Commercial Street developed as one of the main centres
of commerce in Aberdare from the late 1840's. This shot
reveals the hustle and bustle of the town centre in a period
when Aberdare was at the peak of its prosperity. An Aberdare
Urban District Council Trolleybus, a service which was
introduced in 1915, is working its way up the Street through
the pedestrians. The population of Aberdare rose throughout
the Nineteenth Century and stood at 50,830 in 1911, by
1921 population reached a peak of 55,007. Thereafter, as
the depression in the coal industry began to bite, there
was a decline in population until by the end of the Second
World War the figure stood at 38,930. The population has
stayed relatively constant to the present day.
This photograph of a group of soldiers
standing outside the Aberdare YMCA building was taken
during the First World War. The YMCA building was located
at 23 Commercial Street on the corner with Gloucester
Street.
The Soldiers were probably resident at Windsor House in
Trecynon that was used during the war as a hospital for wounded
servicemen. The military hospital was opened in September
1915 by Lord Aberdare, staffed by the Red Cross there was
accommodation for 60 patients.
This site was originally used in as a hospital in 1875 but had been
converted by the Merthyr Board of Guardians for use as an Industrial School.
The industrial school had accommodation for 120 pauper children and orphans who
would have been taught skills including agriculture and shoemaking to enable
them to find gainful employment after leaving.
The area at the lower end of Commercial Street has changed
dramatically since this photograph was taken in the late
Nineteenth century. This image shows the original Iron
Bridge which connected the centre of Aberdare to Abernant.
This bridge dates from at least 1844 as that is the earliest
recorded date of the Iron Bridge public house named after
it. The Iron Bridge Hotel is the larger building on the
left of the photograph while directly opposite was the
Commercial Hotel. The Iron Bridge Hotel closed in 1982
and was demolished, along with the Commercial Hotel and
other commercial properties, in 1983 during the construction
of the Aberdare Bypass.
