Stephens, Meic (28 May 1999). "Obituary: Robert Thomas". independent.co.uk . Retrieved 28 September 2017. Glamorgan County History, Volume IV, Early Modern Glamorgan from the Act of Union to the Industrial Revolution, Glanmor Williams, p. 26. University of Wales Press (1974). a b c "Historic Landscape Characterisation The Rhondda". Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust (25 Mynachdy Penrhys). Historically, Rhondda was mostly covered by the parish of Ystradyfodwg. The small village of Ystradyfodwg was centred on its parish church of St John the Baptist, with the old village being absorbed into the urban area of Ton Pentre as it grew during the industrial revolution. In 1877 most of the parish of Ystradyfodwg was made a local government district, governed by a local board, excluding only the Rhigos area of the parish, which lay to the north of the hills at the top of the Rhondda Fawr valley. [89] The local government district was enlarged in 1879 to also cover parts of Llanwonno and Llantrisant parishes, which had the effect of bringing the Porth area within the Ystradyfodwg Local Government District. [90] [91]

Half a dozen miles to the south, the prosperous market town of Caerphilly had already been around for centuries. It sprang up in the shadow of Caerphilly Castle, the largest castle in Wales. Built in the 13th century by the Norman lord “Red Gilbert” de Clare, the fortress stands on three artificial islands in a 30-acre lake. Its usefulness as a fortification is long past, but the castle still dominates the town. Local folks take the mammoth castle and its unique display of medieval siege engines quite for granted. Their greater interest is fishing in the lake. The mass immigration in the period was almost entirely from other parts of Wales and from England. [58] A notable exception was a group of Italian immigrants, originally from northern Italy round the town of Bardi. In the late 19th century, they were forced out of London by over-saturation of the market, and instead set up a network of cafés, ice cream parlours and fish & chip shops throughout South Wales. These became iconic landmarks in the villages they served and they and subsequent generations became Welsh Italians. Peculiar to the Rhondda was that shops run by Italian immigrants were known as bracchis, believed to have been named after Angelo Bracchi, who opened the first café there in the early 1890s. [59] In the early 21st century several of the Rhondda's original bracchis were still open for business. In 1894 the local government district became the Ystradyfodwg Urban District and the parish boundaries were adjusted to match the urban district. [92] The parish and urban district of Ystradyfodwg were both officially renamed Rhondda in 1897. [93] Rhondda Urban District was made a municipal borough in 1955, and then reconstituted as a district within the new county of Mid Glamorgan in 1974. [94] In 1996 Mid Glamorgan County Council was abolished and Rhondda merged with the neighbouring districts of Cynon Valley and Taff-Ely to become Rhondda Cynon Taf. [95] Subdivisions and settlements [ edit ] A rough layout of the main villages of the Rhondda shown along the two tributaries of the River Rhondda Other major factors in the decline of coal related to massive under-investment in the Rhondda mines over the previous decades. Most mines in the valleys had been sunk between the 1850s and 1880s, so that they were far smaller than most modern mines. [83] The Rhondda mines were comparatively antiquated in their methods of ventilation, coal-preparation and power supply. [83] In 1945 the British coal industry was cutting 72 per cent of its output mechanically, whereas in South Wales the figure was just 22 per cent. [83] The only way to ensure financial survival of the mines in the valleys was massive investment by the NCB, but its "Plan for Coal" paper drawn up in 1950 was overly optimistic about future demand, [84] which was drastically reduced after an industrial recession in 1956 and with increased availability of oil. [80] The notable members of the group include Ernest Zobole, a painter from Ystrad, whose expressionist work was deeply rooted in the juxtaposition of the industrialised buildings of the valleys against the green hills that surround them. [165] Also from the Rhondda Fawr was the sculptor Robert Thomas; [166] born in Cwmparc, his heavy-cast statues have become icons of contemporary Wales, with many of his works publicly displayed in Cardiff. [167] Science and social science [ edit ]

Localities in the Area

The Acts of Union in the mid-16th century and the English Civil War in the mid-17th century brought much rebuilding in the Kingdom of England, to which Wales was now annexed. This appears in the structures built in the Rhondda Valley. [38] The fluctuating economy of the late Tudor period resulted in farmers taking in more land, creating higher levels of surplus goods and so producing higher profits. These were reflected in new farmhouses built in the Rhondda and for the first time an emphasis on domestic comfort apparent in the design of dwellings. [38] Many new farm buildings were simple structures of two or three small rooms, but of a much sturdier, more permanent quality than the medieval platform houses. A popular style was the Dartmoor longhouse, which combined the house and cowshed into one building. By 1840, the Rhondda had at least 160 farms, [39] but most were destroyed with the growth of the mining industry. Of the few survivors, those of note include Tynewydd ('New House') in Tynewydd, a 17th-century house thought to have given its name to the neighbouring village of Tynewydd and of Tyntyle in Ystrad dated around 1600. Of the Cadwgan Circle, the most notable is Rhydwen Williams, winner of the Eisteddfod Crown on two occasions, who used the landscape of the industrial valleys as a basis for much of his work. Writing in English, Peter George was born in Treorchy and is best known as the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of Dr. Strangelove, based on his book Red Alert. Reflecting the lives of the residents of the Rhondda, both Gwyn Thomas and Ron Berry brought a realism to the industrial valleys missing in the more rose-tinted writings of Richard Llewellyn.

