Place:Van, Glamorgan, Wales

source: Family History Library Catalog

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

Van (Welsh: Y Fan) is a suburb and community (or civil parish) in Caerphilly county borough in Wales, situated in the east of the town of Caerphilly. It contains the vast housing estate of Lansbury Park and the estates of Porset Park, Castle Park, Mornington Meadows and Badgers Wood. Van mainly consists of residential properties, one industrial estate and only one public house. Nearly all of the property in Van is of post World War II construction. Van is also the name given to the electoral ward of Caerphilly County Borough council that also covers the community. According to the UK Census 2001 Van had a population of 5,050. In the 2011 census it was 4,923.

The industrial heritage of Van revolved around the Great Western Railway, where many of the engine and repair works were housed. T Ness, Caerphilly Tar Distillation Works, ceased operations in 1985.

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.)
• Where to find local archives in the Caerphilly area

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.