The Rock Brewery was opened, on the site presently occupied
by the Rock Grounds Council Offices, in 1850. This was
only one of several breweries in the Aberdare area founded
in the Nineteenth Century to supply the local inns and
beerhouses with drink. Among the other breweries were the
George Brewery, The Black Lion Brewery and the Trecynon
Brewery. All three of these breweries were closed by 1911.
The Rock Brewery as finally sold in 1921, when it also
owned 40 tied houses.
Left: Rock Brewery circa 1913
Transcript
No.104
The Rock Brewery Company, Limited
Incorporated Under the Companies Act 1862 to 1893
This is to certify that John Jenkin Lewis
of The Rock Brewery Aberdare Manager is the Registered Proprietor
of two hundred Fully Paid Five-and-a-Half per Cent. Cumulative Preference Shares
of One Pound each, numbered 10181 to 10380 inclusive, in
THE ROCK BREWERY COMPANY, LIMITED, subject to the Memorandum
and Articles of Association and the Rules and Regulations of the
said Company.
Given under the Common Seal of the Company
this 16th day of June 1897.
Followed by the signatures of the Secretary and Directors
The Rock Baths opened in 1938. They were closed in 1975
as part of a cost cutting exercise by Cynon Valley Borough
Council. During a protest at the closure in May 1975 a symbolic
wreath was pinned to the doors of the changing rooms, with
the words 'Death of Democracy'. The site is now occupied
by a car park and council offices.
