The history of the modern village of Llwydcoed
begins with the building of the Aberdare Ironworks. In
common with the other areas of the Cynon Valley where early
ironworks were founded, notably Hirwaun and Abernant, industry
acted as the catalyst for the settlement and development
of the area. Prior to the construction of the ironworks
Llwydcoed had been an agricultural community of scattered
farms.
Initial development of the village
was based around the Tregibbon area, where in 1801 workers'
housing was built by Thomas ap Shencin ap Gibbon of Fforchaman
Farm. Other early housing was built at Miner's Row, Founder's
Row and Scales Houses. The names of these streets betray
their early origins; the Scale family were among the founders
of the works and remained partners until 1846.
In the second half of the Nineteenth Century a new period
of growth was instigated by the development of the coal
industry in the area. Matthew Wayne Esq. of the Gadlys
Ironworks opened the Dyllas Colliery in 1840 and in 1849
Ysguborwen Colliery was sank by Samuel Thomas and Thomas
Joseph. Among the houses built in this period were those
at Moriah Place, Horeb Terrace and Grey's Place. Exhibition
Row was built in 1851 and was named Exhibition Row in honour
of the Great Exhibition held at Crystal Palace that year.
Left: Llwydcoed section of the Aberdare Parish Tithe
Map (1847). The map illustrates the pattern of early
settlement in the village. Tregibbon to the North, with
Miner's Row and Kingsbury Place to the South, just above
the furnaces.
Eight public houses were open in Llwydcoed at this time.
They were The Earl Grey, Fox and Hounds, Red Cow, Corner
House, The Mason's, Miner's Arms, the Dynevor Arms and the
Croes Bychan. At that time stop tap was midnight and a local
essayist recounts the boisterous nature of the revelries.
"It is said that more beer was lost (wasted) when the
furnaces, coal mines and iron-ore undertakings were being
worked, especially at the start of the month, and on pay
Saturday Night, than is being drunk now." (Unknown Author.
'A Glance at the History of Llwydcoed' Translated by D
Williams and D L Davies.)
Right: Rees Hopkin Rhys JP
Rees Hopkin Rhys - was one of the most influential
men in the development of local government in Aberdare
and the surrounding area. Born in Llwydcoed in 1819, where
he lived most his life at Plasnewydd, he became a respected
mineral agent at an early age, but was blinded at the age
of 28 whilst conducting experiments with gun cotton.
After his blindness he devoted much of his energy to public life. A member
of the Merthyr Tydfil Board of Guardians for 53 years, he also served on the
Aberdare Board of Health from 1854 and was elected the First Chairman of Aberdare
Urban District Council on its inception in 1895.
He played an important role in setting up the Industrial School in Trecynon
for pauper children. As a member of the Aberdare Board of Health he worked
tirelessly to improve public health in the district, promoting the need for
a clean water supply and an adequate sewerage system.
In 1881 the Merthyr Board of Guardians presented him with a bust of himself
which can now be seen in the Cynon Valley Museum.
During the Twentieth Century the industrial base of Llwydcoed
began to change. The Ironworks had closed some time earlier
in 1875. In 1919 Ysguborwen Colliery closed and the Dyllas
Colliery finally closed during the 1920's. However, in
1906 the Tanybryn Brickworks opened on the site of the
Aberdare Ironworks and the brickworks remained open under
a number of different owners until December 1981. In the
late 1940's the coal reserves of the area were exploited
again when the Bryn Pica opencast site was opened.
Llwydcoed Ironworks
The Aberdare Ironworks at Llwydcoed was founded in 1800,
when a partnership consisting of John Thompson, John Hodgett,
George Scale and John Scale took out a lease for 702 acres
of land on the Llwydcoed Forest Estate. The lease was to
run for 70 years at the cost of £1,000 per annum. Two
furnaces were built on the site which were waterwheel blown,
the waterwheel being fed by a leat that was connected to
the River Cynon a mile upstream, and the works opened in
1801. The Aberdare Iron Company appears to have started successfully.
In 1805 3,586 tons of iron were produced at the works and
the company was able to successfully weather the depression
in the iron trade of 1813/14 unlike the other Cynon Valley
Ironworks.
Above: Aberdare Ironworks as depicted on the 1st Edition
Ordnance Survey Map of 1868. Clearly seen on the map are
the three blast furnaces and the line of coke ovens needed
to produce fuel for the works.
In 1812 a tramroad was built to connect the Aberdare Ironworks
with the Canal Head of the newly constructed Aberdare Canal
at Cwmbach. The tramroad crossed the River Cynon twice during
its route, once at Gelli Isaf just below the ironworks and
again at the Robertstown Tramroad Bridge. In 1819 the Aberdare
Iron Company expanded considerably when it bought the nearby
Abernant Ironworks.
By 1823 three furnaces were in production at each site
and the firm produced 12,571 tons of iron in 1830.
In 1846 the partners of the company had recourse to use the Court of Chancery
to settle a dispute amongst themselves. The dispute between Henry and Mary Scale
on the one hand and Rowland Fothergill on the other was settled when the Court
of Chancery ordered that the business should be sold. Following this dispute
a new Aberdare Iron Company emerged that was headed by the Fothergill family.
The Aberdare ironworks at the time consisted of three blast furnaces with two
engines and two large waterwheels providing the blast, along with mine kilns
and workshops.
Right: The Aberdare Ironworks in the
1880's shortly after it's closure in 1875. The site buildings
are still in a good condition at this date and the three
blast furnaces can be seen in the centre of the photograph.
Up to this date the Aberdare Iron Company had not produced
wrought iron at their ironworks but this changed following
the takeover by the Fothergills, who built puddling furnaces
at Abernant Ironworks and modernised both the works. Output
appears to have continued to increase and by the mid 1860's
the company had become one of the major suppliers in the
wrought iron rail trade. In 1872 the company was supplying
rails worldwide, including to New Orleans, New York and
Montreal. This success, however, disguised some serious
problems at the Aberdare Iron Company. In 1875 following
the end of the demand for wrought iron rails the company
collapsed suddenly.
Left: The Aberdare Ironworks made use of a waterwheel
to provide blast from their opening in 1801. By 1869 two
waterwheels of 40 feet in diameter and 5 feet wide were
in use at the site
