A5 Heritage Walks-Pontypridd_Layout 1 11/05/2010 08:56 Page 1 ABERDARE WaLking Trail • 1 A5 Heritage Walks-Pontypridd_Layout 1 11/05/2010 08:56 Page 2 PONTYPRIDD Rhondda Cynon Taf Heritage Trails This series of Heritage Trails will take you on a journey through the area stopping off at historic places and Blue Plaque points that commemorate notable people, places and events in the County Borough. The map to the left shows the location of recently installed Blue Plaques and a series of driving 1 trails link these and other historical sites. 3 2 4 This walking trail of Pontypridd is one of a series 7 of trails and further information and trails 5 9 6 8 available can be found at 21 24 25 www.heritagetrailsrct.co.uk or by phoning 23 32 01443 490238 or e-mail 26 27 22 10 [email protected] 28 29 11 for leaflets. 30 Details of where to stay in the area 12 19 13 14 and other attractions can be 20 31 15 found at www.destinationrct.co.uk 16 17 18 Getting to Pontypridd BY ROAD FROM A470 Directions to Pontypridd Goods yard car park From the South Leave the A470 at the exit signed A4058 Pontypridd and Rhondda BY BUS Valleys. At the roundabout take the 2nd exit and take the left lane. A number of bus operators serve Pontypridd. For information enquire At the next roundabout take the 1st exit onto A4223. Traveline Cymru Tel. 0871 200 2233 Web www.traveline.info *Proceed downhill to a bridge over the River Taff and straight on at the traffic lights to almost immediately another set where turn sharp right BY TRAIN and then first left behind the Bus Station to follow the signs for P Arriva Trains run a regular service from Cardiff and other valleys towns. Goods yard. (Pay and display). (SAT NAV. CF37 2DR) Enquiries Tel. 08457 48 49 50 From the North Web www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk Leave the A470 at the exit signed Pontypridd A4233, Rhondda Valleys, NB. Visitors arriving by train may wish to start the walk at Point 9/10 – Ynysybwl, Llantrisant. At the roundabout at the end of the slip road, take Freddie Welsh/Rail station (see map), follow the route to its end and the 4th exit signed Pontypridd A4233. Then follow directions then start at Point 1 and walk back to Point 10. from * above. 2 • WaLking Trail A5 Heritage Walks-Pontypridd_Layout 1 11/05/2010 08:56 Page 3 PONTYPRIDD Pontypridd – A Brief History Pontypridd is the market town for the valleys of mid Glamorgan. Although it is not an old town it has an interesting history and many features which are valued by residents and visitors alike. Until the beginning of the nineteenth century this was a thinly-populated rural area. It is still only a short distance from the town on the valley floor up onto the unspoilt hills. Many of the old farms survive, as do the mediaeval churches which were the focal points of the farming community. The first sign of change was the building of a stone bridge over the river Taff in 1756. This was to become the town’s landmark, and the eventful story of its construction became famous. The real development of the town began as a result of the opening of the Glamorganshire Canal from Merthyr Tydfil down to Cardiff in 1794. Merthyr made the best iron in the world, and Pontypridd offered easy access to good coal. These factors brought the first major industry, the chainworks, which opened in 1818, and Pontypridd became the unlikely centre of manufacture of chain cable and anchors for warships and merchant vessels. The last chain cable made here was for the QE2. In the first half of the nineteenth century, the town’s industry expanded to include a rail mill and one of the largest tinplate works in Britain. These were at Treforest, only a mile down the valley but still with its own quite distinct identity. From about 1850 and for a hundred years thereafter the main industry of the area was coal-mining. WaLking Trail • 3 A5 Heritage Walks-Pontypridd_Layout 1 11/05/2010 08:56 Page 4 PONTYPRIDD Most of the outlying areas of the town were built as pit villages – Cilfynydd around the Albion colliery, Maesycoed around Maritime colliery, and Hopkinstown around the Great Western and Ty Mawr collieries. Almost all material evidence of this important period of history has now gone, except at the former Lewis Merthyr colliery, two miles from Pontypridd, which is now the Rhondda Heritage Park. The former School of Mines at Treforest has become the nucleus of the new University of Glamorgan, the largest educational establishment in the valleys. Half a mile downriver from the old buildings of the tinplate works is the Treforest Industrial Estate, where over 100 companies make a variety of products from fabrics to electronics. The legacy of a short but eventful history is that Pontypridd occupies the interesting position of a market town serving its hinterland of industrial villages, and a community within which there is a shifting cultural balance. The rapid expansion of the town’s population at the beginning of the 20th century brought thousands from England, Ireland and even further afield. For a while it seemed that Pontypridd was not a Welsh town at all; but today a quarter of its primary school children go to Welsh Language-medium schools. 