Ynyshir

Ynyshir (Welsh: "Ynys-hir"), meaning "Long Island" in English, is a village in the Rhondda Valley in south Wales. Up until the mid 18th century Ynyshir was a sparsely populated agricultural area and the village takes its name from a farm in the area. In the 1840s the first deep coal mine was sunk in the village.

In 1841 the Taff Vale Railway reached neighbouring Dinas and with the train came far greater commercial opportunities for prospective colliery owners. Shepherd and Evans sank the first deep mine in Ynyshir [John, Arthur H. "Glamorgan County History, Volume V, Industrial Glamorgan from 1700 to 1970", University of Wales Press; Cardiff (1980) pg. 182] in 1845. The mine was subsequently bought by Francis Crawshay to supply the Crawshay Ironworks in Treforest. The Ynyshir colliery would be followed by the Ynyshir Steam Colliery, Standard 1 pit in 1875 and Standard 2 pit in 1876 and then in 1904 the famed Lewis Merthyr opened in 1905.

External links

* [http://webapps.rhondda-cynon-taff.gov.uk/heritagetrail/rhondda/ynyshir/ynyshir.htm Rhondda Cynon Taff Library Services - Heritage Trail]

References