Glyncoch is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

to the north of

Pontypridd Pontypridd ( , ), Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as ''Ponty'', is a town and a Community (Wales), community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, approximately 10 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. Geography Pontypridd comprises the ...

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, ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. It is also the name of an

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

History

The name Glyncoch is

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

for 'Red glen' (''glyn'' "glen, small valley" + ''coch'' "red"). How the name originated is unknown, but in 1900 a local journalist wrote a creative Victorian-era history of the location, suggesting that it was the site of a battle between the native

Celts The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

and the Romans. More likely is that it was named after an aspect of local nature, either a local outcrop of red

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

or a large crop of berry-bearing

gorse ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are na ...

bushes. The earliest noted settlement dates to Roman coins found in the area in the 1990s, when five coins ranging from the reigns of Empress Trajan through to

Emperor Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

were discovered. Glyncoch lies halfway between known Roman forts built at Pen-y-coedcae and above Llanwynno, and so could have been located on a pathway between the two. The area is mentioned in text related to Celtic priest

Gwynno Gwynno, or Gwynnog ab Gildas, is the name of a 6th-century Celtic Christianity, Welsh saint. Archives at the Vatican City, Vatican record that his festival is 26 October; that he is regarded as a confessor; and that there is said to be a sacred w ...

, who traversed the whole area and the founder of

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 ea ...

, and died in AD570. The area is also mentioned in the church book ''Liber Landavensis'' (Circa AD1750), now held at Llandaff Cathedral, which diarises the churches management of its lands and associated income, with fine fields and a brewery located between here an
Daerwynno
During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, pilgrims travelled up the valley to the shrine of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

at Penrhys, with many taking refreshment or staying at an inn, believed by historians to be located close to the current Berwerdy Cottages. By the 19th century, during the industrial development of the South Wales valleys, the land was owned by the Griffiths family. Instead of selling their land, they leased it and the mineral rights, and resultantly became very wealthy. On the death of their son, the Cardiff-based doctor Richard Griffiths, he was carried in procession from Pontypridd, through Glyncoch and Ynysybwl, to the church at Llanwynno where he is buried.

Present

Glyncoch is a mainly social housing community between

and Ynysybwl lying on the mountain opposite Coed-y-Cwm Within the community there are three grocery shops, Post Office, Pharmacy, Chinese Takeaway, Community Centre and two schools. Bus services to and from the community are frequent with services to

, Ynysybwl and

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

. Bus routes are operated by New Adventure Travel. Glyncoch also forms an

, sending a county councillor to sit on

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 Ap ...

. It is also a ward for Pontypridd Town Council, electing two town councillors.Glyncoch Ward
, Pontypridd Town Council website. Retrieved 1 April 2018.

Notable people from Glyncoch

James Allen - Valley Cougars Rugby League star centre. Won 3 caps for Wales Dragonhearts. Clive Griffiths ex Manchester United footballer Chris Seldon Pontypridd RFC & Wales RL player Ceri Sweeney Wales Rugby Union Player

References

{{authority control Pontypridd Villages in Rhondda Cynon Taf Wards of Rhondda Cynon Taf