan
Evan Bevan (1803–1866) was a Welsh writer of satirical verse in the Welsh language. Life and work Bevan was born into a poor family: his parents were William and Gwenllian Bevan of Llangynwyd, Glamorgan. As a young adult he moved to Ystradfellte, Brecknockshire and married there Ann Ifan, a butcher's daughter. He later moved to the Pontneddfechan, Pontneathvaughan area. Bevan gained a mainly local reputation as a writer of satirical verse under the pseudonym Ianto'r Castell, some of which is archived at the National Library of Wales. He died at Pontneathvaughan in October 1866. References 19th-century Welsh poets Welsh satirists 1803 births 1866 deaths Place of birth missing Date of birth missing Date of death missing {{Wales-poet-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dyffrynnoedd Nedd A Mellte, A Moel Penderyn
Dyffrynnoedd Nedd a Mellte, a Moel Penderyn () is a 421.1 hectare biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the border of Neath Port Talbot and Powys, Wales, notified in 1954. The name of the site means "The valleys of Nedd and Mellte and Moel Penderyn". This site includes the wooded valleys of the rivers Nedd and Mellte and their tributaries above Pontneddfechan as they pass through a millstone grit and limestone plateau, and the hill of Moel Penderyn, which lies to the east. The rivers have eroded deep, narrow valleys in the plateau, which lies some 300 m above sea level, with gorges, river cliffs, block scree, and waterfalls. Biological interest The site is of special biological interest for its extensive and diverse semi-natural woodland, important populations of several flowering plants and supporting outstanding assemblages of mosses, liverworts and lichens. More than 600 species of plant have been recorded from the site, including a very large ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Neath
Neath (; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,258 in 2011. Historic counties of Wales, Historically in Glamorgan, the town is located on the River Neath, east-northeast of Swansea. Etymology The town's English name ultimately derives from "" the original Welsh name for the River Neath and is known to be Proto-Celtic language, Celtic or Pre-Celtic. A meaning of 'shining' or 'brilliant' has been suggested, as has a link to the older Indo-European root (simply meaning 'river'). As such, the town may share its etymology with the town of Stratton, Cornwall and the River Nidd in Northern England. History Roman fort The town is located at a ford (crossing), ford of the River Neath and its strategic situation is evident by a number of Celts, Celtic hill forts, surrounding the town. The Ro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vale Of Neath
The Vale of Neath (or Neath Valley, Welsh: ''Cwm Nedd''), one of the South Wales Valleys, encompasses the upper reaches of the River Neath in southwest Wales. In addition to the River Neath, it is traversed by the Neath Canal and the A465 dual carriageway. Settlements in the valley include Neath, Cadoxton, Tonna, Aberdulais, Resolven, Blaengwrach, Glynneath and Pontneddfechan. Coal mining was an industry in the valley with mining operations being located at Aberpergwm and Pentreclwydau near Glynneath. Waterfall Country " Waterfall Country" is a nickname given to the Vale of Neath due to the diverse number of waterfalls in the valley. In the upper reaches of the valley, at the foothills of the Brecon Beacons, are the waterfalls of four or five rivers: the Afon Hepste, Nedd Fechan, Afon Pyrddin, Afon Mellte and Afon Sychryd. In the lower valley, waterfalls can be found at Melincourt and Aberdulais. Vale of Neath Railway Currently partly used as a goods line ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ystradfellte
Ystradfellte () is a village and community in Powys, Wales, about north of Hirwaun, with 556 inhabitants. It belongs to the historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire) and the Fforest Fawr area of the Brecon Beacons National Park, beside the Afon Mellte river. The village is linked by minor roads with Heol Senni to the north and the A4059 north of Penderyn, and with Pontneddfechan, which lies in the community, at the head of the Vale of Neath to the south. History Ystradfellte is chiefly known in history as the place where the Welsh nobleman and rebel leader Llywelyn Bren surrendered at the end of his revolt of 1316. Llywelyn gave himself up on the condition that his men be spared, but was himself put to death in 1318 at Cardiff. The village was connected to mains electricity in 1960, as one of the last communities in the whole of England and Wales to be wired. Outlying properties in the Nedd Fechan valley had to wait until December 2005 for their connection. Featur ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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William Weston Young
William Weston Young (1776–1847) was a British Quaker entrepreneur, artist, botanist, wreck-raiser, surveyor, potter, and inventor of the firebrick. Biography William Weston Young was born on 20 April 1776 at Lewin's Mead, Bristol, England, into a devout Quaker family, the third son of Edward Young, a Bristolian merchant and Sarah (Sally) Young (née Weston). He was educated at Gildersome Quaker boarding school in Yorkshire, which among other things gave him a rudimentary knowledge of science which he was later to apply in his invention of the silica firebrick. After a flustered attempt to emigrate to America in 1794, involving his ship being captured by a fleet of French men-of-war, his ultimate escape from captivity and arduous journey home, Young settled back in Bristol, found employment and married fellow Quaker, Elizabeth Davis, in April 1795. In 1798, Young had acquired the financial backing (with notable help from his uncle Thomas Young, father of the physicist, phys ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nedd Fechan
The Nedd Fechan is a river almost wholly within the county of Powys, Wales. It rises on the eastern slopes of Fan Gyhirych in the Fforest Fawr section of the Brecon Beacons National Park and flows south for to join with the Afon Mellte at Pontneddfechan, their combined waters continuing as the River Neath ( Welsh Afon Nedd) to the sea near Swansea. The only significant tributary of the Nedd Fechan is the Afon Pyrddin which joins it at Pwll Du ar Byrddin ('the black pool of the Pyrddin'). Downstream of this confluence it forms the boundary between Powys to its east and Neath Port Talbot to its west. Geology The headwaters of the river run over Old Red Sandstone as far as Blaen-nedd-isaf where they encounter the Carboniferous Limestone outcrop. The river then continues through a wooded gorge for the remainder of its course. The section downstream of Pont Rhyd-y-cnau is cut in sandstones and mudstones of the Millstone Grit series. The section between Pont Melin-fach and the c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium nitrate (saltpeter). The sulfur and charcoal act as fuels while the saltpeter is an oxidizer. Gunpowder has been widely used as a propellant in firearms, artillery, rocketry, and pyrotechnics, including use as a blasting agent for explosives in quarrying, mining, building Pipeline transport, pipelines, tunnels, and road#Construction, roads. Gunpowder is classified as a Explosive#Low, low explosive because of its relatively slow decomposition rate, low ignition temperature and consequently low brisance, brisance (breaking/shattering). Low explosives deflagration, deflagrate (i.e., burn at subsonic speeds), whereas high explosives detonation, detonate, producing a supersonic shockwave. Ignition of gunpowder packed behind a projectile generates ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Firebrick
A fire brick, firebrick, fireclay brick, or refractory brick is a block of ceramic material used in lining furnaces, kilns, fireboxes, and fireplaces. Made of primarily oxide materials like silica and alumina in varying ratios, these insulating materials are able to withstand extremely high temperatures, and have a low thermal conductivity for greater energy efficiency. Refractory bricks generally range from 25-45% alumina, and ~60% silica, with additional magnesium, calcium, potassium oxides. Usually dense fire bricks are used in applications with extreme mechanical, chemical, or thermal stresses, such as the inside of a wood-fired kiln or a furnace, which is subject to abrasion from wood, fluxing from ash or slag, and high temperatures. In other, less harsh situations, such as in an electric or natural gas fired kiln, more porous bricks, commonly known as "kiln bricks", are a better choice. They are weaker, but they are much lighter and easier to form and insulate far bett ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |