The English translation of the Welsh word Ystrad can be
taken as meaning Vale, a flat space or valley bed. It is
thought that Ystrad itself takes its name from the old parish
name of Ystradyfodwg, or Vale of Tyfodwg, Tyfodwg being thought
to have been a disciple of St.Illtud. Historically, the area
known as Ystrad has had a number of different names. Early
records call the area Ynys Fach, which can be translated
as, ‘a low lying meadowland near a river', and subsequently
early Ordnance Survey maps call the area Heol Fach.
The early traveller and author John Leland in his work ‘Itinery'
in 1538 describes ‘Glin Rodenay', or The Rhondda, as having
but one parish and that being ‘Ystrate', however John Speed's
1611 map only names one part of the area that being Llanwynnyo.
An early description of pre-industrial Ystrad can be found
in C.F. Cliffe's work, ‘The book of South Wales, the Bristol
Channel, Monmouthshire and The Wye'. Cliffe stayed at a ‘primitive
hostelrie' at Ystrad called the ‘Gellidawel', or quiet grove,
an important place for local farmers to meet and transact
business.
Ystrad's importance came as a result of its position as
a place where the ancient paths and tracks of the Rhondda
met, including the main cart track over Penrhys to the Rhondda
Fach. As such it had grown to have its own water mill, Melyn
Yr Om ( called Melynydd Dee on a map from 1633) probably established by the
monks of Penrhys, a smithy, thatcher etc. Thus Ystrad was a busy centre for
rural Rhondda.
Its importance as a centre of rural Rhondda made it the
perfect place for the setting up of the first Baptist Chapel
in the region. ‘Nebo' was built in 1786 for a sum of sixty
pounds. As well as playing an important role in the history
of non-conformity in the area it also played a vital educational
role. At a time when educational provision was scarce or
non-existent its Sunday School taught the children of the
rural residents of the Rhondda to read and write.
Right: Nebo Chapel
From earliest times one name associated with Ystrad
has been that of Bodringallt, variously translated as,
the dwelling between two slopes, the home of the foxes,
and the abode of the summoner. Local legends abound about
Bodringallt House, some saying it was the abode of ‘Cadwgan
of the battle Axe', and also that it was connected to the
monastery at Penrhys via an underground tunnel. Subsequently
the name Bodringallt has been given to a school, colliery,
chapel and farm in the area. As with all areas within the
Rhondda the rural nature of Ystrad, which had changed little
for the previous two hundred years, was to change drastically
in the mid nineteenth century with the exploitation of
the areas rich mineral reserves. Evidence shows indication
of small-scale mining of coal seams at Bodringallt pre
1840's, with the Bodringallt level being mined by a local
concern, never consisting of more than six men. Similarly
when mining expanded in the later half of the nineteenth
century miners digging the coal seams were apt to break
through to long disused workings.
Left: Bodringallt Colliery
It was in
the 1850's that large-scale mining at Ystrad really started
with a number of small collieries and seams being opened
to the bituminous coal levels. The Gelligaled level by David
Jones, Gelligaled Colliery by VL Lewis, and the Bodringallt
Level by David Jones and David James (owner of Porth and
Llwyncelyn Collieries).
This increased activity prompted the Taff Vale Railway
to extend its line in 1855 to Gelligaled, beginning its
first passenger service in 1861. By 1864 shafts had been
opened to the richer, deeper seams at Bodringallt. Ystrad also had one of the largest brickworks in the area,
originally set up to make bricks for the local mine shafts.
It was set up in 1857 and provided employment for a large
number of girls from the area, and quickly expanded to provide
bricks for mining and houses throughout South Wales.
By 1900 Ystrad had changed beyond recognition. As well as
the ever-present mines it also had its own church, St. Stephen's
built in 1896 at a cost of £3,600,
a library built in 1895 for £3,000, numerous chapels, Bodringallt Elementary
School built in 1870, and an isolation hospital expanding on the site of old
cottage hospital at Tyntyla.
Ystrad United Football Team 1906-7
YSTRAD RHONDDA ORDER OF ODDFELLOWS LILY OF
THE VALLEY LODGE
The original order of Odfellows can trace
its history back to the merchants' guilds of the twelfth
and thirteenth century, although legends tell that the order
goes even further back than this. The modern society however
was formed in 1810 and was set up to provide assistance and
care for its members when there was no welfare state, trade
unions or National Health Service.
One of the oldest and most successful of these lodges
was base at the Star Gellidawel Inn at Ystrad Rhondda,
the ‘Lily of the Valley' Lodge. Formed in 1833 the Lodge
continued at Ystrad until 1976 its motto was, ‘Philanthropic
intentions are worthy of encouragement. Unity is Strength'.
The importance of the Oddfellows Club in Ystrad can be
seen by the naming of one of its streets Oddfellows Row
later changing to Club Row.
Left: The Star Gellidawel Hotel, 1913 - Situated at the
foot of Penrhys Road, this hostelry is the oldest in the
Rhondda Valleys. Shows the demolition of the old hotel,
when the new Star Hotel was built up around it. Beer continued
to be sold so that the license could be retained
The objects of the Club were to, ‘…raise a
fund by entrance fees, subscriptions, fines, donations, and
by interest on capital, for the purpose of relieving its
members in sickness or old age: and for securing a sum of
money to be paid on the death of a member or members wife'.
The original members at Ystrad would have been the farmers,
tradesmen and craftsmen of the area, only later with the
coming of the mines to the area would the makeup of the Lodge
have changed.
A booklet from 1886 of the ‘Rules of the Lily of the Valley Lodge' gives an interesting
insight into the running of the Lodge at that time in Ystrad. To gain acceptance
into the Lodge your proposal would have to be taken by an existing member and
approved by a two-thirds majority of the Lodge's members. Additionally, ‘No person
afflicted with rupture or loss of sight or limb, or who (or his wife) is of unsound
mind, or if he leads an intemperate or dissolute life, shall upon any pretence
be admitted a member of this Lodge'. No persons under fifteen or over thirty-five
years of age were permitted to join the Lodge except as honorary members unable
to claim relief from the Lodge apart from funeral expenses. The Rules for the
conduct and ‘demeanour' of members were extensive and draconian by today's standards.
There was up to a five shilling fine for disobeying a call to order by one of
the Lodge's officials, and any member who ‘meddles or introduces politics' in
the Lodge could be fined up to one shilling. Fines were also applied for misbehaviour
or indecent language and any member who had been fighting, except in self-defence,
could be fined or expelled from the Lodge, and if that person was unable to work
because of injuries sustained due to fighting or intoxication they would be unable
to claim benefits from the Lodge. The Lodge provided invaluable old age (70+)
and accident relief for its members but was very strict as to the conduct of
its members who were claiming medical relief from its funds. Thus the Rules of
Lodge state that, ‘No member on sick list shall do any kind of work (except give
verbal orders, sign receipts etc.), if they were to go for a walk for the ‘benefit
of their health' they had to leave word at their abode as to where they are to
be found. They also had to be home by eight in the evening between the dates
of 25th September and 25th March, this being extended to nine in the evening
in the remaining months, failure to comply was punishable by increasing fines
leading to a six months suspension of benefits for a third offence.
