Place:Cilybebyll, Glamorgan, Wales

source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Cilybebyll (or Kilybebyll) is a village and community in Neath Port Talbot County Borough in Wales. It includes the villages of Alltwen, Fforest Gôch, Gellinudd and Rhos, and is located 1.9 miles (3.1 km) east of Pontardawe (which was originally part of the parish), 4.7 miles (7.6 km) north of Neath and 10.3 miles (16.6 km) north east of Swansea. Before 1974 it was in the "historic" county of Glamorgan. The community had a population of 4,769 in the UK census of 2011.

The Cilybebyll estate was established in the 15th century, and after development by various families, by 1838 was recorded as having the largest land holding in the district. The main house, Plas Cilybebyll, was redeveloped in 1840 by Henry Leach, creating a south-facing Victorian facade on the property. His son Frances Edward Leach inherited the estate in 1848, changing his name to Lloyd in 1849 by Royal Charter in order not to forfeit his inheritance. The family remained in residence until the early 20th century, when the family records were passed to Swansea Museum.

Cilybebyll was originally in the Neath Hundred.

Like much of South Wales, small-scale coal mining has taken place in the area for many centuries. By 1849 it was producing large quantities of coal, which were readily transported around the world from the docks at Swansea.

Research Tips

• GENUKI on Glamorgan Lots of leads to other sources and descriptions of former parishes.
• The FamilySearch Wiki on Glamorgan has recently been updated (early 2016) and looks remarkably like Wikipedia. Their map "Glamorgan Parish Map.jpg" enlarges to show all the original parishes. The sub-section "Parishes of Historic Glamorgan" lists all the parishes of Glamorgan and the newer preserved counties and principal areas in both English and Welsh. (Currently this website is still under construction.)

Maps

The first three maps are provided by A Vision of Britain through Time

• A map of 1832 showing larger towns and some villages (not as good as the England county maps in this series).
• Ordnance Survey map of Glamorgan illustrating the parishes, rural districts, urban districts and boroughs as revised to 1899.
• A 1930s Ordnance Survey map of Glamorgan illustrating the parishes, rural districts, urban districts and boroughs as revised to 1944.

These maps were found on Wikimedia Commons

• Glamorgan Administrative Map 1947 separating the various types of administrations with colour coding. These division were most likely in place until 1974.
• A map of Wales outlining the prinicipal areas of Mid Glamorgan and South Glamorgan
• A map of Wales outlining the prinicipal areas of West Glamorgan
• A map of the Vale of Glamorgan principal area with the western part of Cardiff included

These maps of Glamorgan post-1974 were found on another site and are very useful for sorting out the up-to-date geography of the area

• A map of West Glamorgan showing the two principal areas and the towns located in them.
• A map of South Glamorgan showing the two principal areas and the towns located in them.
• A map of Bridgend, Merthyr and Rhondda showing the three principal areas and the towns located in them. The description states that this is "formerly part of Mid Glamorgan".
• A map of Caerphilly, Blaenau and Torfean showing the three principal areas and the towns located in them.