Place:Dyffrynclydach near Neath, Glamorgan, Wales

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

Dyffrynclydach (or Dyffryn Clydach) is a community (or civil parish) of Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. Before 1974 it was in the "historic" county of Glamorgan. According to the UK census of 2011 it had a population of 3,162.

It is located in an area of South Wales between Neath and Swansea. Dyffryn Clydach includes the residential communities of Cwrt Herbert, Dyffryn, Highlands, Longford, Neath Abbey, and Penshannel. (Some of these may be recent housing estates rather than old villages.)

Although covering only 7 km2 (2.7 sq mi), the area is packed with history, including the ruins of Neath Abbey (Neath Abbey is the name prominent on a modern road map of the area.)

The more central and northerly parts of the ward are mostly rural, consisting of picturesque farmland and woodland encircling the western base of Mount Drummau. The Clydach Brook flows through Dyffryn Clydach in a north to south direction, passing Neath Abbey.

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Dyffrynclydach from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"DYFFRYN-CLYDACH, a hamlet in Cadoxton parish, Glamorgan; 2 miles NW of Neath. Real property: £12,097; of which £6,068 are in mines, and £3,000 are in iron-works. Population: 1,022. Houses: 197. Mines of coal, iron, and copper, are worked; and the traffic from them is facilitated by a railway. Dyffryn-Clydach House is the seat of the Williams family."

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.