Pontygwaith, Rhondda

:"This article is about the village Pontygwaith in the Rhondda. For the Pontygwaith in Treharris see Pontygwaith."

infobox UK place
country = Wales
welsh_name= Pontygwaith
constituency_welsh_assembly= Rhondda
map_type=
official_name= Pontygwaith
latitude= 51.637676
longitude= -3.430264
population=
unitary_wales= Rhondda Cynon Taff
lieutenancy_wales= Mid Glamorgan
constituency_westminster= Rhondda
post_town= Ferndale
postcode_district = CF43
postcode_area= CF
dial_code= 01443 73
os_grid_reference= ST011941
OldMapsYear=
OldMapsEasting=
OldMapsNorthing=
OldMapsCounty=

Pontygwaith (Welsh language: "Bridge to work" or "Bridge of the Ironworks") is a small village located in the Rhondda Fach valley in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taff in Wales.

History

Pontygwaith takes its name from a blast furnace built in the early 16th century, though by 1863 it was described as "a shapeless ruin" ["Historic Rhondda, An Archaeological and Topographical Survey 8000 BC - AD 1850", Paul R. Davis, Hackman (1989) pg. 34 ISBN 0950855634] The location of the furnace was at the north end of what today is Furnace Road and the only documented proof of the structure is in a contract drawn up in 1614 between John Hanbury of Pontypool and Richard ap Rhys of Llantrisant for the supply of charcoal to the "furnace of Penrees" (Penrhys).

References

External links