Abertysswg ( cy, Abertyswg) is a village 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 t ...

of Caerphilly, Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire.

Location

Situated in the South Wales Valleys, Abertysswg is a small village located to the east of

Pontlottyn Pontlottyn ( cy, Pontlotyn) is a village located in the county borough of Caerphilly, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales. It is sited just to the south of Rhymney, and to the west of the Rhymney River. History Pontlottyn ...

and south-east of

Rhymney Rhymney (; cy, Rhymni ) is a town and a community in the county borough of Caerphilly, South Wales. It is within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. With the villages of Pontlottyn, Fochriw, Abertysswg, Deri and New Tredegar, Rhymne ...

. The nearest major town is

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Ty ...

. The

Rhymney River The Rhymney River ( cy, Afon Rhymni) is a river in the Rhymney Valley, South Wales, flowing through Cardiff into the Severn Estuary. The river formed the boundary between the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire until in 1887 ...

lies just west of the village. Abertysswg is overlooked to the south by Twyn Cornicyll above Coed Cefn Rhychdir. The village came into being in 1895-1900 through

industrialisation Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econ ...

brought by the development of Abertysswg Colliery, the first shaft of which was sunk in 1897.

Village commerce and industry

The village is within 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, ...

and used to have a pit at the end of Westville, although the mine closed in 1969. Most of the village's industry is now small scale retail. Abertysswg has a village shop,

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

, takeaway and has two clubs.

Year 2000 renovation

The village has had some renovation work completed on it in the new

millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannus, kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

. A new park/recreation area has been built, and a brand new community centre stands at the top of the village.

Notable residents

Jack Howells Thomas John Howells (July 1913 – 6 September 1990) was a Welsh film-maker, who is best remembered for his documentary ''Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works inc ...

, film director, winner of the 1963 Academy Award for his short documentary film ''

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Unde ...

''. *

Colin Lewis Colin Lewis (27 July 1942 – 4 March 2022) was a British racing cyclist. He started racing at 19 and rode the Milk Race in 1960, finishing 7th. Cycling career Lewis represented Britain in the Tour de l'Avenir and the world championships at ...

, an ex professional road cyclist, who was the first Welsh rider to compete in the Tour De France.

In popular culture

The Doctor Who

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'', the ...

audio drama Black Thursday is set in the village.

Bibliography

*Evans, Marion, (1994), A Portrait of Rhymney with cameos of Pontlottyn, Tafarnaubach, Princetown, Abertysswg and Fochriw, volume 1. Old Bakehouse Publications. . *Evans, Marion, (1995), A Portrait of Rhymney with cameos of Pontlottyn, Tafarnaubach, Princetown, Abertysswg and Fochriw, volume 2. Old Bakehouse Publications. . *Evans, Marion, (1996), A Portrait of Rhymney with cameos of Pontlottyn, Tafarnaubach, Princetown, Abertysswg and Fochriw, volume 3. Old Bakehouse Publications. . *Evans, Marion, (1998), A Portrait of Rhymney with cameos of Pontlottyn, Tafarnaubach, Princetown, Abertysswg and Fochriw, volume 4. Old Bakehouse Publications. . *Evans, Marion, (2009), A Portrait of Rhymney with cameos of Pontlottyn, Tafarnaubach, Princetown, Abertysswg and Fochriw, volume 5. Old Bakehouse Publications. .

External links

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Abertysswg and surrounding areaWelsh Coal Mines website - research the history of the local pit
{{authority control Villages in Caerphilly County Borough