Due to the dominance of rugby union, there have been few football teams of note in the history of the Rhondda Valleys. Several teams were formed around the end of the 19th century, but most folded in the Depression, including Cwmparc F.C. in 1926 [135] and Mid-Rhondda in 1928. [135] The area's most successful club is Ton Pentre F.C. Netball [ edit ] Pugh, T. B. (1971). Glamorgan County History, Volume III, The Middle Ages: The Marcher Lordships of Glamorgan and Morgannwg and Gower and Kilvey from the Norman Conquest to the Act of Union of England and Wales. University of Wales Press. p.47. Rhondda had a strong tradition of communal activity, exemplified by workmen's halls, miners' institutes and trade unions. [149] Miners began to contribute to the building and running of institutes – such as the Parc and Dare Hall in Treorchy – from the 1890s onwards, and were centres of entertainment and self-improvement, with billiards halls, libraries and reading rooms. [150] Media [ edit ] The Rhondda Valleys have produced two world-class darts players. In 1975 Alan Evans from Ferndale won the Winmau World Masters, a feat repeated in 1994 by Richie Burnett from Cwmparc. Burnett surpassed Evans when he also became BDO World Darts Champion, winning the tournament in 1995. Williams, Chris (1996). Democratic Rhondda: politics and Society 1885-1951. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.During the 20th century the Rhondda supplied a steady stream of championship boxers. Percy Jones was not only the first World Champion from the Rhondda, but the first Welshman to hold a World Title when he won the Flyweight belt in 1914. After Jones came the Rhondda's most notable boxer, Jimmy Wilde, also known as the "Mighty Atom", who took the IBU world flyweight title in 1916. British Champions from the valleys include Tommy Farr, who held the British and Empire heavyweight belt, and Llew Edwards, who took the British featherweight and Australian lightweight titles. Just a few miles up the road at Trehafod, the Lewis Merthyr Colliery has found new life as the Rhondda Heritage Park. Here among the rusting relics of busier days, the unique industrial heritage and way of life is kept alive. In multimedia and reconstructions of village life, the Heritage Park tells the history of the Rhondda. Former colliers, who worked these pits for years, lead visitors underground to experience working life in the mine during the 1950s. During the early to mid-19th century, the Rhondda valleys were inhabited by small farming settlements. In 1841 the parish of Ystradyfodwg, which would later constitute most of the Rhondda Borough, recorded a population of less than a thousand. [23] With the discovery of massive deposits of high quality, accessible coal in the mid-19th century, the valleys experienced a large influx of financial immigrants. The first came to the lower Rhondda villages of Dinas, Eirw and Cymmer. Special sinkers came from Llansamlet, while the first miners were from Penderyn, Cwmgwrach and neighbouring areas of Llantrisant and Llanharan. [53] The 1851 Census lists apprenticed paupers from Temple Cloud in Somerset, some of the earliest English immigrants. [53] From a mere 951 in 1851, the population of Ystradyfodwg parish grew to 16,914 in 1871. By 1901 the Rhondda Urban District had a population of 113,735. [54] As more and more coal mines were sunk the population grew to fill the jobs needed to extract the coal. In the 1860s and 1870s the majority came from neighbouring Welsh counties, but with the improving rail transportation and cheaper transport, immigrants came from further afield. The 1890s recorded workers from the South West, places such as Gloucester and Devon, and by the 1900s people came from North Wales, the lead-mining area of Anglesey and the depressed slate-quarrying villages of Bethesda, Ffestiniog and Dinorwig. [55] Although there are records of Scottish workers, mainly centred on Archibald Hood's Llwynypia mines, there were only small numbers of Irish, less than 1,000 by 1911. [56] This absence is often blamed on the forcible ejection of the Irish who lived in Treherbert during three days of rioting in 1857. [57] The population of the valleys peaked in 1924 at over 167,900 inhabitants. [23]

After the death of William, Lord of Glamorgan, his extensive holdings were eventually granted to Gilbert de Clare in 1217. [22] The subjugation of Glamorgan, begun by Fitzhamon, was completed by the powerful De Clare family. [23] Although Gilbert de Clare had now become one of the great Marcher Lords, the territory was far from settled. Hywel ap Maredudd, lord of Meisgyn captured his cousin Morgan ap Cadwallon and annexed Glynrhondda in an attempt to reunify the commotes under a single native ruler. [24] This conflict was unresolved by the time of De Clare's death and the area fell under royal control.Just across the street, the Caerphilly Visitor Centre not only provides tourist information, but exhibits the local history and offers Welsh crafts, gifts, and a ready source for the famous white Caerphilly cheese. British Rail reopened some of the closed stations, such as Ystrad Rhondda in 1986. [161] Notable people [ edit ] Another source would be this dowry that Christ Bryant is negotiating for from Westminster. The rest of it from Welsh Government and local authorities.