Place:Dylais Higher, Glamorgan, Wales

Dylais Higher (or Higher Dylais or Higher Dulais) was a civil parish in the Neath Rural District between 1894 and 1974. It was high in the mountainous region north of the town of Neath. The largest settlement is the village of Seven Sisters.

Originally Dylais Higher was part of the ecclesiastical parish of Cadoxton juxta Neath.

Seven Sisters

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

Seven Sisters (Welsh: Blaendulais="source of the (river) Dulais") is a village in the Dulais Valley, Wales, UK. It lies 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Neath. Seven Sisters is now part of the Seven Sisters ward of Neath Port Talbot County Borough. It had a population of 2,123 at the UK census of 2011.

The village of Seven Sisters had always been recognised historically for its coal mining pit that was located in the middle of what was once one of the richest sources of coal in Britain, if not the world, in the heart of the South Wales Coalfield.

Development of many mines, and hence small settlements into villages and towns in the area, was brought about by a combination of a rich deposits of anthracite in the western South Wales coalfield, and the construction of the Neath and Brecon Railway from 1862.

The mine at Seven Sisters opened in 1875. David Evans of the Evans-Bevan coal mining partnership, had wanted to call the local colliery after his daughter, Isabella Bevan who cut the first sod on the land at Bryn Dulais farm with a silver spade on Monday, March 11, 1872. However, in light of superstition, and the fact that his own six sisters attended the ceremony, Evans agreed to call the mine "Seven Sisters".

The first dwellings erected in the village were single storey buildings for the coal miners, named Brick Row, which is still in place today. More collieries were opened in the surrounding area, such was the increasing demand for coal. Nant-y-Cafn or Dillwyn colliery was opened in 1884, Henllan Colliery 1911 and Brynteg Colliery and brickworks in 1885.

In 1923, there were 607 men working at Seven Sisters, producing from the three seams. At its peak in 1945 the colliery employed over 759 men from the surrounding area. During the 1950s geological problems and changing economic conditions took their toll, and in May 1963 the colliery closed and the pit filled in. The men who had been employed at the Seven Sisters were transferred to the nearby Blaenant Colliery, which closed in 1990.

Wikipedia refers to a website titled "Cwmdulais Historical Society". Unfortunately, it appears to have been hijacked, and the writer's antivirus provider warns against inspecting it.

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.