- Trealaw
Trealaw is the longest
village in the Rhondda Valley,Wales ,United Kingdom .Trealaw stretches over two miles from the junction of Cemetery Road and Brithweunydd Road in the east, to the junction of Ynyscynon Road and Partridge Road to the northwest.
History
Primarily a dormitory town of the more famous
Tonypandy , its name translates from theWelsh language as 'the Town of Alaw', which derives from Alaw Goch or Alaw Coch (red melody), the bardic name of David (Dafydd) Williams (d. 1863) the father ofJudge Gwilym Williams (1839 - 1906), who founded the village (along with that of Williamstown, a village to the south of Trealaw) during the 'coal-rush' of the 19th century. Judge Williams is also commemorated in Trealaw by Judges Hall (in full, the Judge Gwilym Williams Memorial Hall) and in Ynyscynon Road, named after the Williams' family seat at Ynyscynon, nearAberdare in theCynon Valley . Judges Hall is a community venue used in its heyday for Variety performances,boxing tournaments andsnooker . Today it is used for Bingo and youth activities.Although Trealaw is considered to date from the 1860/70s, it does have an earlier history. On the river bank, near the
confluence of Nant Clydach with the Rhondda Fawr River, stood Ynys-y-Crug, a 12th century timbermotte and bailey castle . Until recent years, a mound about 12 feet high by 100 feet in length remained, which over the centuries had acquired the name ofGibbet Hill , indicating perhaps, that in the area'smedieval period, it was a place of execution. However, latterly, development of the mid-Rhonddaby-pass road has removed all traces of the castle.Trealaw is the site of one of the Rhondda's largest cemeteries, Llethrdu (Black slope), which opened in 1875. In the cemetery are many reminders of the tragic loss of life which was an everyday reality during the valley's
coal mining era, including most of the thirty-one victims of the Rhondda's last mining disaster at theCambrian Colliery in May 1965.Transport
Because of its length, Trealaw is served by no fewer than three
railway station s on theArriva Trains Wales train services fromCardiff : Dinas,Tonypandy andLlwynypia . Dinas (then known as Pandy station, located 100 metres downline from the present station) was the original terminus of the Rhondda Fawr branch, opened by theTaff Vale Railway , until it was extended toTreherbert in 1863.The village is served by Stagecoach
bus route 120 betweenBlaenrhondda andPontypridd /Caerphilly ; and Veolia Transport Route 175 betweenClydach Vale /Tonypandy andPorth .Commerce and Industry
Trealaw has never had very much by way of commerce and industry. At the lower end, there was Davies's soft drinks factory in Marjorie Street, while in Trealaw Road the Co-op and Hopkin Morgan's
bakery provided the main employment. All the former have ceased trading, the latter two now the site of modern housing developments. Between the railway and the river, near Trealaw Station, is Foundry Road, which has a number of industrial units.Education
There are two
primary school s, AlawJunior School and Trealaw Junior School. TheSecondary Modern school for senior pupils closed with the introduction ofComprehensive school education in the 1970s, and it burned down soon after. Children who live near theTonypandy end of the village are more likely to attend Tonypandy Community College; and children who live nearPorth are more likely to attend Porth County Community School.Recreation
For recreation, the main venue is Maes-yr-Haf Education Centre, founded by the
Society of Friends (Quakers ) in the 1920s where everything from pottery to drama was taught. Today, there is a more limited range of activities, while the Dan Murphy Day Centre (named after a former councillor) on the site provides meals and a meeting place for the area's senior citizens.Originally, the village had seven
pub s (The Bute Hotel, Dinas Arms, Royal Hotel, Miskin Hotel, Trealaw Hotel (known locally as Paddy's Goose), Colliers Arms and the Ynyscynon Hotel), but the Bute and the Dinas Arms did not survive beyond the 1960s. The Bute was located directly opposite the main entrance to Llethrdu Cemetery, and acquired the nick-name of The Resurrection because, in the days of walking funerals, the mourners would repair to the Bute to 'resurrect' the deceased with tales and reminiscences over a pint or three. The Bute closed in 1964 and was subsequently demolished to provide a car parking area for the Trealaw Workingmen's Club next door which has now acquired the 'Res' soubriquet. One of many such clubs in theSouth Wales Valleys , the club was paid for from contributions deducted from pit workers' wages to provide social and educational facilities for the employees. Many of these workingmen's clubs were known as the universities of the working class with their extensive libraries of mostly left-wing literature.In the 19th and early-20th century, behind Dinas Arms was the Brithweunydd Hotel, a low-class lodging house for workers attracted to the area by the burgeoning coal mining industry.
Notable residents
* Lord Tonypandy (1909 - 1997), (formerly George Thomas, the
Speaker of the House of Commons )
*Ray Smith (1936 - 1991), actor, best known as Det-Supt Spikings in the series Dempsey and Makepeace
*Morgan Stoddart , Welsh international rugby union player.External links
* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=2738884 www.geograph.co.uk] Photos of Trealaw and surrounding area
* [http://www.welshcoalmines.co.uk/ Welsh Coal Mines website] Histories of all the Welsh pits including local ones
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