Bargoed

infobox UK place
country = Wales
welsh_name=Bargod
constituency_welsh_assembly=
official_name= Bargoed
unitary_wales= Caerphilly County Borough
lieutenancy_wales= Gwent
constituency_westminster= Caerphilly
post_town= BARGOED
postcode_district = CF81
postcode_area= CF
dial_code= 01443
os_grid_reference= ST145995
population= 13,721
latitude=51.69
longitude=-3.24

Bargoed ( _cy. Bargod) is a town in the Rhymney Valley, Wales, one of the South Wales Valleys. It lies on the Rhymney River in the county borough of Caerphilly and straddles ancient boundary of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire. 'Greater Bargoed', as defined by the local authority Caerphilly County Borough Council, consists of the towns of Bargoed, Aberbargoed and the village of Gilfach. The combined population of these settlements is approximately 13,000.

The town is served by Bargoed railway station.

Toponomy

The English meaning of the town's Welsh language name, Bargoed, is border. Pronunciation of the town's name varies depending on street. There are many variations, from the standard Welsh Barr-goid and English Baa-goid to the informal Baa-Gud and Baa-Go-Ed.

The town is currently undergoing redevelopment, with a bypass being constructed, which will eventually run through the valleys. Also, there was an agreement that was scheduled to bring major supermarket ASDA to the town, but they recently pulled out for anon. reason

History

Originally a market town, Bargoed grew into a substantial town following the opening of a colliery in 1903. The colliery, which was the subject of a painting by L. S. Lowry, closed during the 1980s, and its former site is now a country park.

Today, many shops in the centre of Bargoed are closed down and boarded up, leaving parts of the town looking shabby and run-down. A comprehensive programme of improvements, focused on the town's bypass road, were begun in 2000.

Education

Bargoed Grammar Technical School existed as the local grammar school before Heolddu Comprehensive School was formed. Some of the grammar school's buildings in Park Crescent were used during from the 1980s until 2002 for the valley's first Welsh language comprehensive school, Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni. The buildings were vacated when the school moved to a new purpose-built site in Fleur-de-Lys.

Notable people

*Actress Doris Hare (1905–2000) was born in Bargoed
*Bargoed is regularly namechecked during televised snooker tournaments as Mark Williams, Embassy World Snooker Champion in 2000 and 2003, practises his sport at the town's Emporium Snooker Hall.
*Welsh singer-songwriter and British Eurovision contestant James Fox grew up in Gilfach.
*Ivor Powell, the world's oldest and still active football coach, was born in Gilfach-Bargoed on July 5th, 1916.
*Myrtle While, renowned medic who worked with the Welsh rugby legend JPR Williams at Cardiff General Hospital, now resides here.

External links

* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=2739033 www.geography.co.uk : photos of Bargoed and surrounding area]

References

The following are reference books on Bargoed by local author Paul James.

*Volume 1: The History of Bargoed and Gilfach in Photographs. ISBN 1 874538 31 X
*Volume 2: The History of Bargoed and Gilfach in Photographs. ISBN 1 874538 07 7
*Volume 3: The History of Bargoed, Gilfach and Aberbargoed in Photographs. ISBN 1 874538 64 6All three books are published by Old Bakehouse Publications, Abertillery.