4 • WaLking Trail A5 Heritage Walks-Pontypridd_Layout 1 11/05/2010 08:56 Page 5 PONTYPRIDD Walking Trail To follow the walk also refer to the map in the centre of this brochure Our walk starts at Pontypridd Museum, at the north end of the town near to the bus station and the Goods Yard Car Park. Pontypridd Museum 1 The museum building was Tabernacl chapel, built in 1861 to the design of its minister, Edward Roberts. Rebuilt in 1910 at the height of the town’s prosperity, the interior has an exceptionally fine ceiling and art nouveau stained glass. The woodwork is pine from Russia and Poland, a reminder of the international trade created by the coal industry. The pipe organ is still used for concerts. There is a permanent exhibition on the history of the town and a variety of temporary exhibitions. The Old Bridge 2 Coming out of the museum, turn left and walk over the Old Bridge. The bridge was completed in 1756, after three failed attempts. Its builder, William Edwards, first constructed a three-arched bridge, but this was swept away by a flood. He next attempted a single-span bridge, but the timber supports used during construction were also swept away by the river in flood. His third attempt collapsed under its own weight. His fourth, the present bridge, has three cylindrical holes each side to reduce the weight of the stonework. With a span of 140 feet Edwards’ bridge was hailed as the first in Europe to exceed the span of the Rialto in Venice. After crossing the bridge walk down Zion Street to get a better view. WaLking Trail • 5 A5 Heritage Walks-Pontypridd_Layout 1 11/05/2010 08:56 Page 6 PONTYPRIDD Ynysangharad Park 3 From the bridge walk past the Maltsters’ Arms to the pedestrian crossing leading to the gates of the Park. Ynysangharad Park was established as a War Memorial Park after the First World War, and funded by public donations. The obelisk which can be seen from the Park, on the hillside to the East of the town, is a memorial to the 5th Welch Regiment, whose recruiting centre was Pontypridd. Gordon Lenox fountain 4 Through the Park gates, continue straight on until you reach the children’s play area Gordon Lennox Fountain on your left. Near the play area is a small drinking fountain, dedicated to the memory of Lewis Gordon Lenox, grandson of Samuel Lenox one of the founding partners of Brown Lenox chainworks. Established in 1818 this works began the industrial development of Pontypridd, and became famous for the manufacture of the best iron chains for ships’ anchor cables. James Memorial 5 Follow the path which branches off left alongside the children’s play area, James Memorial and cross the park bearing left to the James Memorial, which commemorates Evan and James James, authors of the Welsh National Anthem ‘Hen Wlad fy Nhadau’. The memorial dates from 1930, and is the work of William Goscombe John, arguably the finest Welsh sculptor to date. The statues represent Music and Poetry. Evan and James James appear on the plaque below. Evan, the father, is actually the younger-looking man, as the sculptor had to work from two photographs taken at different dates. 6 • WaLking Trail A5 Heritage Walks-Pontypridd_Layout 1 11/05/2010 08:57 Page 7 PONTYPRIDD Coal Dram 6 From the James Memorial return to the main path which runs to the right of the bandstand. Turn right towards the tennis courts. On your right is a sunken floral garden, with a coal “dram” in recognition of the important financial contribution made by the miners to the creation of the park. Taff Street and the Fountain 7 Leaving the Park by the footbridge over the river Taff, turn right into Taff St. This is the main shopping street of the town, and at street level the frontages are typically modern. However, look up and you will see some Victorian and Edwardian buildings of real quality. Walk as far as the Fountain, on an island in Penuel Square. This was a gift to the town from Alfred Thomas M.P.