The origins of the village of Abercynon
lay in its importance as a centre for traffic with
the Glamorgan Canal, the Aberdare
Canal and the Taff Vale Railway all passing through
the district. The presence of these important communication
networks having led to its development on a small scale.
Public houses and hotels such as the Junction Hotel,
The Swan, The Boatman, New Inn, Navigation Hotel and
the Traveller's Rest were established to cater for
the passing trade and the employees of the canals and
railways.
Left: Junction
Hotel Abercynon c 1900
A combined post office and general store was opened and houses built alongside
the canal to house the workmen. Some of the names by which the village
was formally known reflect the importance of these networks to the village.
These include Navigation, Y Basin and Aberdare Junction. The name Abercynon
was only introduced in 1893 when a public meeting was held to find a
permanent name for the village.The sinking of the collieries in 1889
brought a great influx of people into the village leading to the development
of the modern town of Abercynon. Streets beginning to appear along the
sides of the valley in order to accommodate the ever-growing population.
Some of the earliest being Martin's Terrace, Station Terrace (now Ynysmeurig
Road), Catherine Street (now Herbert Street). With commercial centres
being established and other buildings of significance opened including
the new Navigation School (1896) and the Workmen's Hall (1905).
The increase in population brought the followers of many religious denominations
into the village and chapels and churches were established to cater
for their religious needs. These include Calfaria chapel opened by
the baptists in 1894, Bethania Chapel opened by the Welsh Independents
in 1896 and St Donat's Church by the Church of England in 1908.
Right: Glancynon
Terrace and Calfaria Baptist Church
Abercynon Coal Industry
The production of coal in Abercynon did not begin in any significant levels
until the latter part of the 19th century, with the sinking of collieries
taking place at a later date than further up the Cynon Valley. A contributing
factor to this being the depth at which the coal seams lay from the surface.
For example the Gellideg seam was 146 yards below the surface at Aberdare
and 170 yards below the surface at Abercynon. This greater depth meant
any collieries sunk in Abercynon would have to be deeper and larger adding
to the cost of the already expensive process of mining coal. However
these problems were overcome and the following successful enterprises
were established in Abercynon.
Above: Abercynon or Dowlais
Colliery was one of the deepest in South Wales
at the time it was sunk.
Abercynon Colliery:
Originally called Dowlais Cardiff Colliery, this colliery was sunk by the
Dowlais Iron Company. Sinking operations commenced in 1889 but soon encountered
difficulties with excessive water in the pits. Pumps were installed to
counter this problem and the sinking was completed by 1906. At the time
of their completion these pits were the deepest in the South Wales Coalfield.
The Dowlais Iron Company was changed to Guest Keen and Company in 1901,
and in 1903, Guest Keen and Nettlefolds Limited was formed. They later
pulled out of mining operations in South Wales and by 1931 the colliery
was in the hands of Welsh Associated Collieries Limited who merged with
Powell Duffryn in 1935 to form Powell Duffryn Associated Collieries Limited.
On nationalisation of the coal industry in 1947 the colliery came under
the control of the National Coal Board who linked the colliery below
ground to Lady Windsor Colliery, Ynysybwl, in 1971. The National Coal
Board closed the colliery in 1988.
Carne Park Colliery: A
relatively small enterprise consisting of a number
of levels situated to the south west of St Donat's
Church. The exact date of its opening is not known,
but it was working by 1864, although its owner at
that time is unknown. By 1910 it was in the hands
of the Carne Park Colliery Co. Ltd. and although
it went bankrupt in 1911, it was operating again
by 1916 under the control of the Richardson Brothers.
The colliery was not nationalised in 1947 and in
1957 D. Leonard and Partners owned it. The actual
date of closure is unknown.
Left: Abercynon
junction c 1905
Richard Trevithick
Richard Trevithick was an engineer from
Cornwall who while employed at Pen-y-Darran ironworks
near Merthyr Tydfil pioneered the first steam locomotive
ever tried upon a railway. It was his employer the
ironmaster Samuel Homfray who laid a wager of 500 guineas
that he could haul a load of ten tons of iron from
Merthyr Tydfil to the Basin (Abercynon) on a train
drawn by a steam locomotive. It was on the 22nd. February
1804, that Trevithick's High Pressure Steam Engine
began its journey carrying ten tons of iron, seventy
men and five wagons. Unfortunately the chimney of the
engine struck a low bridge shortly after the start,
and the bridge and chimney were both damaged. Trevithick
having rebuilt the chimney carried on his way, finally
arriving at the basin having travelled nine and half
miles at a rate of nearly five miles an hour, thereby
winning his employer the wager.
