Rhydyfelin () is a large village (originally known as Rhydfelen) and part of the community of Pontypridd Town, about to its south east 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 ...

, in the county borough of

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, ...

. It is on the eastern bank of the

River Taff The River Taff () is a river in Wales. It rises in the Brecon Beacons as two rivers, the Taf Fechan ("little Taff") and the Taf Fawr ("great Taff") before becoming one just north of Merthyr Tydfil. At Cardiff, it empties into the Bristol Chan ...

, close to the

A470 The A470 (also named the Cardiff to Glan Conwy Trunk Road) is a trunk road in Wales. It is the country's longest road at and links the capital Cardiff on the south coast to Llandudno on the north coast. While previously one had to navigate th ...

, and historically was in the parish of

Eglwysilan Eglwysilan is an ecclesiastical parish and Hamlet (place), hamlet in Wales, within the Community (Wales), community of Aber Valley in the unitary authority of Caerphilly County Borough. History of the parish During the 12th-century Norman inva ...

History

Rhydyfelin is also known as Rhydfelen, and means ''Mill ford'' in the

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 ...

. It grew from a rural hamlet to a thriving village in the 19th century, due to its location on the

Glamorganshire Canal The Glamorganshire Canal () in South Wales, UK, was begun in 1790. It ran along the valley of the River Taff from Merthyr Tydfil to the Bristol Channel at Cardiff. The final section of canal was closed in 1951. History Construction started ...

which took iron from

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () 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 Tydfil, daughter of K ...

to the city of

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, and linking to this Dr Richard Griffiths' canal and tramway which took coal from the

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 t ...

Valleys. Also of note was the nearby Iron and Tin works at

Treforest Treforest () is a village in the south-east of Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is situated in the Treforest electoral ward, along with the village of Glyntaff (or Glyn-Taf). It is part of the Pontypridd Town ...

. Other minor works included an ironworks on the site of the tram shed buildings. Neighbouring villages are Hawthorn,

and

Glyntaff Glyntaff () is a small village to the south-east of Pontypridd, in the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales situated in the Treforest ward along with the village of Trefforest. Education Glyntaff is the location of the University of South ...

. The village is split into two electoral wards: the lower, largely historic part of the village is in Hawthorn Ward along with the settlement of

Upper Boat Upper Boat () is a village on the southernmost outskirts of the town of Pontypridd, within the electoral ward of Hawthorn, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, and comprises part of the Treforest Industrial Estate. Historically part of Glamorgan, it fell wi ...

, which comprises some of the nearby Treforest Estate, while the largely social housing of the estates of upper Rhydyfelin are in the ward of Rhydyfelen Central and Ilan. The original name was Rhydfelen, and the version "Rhydyfelin" is believed to be a corruption. Rhydyfelin was once served by two railway stations: one on the

Cardiff Railway From 1839, the trustees of the John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, Marquis of Bute, operated a large dock operation in Cardiff, the "Bute Docks". This was very successful, but was overwhelmed by the huge volume of coal exported through ...

, and one on the

Pontypridd, Caerphilly and Newport Railway The Pontypridd, Caerphilly and Newport Railway was built to bring the coal output of the Aberdare and Rhondda valleys directly to Alexandra Docks at Newport. It was a little over in length, running from Pontypridd to a junction near Caerphil ...

. After the

Grouping Grouping generally refers to the creation of one or more groups, or to the groups themselves. More specifically, grouping may refer to: * Shot grouping in shooting sports and other uses of firearms * the use of symbols of grouping in mathemati ...

, the former Cardiff Railway halt became Rhydyfelin Low Level Halt and the halt of the Pontypridd, Caerphilly and Newport Railway became Rhydyfelin High Level Halt. The halts closed in 1931 and 1953 respectively. The Church of St Luke is in the

Church in Wales The Church in Wales () is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The position is currently held b ...

Parish of Rhydyfelin, Diocese of Llandaff.

Population

The populations of the Central Rhydyfelin ward and Hawthorn wards, which together serve Rhydyfelin, were 4,672 and 3,652 respectively (8,324 in total) in the 2001 Census (the 2009 electorates were 3,084 and 2,781, respectively) out of the total 33,000 residents for Pontypridd as a whole.

Governance

Rhydfelen was the name of the

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 ...

Mid Glamorgan County Council Mid Glamorgan County Council () was the upper-tier authority for the Welsh county of Mid Glamorgan between its creation in 1974 and its abolition in 1996. History Local government in England and Wales was reorganised in 1974 under the Local Gove ...

between 1989 and 1996. Until 1996 Rhydfelen Central and Rhydfelen Lower were wards to Taff-Ely Borough Council. It is now split between the electoral wards of Hawthorn and of central Rhydfelen, with the more prosperous and historic lower Rhydyfelin falling within the Hawthorn ward to the south.

Notable residents

Rhydyfelin was home to guitarist

Lee Gaze Lee James Gaze (born 21 May 1975) is a Welsh musician. He is the lead guitarist, and one of the founding members, of the Welsh/American alternative rock band No Devotion, and a former member of the Welsh rock band Lostprophets. Early life Gaze ...

of the band

LostProphets Lostprophets (stylised as lostprophets or LOSTPROPHETS) were a Welsh rock band from Pontypridd, formed in 1997 by singer Ian Watkins and guitarist Lee Gaze. The group was founded after their former band Fleshbind broke up. They later recruit ...

Places of interest

The village is on the

Taff Trail The Taff Trail () is a Walking in the United Kingdom, walking and cycle path that runs for between Cardiff Bay and Brecon in Wales. It is so named because it follows the course of the River Taff. Along much of its length, it follows the Natio ...

from

Brecon Brecon (; ; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Breck ...

Cardiff Bay Cardiff Bay (; colloquially "The Bay") is an area and freshwater lake in Cardiff, Wales. The site of a former tidal bay and estuary, it is the river mouth of the River Taff and River Ely, Ely. The body of water was converted into a lake as part ...

. The view from lower Rhydyfelin of Eglwysilan mountain shows the locally known 'Monkeys Tump'.

Education

The first Welsh language secondary school in South Wales,

Ysgol Gyfun Rhydfelen Ysgol Garth Olwg (previously named Ysgol Gyfun Rhydfelen and Ysgol Gyfun Garth Olwg), English Garth Olwg School is a Welsh-medium comprehensive school in the village of Church Village near Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon ...

, was established at Rhydyfelin in 1962. It closed in 2006 when it was relocated to

Church Village Church Village () is a large village in the historic parish and community of Llantwit Fardre, located within the Taff Ely district of the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in Wales. The village is centrally located being around from the lo ...

and renamed Garth Olwg. Schools in Rhydyfelin include Cardinal Newman RC School (Roman Catholic),

Hawthorn High School Hawthorn High School () was an English-medium comprehensive school in the village of Hawthorn near Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It was featured in the CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadc ...

(English medium), Heol-Y-Celyn Primary School (Welsh and English medium). It is the former home of

Coleg Morgannwg Coleg Morgannwg (English: ''Glamorgan College'') is a former further education college located at four main campuses across Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. In 2013, Coleg Morgannwg merged with Ystrad Mynach College to become Coleg y Cymoedd. The c ...

(English medium further education college) and Glantâf infants school (English medium).

References

External links

Rhydyfelin and surrounding area
at geograph.org.uk

at rctcbc.gov.uk {{authority control Villages in Rhondda Cynon Taf Pontypridd